HARRISON, N.J. – As much as the New York Red Bulls II had accomplished going into Sunday night’s 2016 USL Cup Final, Presented by Nike, particularly holding their nerve in consecutive penalty shootouts to earn the Eastern Conference Championship, the team entered the game focused on winning its final  game of the season.

“Being crowned Eastern Conference Champions, we knew the job wasn't done yet,” said midfielder Tyler Adams after Sunday’s victory. “We came here with a job to put down and everybody put their shift in and we just happened to win. It was a great performance by Swope Park as well, obviously they had a really good run, unfortunate not to come out here and win today but I'm happy for our team and happy for the organization.”

Adams – the No. 5 selection on the USL 20 Under 20 this summer – provided the fulcrum for the Red Bulls II’s midfield in the side’s 5-1 victory against the Swope Park Rangers, winning possession consistently throughout the game, and distributing crisply as New York swept forward in droves for much of the first half. As the club’s first signing in 2015, the 17-year-old Adams said the victory was a testament to the drive the squad had throughout the season, as regular lineup changes didn’t pull the side off course in its pursuit of victories.

“There's a lot of different pieces but I think everybody had the work ethic this year and believed in what they had to do and the philosophy the coaches put into place,” Adams said. “The high pressing, hard-working and everybody has to put their job in, and if you don't put your job in and there's one weak link, then the job isn't going to get done.”

If Adams and midfield partner Dan Metzger were the keys in the midfield, as both made life very difficult for their Swope Park counterparts, the attacking group including Cup Final Most Valuable Player Brandon Allen, Vincent Bezecourt and Derrick Etienne Jr. put in another outstanding performance in attack. All three players found the net, with Etienne’s opening goal of the game an illustration of the type of attention that has helped elevate his performance since being an Academy signing for the side last year.

“I've been working with Chris Armas lately on starting the ball outside the goal and curling it back in,” Etienne said. “I was able to get a quick touch out to the side and I was able to bury it.”

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Etienne’s goal and assist saw him follow in the footsteps of his father, Derrick Etienne Sr., who claimed a USL D-3 Pro League championship in 2002 with the Long Island Rough Riders as he notched the game-winning goal that night. For the younger Etienne – who took the No. 3 spot in the USL 20 Under 20 this year – creating a perfect ending to a historic season was ideal.

“It feels great, we worked really hard to get here, and to put up a performance like that, to go out there and win the game is an amazing feeling,” said Etienne. “I'm happy for the club, happy for ourselves, happy for myself.”