The Red Bulls U-18s wrapped up their first-place finish in the Region I Premier League North Division with a 2-0 win over South Central Premier of Connecticut last Saturday.
John Tardy opened the scoring with a goal on a free kick in the third minute. The second goal came on a blistering shot from the corner of the box by Matt Kassel, who was assisted by Hamilton Sotelo.
The Red Bulls U-18s finished play in the North Division with a 6-1-0 record, 16 goals scored and only six against, helping them to their first-place finish.
"We had a great defensive performance today. Individually and collectively, the team focused on being tight in the back and the result was that we did not give up any shots on goal," said U-18 head coach Paul O'Donnell. "When your goalkeeper does not have to make a save, the results are always positive."
With the win, the U-18s will advance to the Region I Premier League semifinals this Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, where they will face the second-place finisher of the South Division, FC Delco (Pennsylvania). The winner of this semifinal matchup will play the very next day against the winner of the other semifinal match in the Region I Premier League Final.
On Sunday, the U-18s got right back out on the field and continued their momentum with another win, a 1-0 victory over BOM MetroStars, in the NJ State Cup quarterfinals.
The wind and overall field conditions prevented the Red Bulls U-18s from being able to establish a rhythm. However, they would finally break through in the 88th minute when Walter Hines played a through ball to Johnny Exantus, who tallied the game-winner.
Their next game in the NJ State Cup will be a semifinal clash against Arsenal Premier World Class on May 19th.
U-16 update
The Red Bulls U-16 squad lost their quarterfinal match in the NJ State Cup tournament in heartbreaking fashion, succumbing to the South Jersey Barons in the fifth round of penalty kicks.
Regulation ended in a 1-1 deadlock, and with neither team scoring in overtime, the match went to penalties. South Jersey netted all five of their spot kicks and the Red Bulls failed to convert their fifth, knocking them out of the competition.
