BULLS LOOK TO TOP GALAXY:
The Red Bulls are hoping to sweep the season series against the Los Angeles Galaxy for the first time since 2004 when they host their Western Conference rival on Saturday night at Giants Stadium. Please note game time is 6:30 PM ET.
New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel's first goal of the season in the 78th minute gave the Red Bulls a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 10th at The Home Depot Center.
New York went ahead in the 21st minute when rookie Danleigh Borman scored his first career goal, knocking in a loose ball outside of the six-yard-box after Jozy Altidore's shot was blocked by goalkeeper Steve Cronin. Playing in front of a sold out crowd of 27,000, the Galaxy leveled in the 77th minute after Alan Gordon turned his defender in the penalty box and hit a left footed shot past goalkeeper Jon Conway.
However, Angel struck a minute later. Midfielder Dane Richards, making his first start of the season, made a darting 30-yard run in the middle of the field before slipping Angel through on goal. Angel controlled the ball, dribbled it around Cronin and rolled it into the net.
Meanwhile, the Red Bulls defense limited the then-highest scoring offense in the League to just one goal.
Last season, the Red Bulls won, 5-4, in front of a crowd of 66,237 at Giants Stadium. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham had a hand in three of the four goals while Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel broke a 4-4 deadlock with his second goal of the game in the 88th minute. The 66,237 fans who attended the match set a record for a MLS regular season game at Giants Stadium.
Los Angeles comes into Saturday's match on the heels of a 1-1 tie against rival Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Forward Ante Razov put the Goats ahead in the first half but Edson Buddle's 11th goal of the season in the 72nd minute gave Los Angeles a point. Buddle and Landon Donovan lead the Galaxy with 11 goals apiece while Beckham, who was named to the MLS All-Star Team, has seven assists.
RED BULLS VS. GALAXY:
The Red Bulls are 14-12-4 all-time against the Galaxy and are 4-1-1 in their last six against their Western Conference rivals. For the Red Bulls, Mamadou Diallo and Eddie Gaven are the all-time leaders in goals against the Galaxy with four apiece while former New Yorker Amado Guevara leads in assists (4), shots (26) and shots on goal (13). Recently-retired Cobi Jones leads the Galaxy in goals (7), assists (10), shots (43) and shots on goal (23).
John Wolyniec is the only Red Bull to have played for the Galaxy, as the forward spent part of the 2007 season in Los Angeles, appearing in 10 games, making eight starts and scoring one goal. He was traded from LA to New York on Aug. 17, 2006, for a fourth round SuperDraft pick in 2007 (Bobby Burling, who never appeared in a game) and a second round SuperDraft pick in 2008 (selection was Ely Allen, who has appeared and started three matches this season).
Edson Buddle is the only Galaxy player who has played for the club, as Buddle played for New York in the 2006 season, appearing in 28 games, making 24 starts, and scoring six goals while adding three assists.
WIZARDS HOLD OFF LATE BULLS RALLY:
Despite Juan Pablo Angel's third goal of the season, the New York Red Bulls fell to the Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, last Thursday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Wizards won the season series between the two teams with a 1-0-1 record.
Kansas City took the lead in the 11th minute when Jimmy Conrad connected on a Claudio Lopez corner kick. Two minutes after halftime, the Wizards doubled their lead when Davy Arnaud latched onto a Kurt Morsink through ball and put it past goalkeeper Jon Conway from 16-yards-out.
Angel pulled the Red Bulls to within one in the 71st minute when he headed home a Dane Richards cross. The Red Bulls almost equalized in the 85th minute when John Wolyniec turned in the penalty box and slammed a shot off the left post. Dave van den Bergh also forced a last-minute save on goalkeeper Kevin Hartman in second half stoppage time.
LAST WEEK:
Red Bulls 1 at Kansas City Wizards 2 on July 10 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark
THIS WEEK:
Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy on July 19 at 6:30 PM ET at Giants Stadium (TV: Fox Soccer Channel; Radio: WADO 1280 AM). Please note start time of 6:30 PM ET.
