HARRISON, N.J. – Connor Lade could not have asked for a much better New York Red Bulls return.
Summoned suddenly from his loan to the New York Cosmos to help the Red Bulls in their CONCACAF Champions League finale, Lade came up with a timely goal to prevent the MLS club from falling to the Montreal Impact in a mostly meaningless 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
Montreal – which had already won Group 5 prior to the match – looked to be on the brink of moving to a perfect 4-0-0 in the competition after Jack McInerney netted in the 71st minute. But Lade found himself in the right place at the right time on a set piece and pushed home a headed Armando pass six minutes before the final whistle to save the reserve-filled Red Bulls from defeat.
Lade’s goal was his first at Red Bull Arena, and comes in a year in which he experienced some difficulties in terms of finding competitive minutes with the Red Bulls before moving on loan to the Cosmos to find consistent playing time in July.
“It was a great feeling,” said Lade, who was told prior to the match that he’d be going up for set pieces despite his lack of size. “It was a rough start to the year just trying to break into the team and work through everything. Then, I had a good experience with the Cosmos and coming back for this game I just wanted to prove what I could do and I’m just proud to get the goal.”
The goal may have been the highlight of the 24-year-old’s night, but his overall performance as a central midfielder was solid and drew a positive review from head coach Mike Petke.
Indeed, Lade looked sharper on Wednesday than he had for much of the year with the Red Bulls. He connected on passes, circulated the ball quickly, showed off his trademark high motor, and, of course, scored the late equalizer.
“You always know what you’re going to get from Connor,” said goalkeeper Ryan Meara. “He’s going to be one of the hardest-working guys on the field every game and he’s small and feisty, he’s all over the place, tackling, winning headers. For me, I always liked playing with him. He brings a lot of energy and especially tonight he was really like the engine of our team.”
While there was no denying that Lade enjoyed a successful return, a negative development came from it. Lade said after the game that the Cosmos ended his loan after being frustrated with the way the Red Bulls reneged on their promise to leave him at the NASL club for the remainder of the year.
Lade will now finish out the season on the west side of the Hudson River, and will have to break into the Red Bulls’ established rotation of players during the final week of the season and playoffs if he wishes to see the field again in 2014.
It’s a good thing for him then that he helped his cause with an opportune goal on Wednesday.
“You never know,” said Lade of carving out a regular role down the stretch. “You just want to go out there and put a good effort and show them what you can do. It was definitely good to be back out there with the guys.”
