The New York Red Bulls maintained their case for the 2018 Supporters' Shield and broke a longstanding run of poor form in Northern California, as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday at Avaya Stadium.
The Red Bulls won in San Jose for the first time since 2003, while keeping the deficit in the Shield race to just one point, behind leaders Atlanta United.
The Red Bulls pushed the tempo early, even while being on the road, and they found their breakthrough just before the half-hour mark, as Alex Muyl pushed a ball just over the line at the far post to open the scoring. Mere moments later, Bradley Wright-Phillips doubled the lead, following up on a shot off the post on a free kick with a finish from a very narrow angle, just in front of the endline.
The Red Bulls extended their advantage early in the second half, as a corner kick was flicked on by Tim Parker to his center back partner Aaron Long, who headed the ball into the goal to make it 3-0.
While the outcome was out of reach for San Jose, there was a late silver lining, as Chris Wondolowski came off the bench and scored a late goal, No. 144 in his MLS regular season career, just one behind the all-time record of 145 held by Landon Donovan.
Goals
- 29' – RBNY – Alex Muyl | WATCH
- 32' – RBNY – Bradley Wright-Phillips | WATCH
- 50' – RBNY – Aaron Long | WATCH
- 83' – SJ – Chris Wondolowski | WATCH
Three Things
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Long's goal was either a well-worked play from training or some kind of telepathy between the central defensive partners.
Next Up
- SJ: Sunday, October 21 vs. Colorado Rapids (5 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
- RBNY: Sunday, October 21 at Philadelphia Union (3 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