NEXT WEEK:
Red Bulls at San Jose Earthquakes on July 27 at 3:00 PM ET at Buck Shaw Stadium (TV: MSG Plus, TeleFutura; Radio: WADO 1280 AM)
FLYING BACK:
Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel made his return to the Starting XI last Thursday against the Kansas City Wizards, playing the full 90 minutes. It was Angel's first start since June 5 - a 1-0 win over Chivas USA (Angel scored the game-winner in this match). Angel scored his third goal of the season in the Red Bulls 2-1 loss to the Wizards. This performance comes after he missed almost a month due to a left hamstring strain. Angel came on in the second half of the Red Bulls' 4-0 loss to Colorado on Friday, July 4, playing 45 minutes.
Angel, who has three two goals this season, has recently been put up for a number of awards. Angel is among the six nominees for the 2008 ESPY Award for Best MLS Player, ESPN announced Thursday, July 3. Angel joins fellow nominees Luciano Emilio (D.C. United), Matt Reis (New England Revolution), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire) and the 2007 award-winner, Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy) as finalists for the annual award.
The 16th Annual ESPY Awards will take place on Wednesday, July 16, at the new Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, where Justin Timberlake will serve as the show's host. ESPN will televise the awards show on Sunday, July 20, at 9 p.m. ET.
Fans can place their votes for Angel - as well as the nominees in all 37 award categories - at ESPYS.tv or on their mobile phones. Online voting continues through Saturday, July 12, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Angel is also among the Major League Soccer players nominated for the first-ever annual "Tecate Premios Deportes" (Tecate Sports Awards) and announced by Univision, official broadcast partner of MLS.
The "Tecate Premios Deportes" awards will be presented during a celebrity-filled "red carpet" celebration at the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, and will be broadcast on the Univision Network on Sunday, July 20.
Comprised of Hispanic athletes in ten different categories, the nominees have been selected for their talent, character and perseverance, as well as their contributions to and impact on the Hispanic community. Angel has been nominated as a forward for the All-Star Team of the Year.
The "Tecate Premios Deportes" nominees were selected by a distinguished panel of current and former professional athletes and sports writers, including famed boxer and Houston Dynamo equity partner Oscar de la Hoya, legendary Mexican soccer goalie Jorge Campos, retired NFL player Tony Casillas, NFL Hall of Fame recipient Anthony Muñoz, former Mexican soccer coach Jesus Bracamontes, and Enrique Borja, legendary Mexican forward and team president of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) Tigres.
In 2007, Angel burst upon the Major League Soccer scene after signing with the Red Bulls as a Designated Player on April 17, 2007, after a successful stint with Aston Villa of the English Premier League. In 24 matches, the Colombian striker tallied 19 goals (good for second in MLS) and set new club records for goals in a season, multi-goal games (five), and goals in consecutive games (six from May 19-June 16). A two-time MLS Player of the Month (May and June) and two-time MLS Player of the Week (weeks seven and nine), Angel was a MLS Best XI selection, and was a finalist for MLS MVP and MLS Newcomer of the Year. The leading vote getter for the MLS All-Star Game, he was recognized as the match's MVP after scoring the game-winning goal against Celtic FC in MLS' 2-0 win.
OVER 40,000 TICKETS SOLD FOR GALAXY:
As of July 7, the Red Bulls have sold over 40,000 tickets for the 2008 Red Bulls- Los Angeles Galaxy game set for Saturday, July 19 at Giants Stadium at 6:30 PM ET. Last year in front of a record 66,237 fans at Giants Stadium, the Red Bulls earned a historic 5-4 win over the Galaxy. Forward Juan Pablo Angel broke a 4-4 deadlock two minutes from full time with his second goal of the match while Galaxy midfielder David Beckham tallied a pair of assists, playing the entire game.
UNPACK YOUR BAGS:
The Red Bulls just completed an eight-game span in which they played seven on the road. The Red Bulls' match against FC Dallas on Saturday, June 21 was the only home game in that stretch. The run of games included an exhibition match in Glendale, AZ against Chivas de Guadalajara on Wednesday, June 25 and a third round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday, July 1. The Red Bulls are 1-5-3 away from Giants Stadium this season and 4-1-2 at home in MLS regular season action. The Red Bulls went 2-4-2 through those eight games. The team is now home for four of its next five matches.
