skip navigation

NYRBII’s Title Campaign One for Record Books

By CHARLIE CORR - charlie.corr@uslsoccer.com, 10/24/16, 11:30AM EDT

Share

Dominant regular season carried into 2016 USL Cup Final, Presented by Nike


Photo courtesy of New York Red Bulls II

Any team goes into a postseason saying that the team’s records and accolades from the regular season do not carry weight into a playoff format. It is a new season and a far different set of circumstances.

The New York Red Bulls II had one of the best regular-season resumes in USL history, and their form simply carried over into the USL Cup Playoffs.

On Sunday, NYRBII took it one step further with the most lopsided victory in the USL Cup Final, Presented by Nike. The Red Bulls II offense erupted for a 5-1 win against the Swope Park Rangers on Sunday at Red Bull Arena.

New York was the heavy favorite heading into the USL Cup Playoffs, especially having posted a number of USL records on the offensive end. NYRBII set a new mark in wins (21), goals scored (61) and points (69), while the defense posted 16 clean sheets, one shy of the USL record of 17 set by the Rochester Rhinos in 2015.

Rather than ignore those numbers, New York added to them for the playoffs and championship.

New York’s four-goal win Sunday eclipsed the previous championship high of a three-goal margin set by Orlando City SC, a 7-4 win against the Charlotte Eagles during the 2013 USL Cup Final on Sept. 7.

NYRBII striker Brandon Allen, a finalist for 2016 USL MVP and the 2016 USL Cup Final MVP, tallied three goals to lead the way Sunday. That gave Allen six goals for the postseason, shattering the previous single-season postseason record of four goals shared by Orlando City SC teammates Dennis Chin and Dom Dwyer and the Charlotte Eagles’ Christian Ramirez during the 2013 season. Allen also joined Dwyer as the only two players to record a hat trick in the USL Cup Final.

The lopsided score against Swope Park also stood out because of how strong the Rangers’ defense had been in recent months. SPR goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas had been a perfect 8-0-0 in USL play since taking over the starting slot but suffered his first loss Sunday.

The Swope Park center back duo of Omar Ballo and Amer Didic was unbeaten in 15 games (13-0-2) heading into the final when the two have started alongside each other. New York handed them their worst defeat of the season. Swope Park’s five goals conceded broke the previous mark of four during a 4-1 loss at Rio Grande Valley FC on May 21.

Opta Debut: The USL Cup Final marked the first match utilizing Opta’s statistical data. The USL and Opta recently announced a three-year partnership.

Among some of the data from Sunday’s matchup, the Red Bulls II held the possession advantage over Swope Park at 52.3 percent.

NYRBII’s passing accuracy was 66.1 percent compared to the Rangers’ 63.9 percent. New York’s crossing accuracy was 21.4 percent versus Swope Park’s 18.2 percent. In total, New York made 439 passes and Swope Park had 391.

NYRBII’s shooting accuracy was at 70 percent while Swope Park’s was 6.7 percent.

The Rangers did hold the advantage in several categories, such as their tackling accuracy – 73.3 percent versus NYRBII’s 50 percent. They also had a 15-10 shots advantage overall – an 8-7 edge over NYRBII in shots inside the box and a 7-3 advantage for shots outside the box.