A thrilling semifinal match came down to late heroics, as the Red Bulls U-14s emerged victorious on Monday. After drawing 1-1 in regular time, they defeated the Santa Cruz County Breakers in penalty kicks and punched their ticket into the USL Super Y-League Final, where they will face the Chicago Magic at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.
Elsewhere, the U-15s and U-17s ended their tournaments on high notes with both teams recording wins in their respective consolation matches. After four days of play, the Red Bulls squads were a combined 9-2-1 in this year's competition.
Red Bulls U-14s 1, Santa Cruz County Breakers, 1 (RBNY wins 4-3 in penalty kicks)
After giving up the first goal, the Red Bulls U-14s fought tooth and nail to get back into the contest and it wasn't until the last minute in which they struck.
Moments before the final whistle, a dangerous New York cross into the penalty box that the Santa Cruz goalkeeper could not get to fell to Brandon Adler, who showed poise and accuracy in slotting it into the back of the net.
In penalty kicks, the Red Bulls were able to put away the Breakers 4-3, earning a spot in the finals.
"It was a good result," said Red Bulls director of youth soccer and player development Giovanni Savarese. "We need to keep on improving as a team, but there were some good things that we did on the field. They showed a lot of character today and they just stuck together. It was very positive."
Next up for the Red Bulls are the Chicago Magic, who defeated the Brooklyn Knights 2-0 on Monday. Savarese said he is impressed with how poised his U-14s have been throughout the tournament, considering the fact that it's the first year that this group has been together.
"They need to keep on playing the same way, keep on improving and try to concentrate more on playing good soccer," Savarese said.
Consolation round:
Red Bulls U-15s 2, Seacoast United 1
Red Bulls U-17s 4, Pateadores 0
The Red Bulls U-15s and U-17s ended their tournaments with victories, knocking off Seacoast United and Pateadores, respectively.
In the U-15s' match, the Bulls were paced by goals from Dominick Parelli and Evans Asiamah.
"The U15s need to work on a couple of things, but they are improving and overall, their play has been very positive," Savarese said.
U-17 forward Walter Hines continued his torrid run at the championships, notching a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Pateadores. The other tally on the day was an own goal.
"He ended up scoring seven goals in four games he played," Savarese said about Hines. "Regardless of the goals, he showed some good things and showed a very high maturity level."