RICH REWARD:
Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards recorded his team-leading third assist of the season in the Red Bulls' 2-1 loss last Thursday. Richards, who came on as a substitute in the 68th minute, provided the cross for Juan Pablo Angel's goal. Kevin Goldthwaite also earned his first assist of the season on the goal.
PARKE MOVES INTO THIRD:
Defender Jeff Parke continued to move up the club's all-time games played and games started list. Parke is now third all-time with a total of 122 matches. He has also started in 116 games. Midfielder Mike Magee is fifth-place in the club's all-time annals in games played with 118. With an appearance this week, John Wolyniec will tie Tab Ramos for sixth all-time with 112.
Games Played (All-Time)
1. Mike Petke (134)
2. Tony Meola (125)
3. Jeff Parke (122)
4. Steve Jolley (120)
5. Mike Magee (118)
6. Tab Ramos (112)
7. John Wolyniec (111)
8. Amado Guevara (103)
Games Started (All-Time)
1. Mike Petke (129)
2. Tony Meola (125)
3. Jeff Parke (116)
4. Steve Jolley (112)
5. Tab Ramos (105)
IRON MEN:
While there have been many changes to the lineup over the course of the 2008 regular season, two names have always stayed constant. Goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Kevin Goldthwaite have started every one of the 16 games for the Red Bulls this season and Conway is the only New York player who has featured in every minute of every regular season game. Goldthwaite has missed just 81 minutes.
CONWAY MOVES INTO RECORD BOOK:
Jon Conway has stopped 153 shots during his tenure as a Red Bull. That total puts his one behind Jonny Walker (154) for fourth on the franchise's all-time list. Mike Ammann stands in third place with 199 saves.
Conway has stopped 153 shots in 3,663 minutes in net for the Red Bulls. Both totals put Conway over the minimum for consideration on the team's all-time goals against average (min. 3,500 minutes) and saves percentage (min. 150 saves) lists. Conway sits atop the GAA list, ranks third in save percentage, and is the fifth goalkeeper to reach the minimums.
Goals Against Average (minimum 3,500 minutes)
1. Jon Conway - 1.23
2. Jonny Walker - 1.38
3. Tim Howard - 1.46
4. Tony Meola - 1.64
5. Mike Ammann - 1.89
Save Percentage
1. Tony Meola - 72.9%
2. Tim Howard - 72.8%
3. Jon Conway - 71.5%
4. Jonny Walker - 70.6%
5. Mike Ammann - 62.8%
Saves
1. Tony Meola - 629
2. Tim Howard - 442
3. Mike Ammann - 199
4. Jonny Walker - 154
5. Jon Conway - 153
Conway is in a tie for fourth with Jonny Walker for games played in goal for New York with 42. Tony Meola leads with 125, followed by Tim Howard (85), and Mike Ammann (46).
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS ON SALE FOR GALAXY AND FC BARCELONA:
Individual tickets are on sale for all remaining Red Bulls regular league matches, including the Los Angeles Galaxy match on July 19 through Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com and the Red Bulls front office by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER. Individual tickets for the FC Barcelona match went on sale July 1 through Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com and the Red Bulls front office by calling 1.877.RBSOCCER
THE BLOG:
Get the latest in-depth and behind-the-scenes info through the New York Red Bulls' official team blog, Red Bulls Reader at:
http://www.redbullsreader.blogspot.com/
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RED BULLS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS TO TRAIN IN YOUR TOWN:
The Red Bulls, already a community relations leader among Metropolitan New York sports franchises, is now offering a unique opportunity for local communities. The club is now accepting applications to have the team hold a training session on at a local facility. This is an amazing opportunity for local communities to have a professional sports team hold a regular season training session in their town. Having MLS stars like Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Reyna, and Jon Conway participating in a full training session on a local field is a chance that should not be passed up!
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