A goal by forward John Wolyniec helped give the New York Red Bulls a 1-1 tie with MLS rival, Toronto FC, on Wednesday at a gusty Blackbaud Stadium in the teams' second match of the Carolina Challenge Cup. Jeff Cunningham put Toronto FC ahead in the first half as heavy winds affected play throughout the evening.
Toronto FC broke through in the 10th minute. Midfielder Kevin Harmse played a through ball to Cunningham, who dribbled into the box. Goalkeeper Jon Conway dove for the ball, but Cunningham eluded him and knocked it in.
In the 20th minute, forward Oscar Echeverry was able to get free on the left side of the penalty box but his low shot was saved by goalkeeper Brian Edwards. Later, Claudio Reyna unleashed Luke Sassano, who was wide open on the right side of the box. However, Sassano was ruled offsides.
Toronto had a quality opportunity right before the break when Cunningham laid the ball off for Collin Samuel, who ran into the box before lashing a shot just wide of the right post. Just a minute before, Juan Pablo Angel hit a header off a corner over the crossbar.
With the wind at their backs, the Red Bulls came out with more energy in the second half. In the 54th minute, rookie Eric Brunner was free on a header and his attempt went straight at Edwards. Four minutes later, Danleigh Borman played a nice give-and-go with Angel, who couldn't get a shot off. And Borman soon put Wolyniec through on goal, but Wolyniec couldn't get a good final touch and Toronto was able to recover.
Moments later, Todd Dunivant almost gave Toronto FC a two-goal lead after finding space on the left but his point blank shot was blocked by goalkeeper Zach Thornton.
The Red Bulls tied the game in the 74th minute. Reyna slotted a perfectly weighed ball into the path of Wolyniec, who slammed a shot past Edwards and into the upper 90.
New York had all of the momentum and almost took the lead in the 80th minute when the ball fell to Angel, who curled a shot off the right post from 12 yards out. However, the Red Bulls could not break through with Dave van den Bergh forcing Edwards to make a save in the last play of the match.
The Red Bulls finish the Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday with a match against the San Jose Earthquakes at 8:15 PM on Saturday.
Scoring Summary:
TFC: Cunningham (Harmse) 10'
NY: Wolyniec (Reyna) 74'
Disciplinary Summary:
NY: Angel (caution) 36'
TFC: Harmse (caution) 78'
Toronto FC: Brian Edwards, Marco Velez, Tyrone Marshall, Julius James (Pat Phelan 22'), Jim Brennan ©, Martin Brittain, Carl Robinson, Kevin Harmse, Todd Dunivant, Collin Samuel (Danny Dichio 85'), Jeff Cunningham (Jarrod Smith 89')
New York Red Bulls: Jon Conway (Zach Thornton 46'), Kevin Goldthwaite, Carlos Mendes (Eric Brunner 46'), Jeff Parke, Dave van den Bergh, Seth Stammler, Claudio Reyna ©, Luke Sassano, Mike Magee (Danleigh Borman 46') Oscar Echeverry (John Wolyniec 56'), Juan Pablo Angel
Referee: Carol-Anne Chenard
Referee's Assistants: Darren Clark, Kyle Borne
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
