HANOVER, N.J. ā The champagne may have been flowing in Chicago, but the New York Red Bulls arenāt expecting to endure any sort of hangover after lifting the Supportersā Shield.
At least not this time.
With the regular season now in the rear-view mirror, the Red Bulls have returned to the training pitch in preparation for the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday. And while their opponent is still unknown, New York will certainly have their work cut out for them.
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As the Supportersā Shield holders, history isnāt exactly on their side. Only twice in the past 12 seasons has the regular season champion gone on to win MLS Cup (ā08 Crew, ā11 Galaxy), and several players within this group are all too familiar with that troubling trend given their own early playoff exit after New York claimed the shield in 2013.
Two years removed, captain Dax McCarty is determined to write a new script this time around.
āWe canāt get complacent and start feeling good about ourselves because the minute we do, we can find ourselves with our season over,ā he said. āThe shield wonāt mean much if we donāt go on and win MLS Cup. We just have to make sure that we do exactly what weāve been doing all season.ā
While the playoff format has changed over the years, shield winners have continually struggled to win the leagueās ultimate prize at yearās end. This doesnāt come as much of a surprise to head coach Jesse Marsch, who has made an effort to ārefocusā his group on the task at hand.
āWe have no advantage, really,ā Marsch said of his teamās standing as shield-holders. āEven though weāve had the best season weāre really not rewarded for it until a month from now. Now we start from scratch like everyone else does and we have to fight for everything that we want to get. We just need to maintain that mentality of being hungry and not being satisfied.ā
Winning a piece of silverware has undoubtedly been a gratifying moment for a side that has fought against low outside expectations all season, but the feeling within the camp is one of a job not yet complete. The marathon of the regular season is in the books, but the all-important sprint to the finish line is only just getting started.
āWeāve turned the page,ā winger Mike Grella said after training. āWe set out from Day 1 to win [MLS Cup] and we havenāt done that yet. If we didnāt really go after it because we were still hung up on the Supportersā Shield or patting ourselves on the back, weād all be letting ourselves down and weād be kicking ourselves after itās all said and done.ā