The Red Bulls’ 13-year playoff run looked set to end Saturday night at Nashville SC, only for Luquinhas to have John Tolkin’s 94th-minute penalty saved for a 1-0 win. Other results went the way of RBNY and they have now achieved 14 consecutive seasons – an MLS record and tops (actively) in every major professional men’s sports league in North America.
Head coach Troy Lesesne’s squad is in fine form, going 4W-1L-2D to end the regular season and doing just enough to sneak into the playoffs. But Lesesne, who took over in May after the departure of Gerhard Struber, is announcing that the time trial is not enough. RBNY, an original MLS club (then known as the MetroStars), has yet to win the MLS Cup.
New York will hope their Carlos Coronel defense (39 goals against = 5th best in MLS) continues to find shutdown mode. Their 36 goals are the fewest of any team in the East playoffs, with Frankie Amaya and Omir Fernandez both contributing 10 goals for the team.