New York Red Bulls vs. Colorado Rapids | MLS Match Preview

MLSsoccer staff

NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. COLORADO RAPIDS
RED BULL ARENA, Harrison, N.J.
April 29, 2015 (WEEK 9, MLS Game #75)
7:30 p.m. ET (MLS LIVE, MSG, Altitude)

The New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids will kick off Week 9 of the 2015 MLS season on Wednesday when Pablo Mastroeni and Co. travel to Harrison to take on the Eastern Conference power at Red Bull Arena. New York are the lone remaining unbeaten team in MLS, having moved their record to 3-0-3 after drawing the LA Galaxy 1-1 at home on Sunday. After going winless – and goalless – in their first four matches of the year, Colorado have responded decently in their last three games, posting a 1-1-1 record and scoring six times.

DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)

REFEREE: Mark Geiger. AR1 (bench): Greg Barkey; AR2 (opposite): Brian Dunn; 4th: Alex Chilowicz
Geiger MLS Career: 133 games; FC/gm: 26.7; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 32; pens: 42

SUSPENDED: COL: Marcelo Sarvas (through 4/29)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: NYR: Damian Perrinelle
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: none
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (38 meetings): Red Bulls 15 wins (0 shootout), 58 goals … Rapids 17 wins (0 shootout), 58 goals … Ties 6
AT RED BULLS (19 meetings): Red Bulls 9 wins, 40 goals … Rapids 7 wins, 29 goals … Ties 3

The Red Bulls set a club record for longest unbeaten streak to start a season on Sunday, breaking the five-game unbeaten run achieved at the start of the 2007 season, with a 1-1 draw against LA on Sunday to move to 3-0-3 on the year. While they stayed unbeaten, the Red Bulls fell out of first in the East with the result, slipping behind weekend winners New England Revolution and D.C. United.
Felipe scored his first goal in a Red Bulls uniform on Sunday, fortuitously getting on the end of a deflected ball in the box and heading a close-range effort home to tie the game in the 58th minute. Felipe was acquired by New York this offseason in a trade with Montreal that reunited the Brazilian midfielder with first-year Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch, whom he played under when Marsch coached the Impact in 2012.
The Rapids bounced back from a 3-1 home defeat to Seattle with a 1-1 draw against Dallas in their last match, getting a second-half equalizer from midfielder Nick LaBrocca to earn a point at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Friday. While Colorado picked up a result, they weren't entirely thrilled with their performance, which saw the Rapids hold a man advantage for the final 30 minutes after Dallas forward Blas Perez was ejected in the 59th minute.
The sides drew their lone meeting against each other last season, playing to a 1-1 tie at Red Bull Arena on March 15, 2014. Thierry Henry opened the scoring, giving the Red Bulls a 57th-minute lead before Rapids attacker Vicente Sanchez equalized with a 72nd-minute penalty kick.
The Rapids have never won at Red Bull Arena, posting a 2-0-2 record in four regular-season contests at New York.