Led by goals from Matt Kassel, Walter Hines and Michael Okai, the Red Bulls U-18 squad defeated the Rochester Junior Rhinos, 3-0, on Friday at the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I National Championships in Portland, ME.
Kassel got the scoring going in the 19th minute. Midfielder John Tardy was able to flick the ball through to Hines and the forward laid it off to Kassel, who blasted it into the back of the net.
Six minutes later, the Hines-Kassel combination struck again. Jay Fartura played a diagonal ball to Kassel, who was streaking down the right wing. Hines was able to knock in Kassel's ensuing cross.
"Matt Kassel was superb," said U-18 head coach Paul O'Donnell. "He was definitely the man of the match today. At the start of the game, we had him at the center of the pitch and he wasn't as effective there. But we moved him out wide and he was able to get into the flow of the game well."
Michael Okai made it 3-0 20 minutes after the break after Tardy made a sensational run into the box before laying it off for the tap-in.
The Red Bulls defense posted their second-straight shutout and stayed strong throughout the match. Rochester's best chance came in the 83rd minute when they earned a penalty kick. However, Red Bulls goalkeeper Conrad Rusnak was able to parry the attempt away.
"Getting that shutout was important for us mentally," O'Donnell said. "Even though it was a questionable PK, with the fact that we got a shutout, we're really putting it together defensively in terms of shutting other teams down. If we keep on doing that, we have a shot of winning the whole thing."
The Red Bulls' next match is against Maryland's Baltimore Bays 89 at 3 PM on Saturday. The Bays defeated Rhode Island's Bayside United, 3-0 on Friday and are tied with the Red Bulls for first place in Group A.
The winner of the Region 1 tournament will join three other teams in the final four for the National Championship, which will take place at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX.
