TUCSON, Ariz. – Officially, the New York Red Bulls squared off with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday afternoon at the Desert Diamond Cup, hosted by the PDL’s FC Tucson at the Kino Sports Complex.

With the Red Bulls just days away from the opening leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, however, the side sported a starting lineup that looked a lot like the New York Red Bulls II side that had defeated the Swope Park Rangers last October in the 2016 USL Cup Final.

For Red Bulls II Head Coach John Wolyniec, who named a starting lineup that included Brandon Allen, Timothy Schmoll, Vincent Bezecourt and Florian Valot, the opportunity to square off with MLS opposition was a welcome one.

“Obviously it was a tough challenge, Kansas City put a good lineup out there and had their starters play 60 minutes…they’re a good team,” Wolyniec said. “But I thought for a long time our guys played really well and held the game together.”

Sporting Kansas City took a 3-0 victory in the game, which included a goal by former USL loanee Dom Dwyer and Daniel Salloi, who suited up for Swope Park last season. For the 23 players Wolyniec has at his disposal for the remainder of the club’s time in Arizona, a combination of MLS players, USL players, Academy players and trialists, the opportunity is a clear one.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for these guys,” Wolyniec told NewYorkRedBulls.com’s Chris Orihuela. “I’m trying to convey that to them as much as possible that playing against first team MLS players is a great opportunity for them.

“It’s a great place to show that you belong, or you belong in the future or that you have some promise by being able to compete and being able to stand on the field with some of the best players in MLS.”

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One of the newcomers that caught the eye was Arun Basuljevic, who signed as a Homegrown player this offseason after competing most recently for the Red Bulls U23 in the PDL and Georgetown University.

“Obviously being a young guy coming in from college early, it’s a big jump for him, but he’s starting to show that he’s making strides and showing that he belongs out there,” Wolyniec told Orihuela. “He’s a clean, technical player that can make plays.

“If we’re going to play him in that deep role in the midfield, he’s just going to have to learn a little bit about defensively being a little more aware and stuff like that, but his work rate was really good and his ability on the ball was great.”