The Red Bull U-16 team is following in the winning footsteps of the New York Red Bulls First team. The U-16 team is now 3-1-0 in the Super-Y-League after defeating the New York Rough Riders 2-0 in their last game.
The U-16s struck quickly thanks to a great play by captain Dragan Naumoski in the 10th minute of the game. Naumoski intercepted a Rough Riders' pass 40 yards out and lofted a pass over the defense into the path of teammate Joey Spivack. Spivack was able to corral the pass and send a powerful volley that beat the Rough Riders goalie to the inside post.
The defense made up of Jason Rosenzweig, Sacir Hot, Emmo Lawrence, and Kevin Finnegan played extremely tough allowing very few looks for the Rough Riders and the U-16s to lead at halftime.
It was déjà vu in the second half for the Red Bulls U-16s as they again struck early into the half. Five minutes into the second half, Franco Gamero was able to win a ball away from a Rough Rider defender and slip a pass to Marijan Jurac. After receiving the pass Jurac was able to one-touch a shot from the penalty area and extend the lead to 2-0.
"We worked hard to keep the shutout and we're pleased to get three points from a very good team," midfielder Giorgi Chirgadze said.
The defense again allowed very few chances for the Rough Riders to cut into the U-16s lead in the second half.
"It was a very good effort from both sides of the ball. We defended well as a team and we had good ideas going forward in attack," coach Stan Lembryk said.
U-15 Update
The Red Bulls U-15 battled top tier competition and the weather to rise to second in the USL Super-Y League standings in their last two games.
The U-15s challenged the South Jersey Barons for the league's best record on May 30th. They were able to draw 2-2 against the Barons thanks to goals from Beau Gordon and Alejandro Gallego.
The Barons struck first in the 20th minute after missing two great chances in the first five minutes of the match. The Red Bulls bounced back quickly however, as one minute later Gordon found the back of the net.
The Barons came out possessed in the second half controlling most of the possession before taking a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute. But New York proved to be persistent as Gallego struck in injury time to tie the game at two.
The Red Bulls U-15 hit the road and traveled to Palmyra, PA to take on the City Islanders Academy, where the temperature was a very humid 88 degrees. The U-15s were able to fight off the heat and an aggressive City Islanders team to come home with a 3-0 victory.
Paul Trisuzzi started the scoring off for the U-15s off a penalty kick in the first half. The penalty kick was set up when a diagonal pass found Gordon behind the defense where he was fouled inside the penalty area.
"I'm happy for the players that had the opportunity to play today. It is not easy to step into an away game for the first time and play well," coach Antonio Meza said. "They responded to the expectations."
The U-15s refused to play lackadaisical in the second half as they continued to control the tempo of the game and strike two more times. Mamade Dukuly and Vincent Simeone were able to capitalize on counter attacks giving the U-15s a 3-0 decision.
