Harrison, N.J.—At the 65th minute, with no substitutes remaining, it looked like the Red Bulls would remain winless on the young season. That’s when Alex, the Houston Dynamo’s Brazilian central midfielder, beat Luis Robles from distance to put the Houston Dynamo up 3-2.
But the Red Bulls had a Brazilian central midfielder of their own, one who had been working on his shot: Felipe.
“I know that’s a part of [my game] that I needed to do better this year, because I always look at myself to see what I need to improve,” he said Saturday night after the Red Bulls’ stunning 4-3 comeback at home.
The strikes from Felipe – a beautiful curler in the 77th minute and booming free kick in the 83rd – rescued the Red Bulls on an evening marked by injuries and free-flowing play.
After the match, Felipe thanked teammate Sacha Kljestan, who scored the team’s first goal of the season in the 22nd minute, for allowing him to take the match-winning free kick.
“We were supposed to do a little play that we work on during the week,” Felipe said. “But I said, ‘No, guys, I’m feeling it. I’m going to score.’ And they believed in me. They trust me and I was happy. But this is for my teammates. This is for everybody. This is for my family. I wouldn’t do anything without them.”
Red Bulls head coach Jesse March said that, at halftime, Felipe knew he needed to step up: “The two guys on our team that have, like, grit and competitive edge are Dax [McCarty] and Felipe. The fact that those two guys are in the middle of the midfield for us; that makes our team in many ways because they’re just so gritty, and they don’t ever want to lose. And I see it every day in training. Some days I have to calm them down. But that’s what makes them special. And that’s, frankly, what we need.”
