Amid much turnover from last year's MLS NEXT Pro Cup capture, Red Bull New York II have a chance to go back-to-back.
First-year head coach Dominik Wohlert has led the Baby Bulls to a 13W-10L-5T (2 SOW) record, which landed them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference power struggle.Â
Hosting for the last time this season, RBNY II get to run back a stunning Decision Day loss to Huntsville City FC (5 PM ET | MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball).Â
Here's a closer look at how the defending champs arrived at Sunday's showdown.
Season series
RNBY II's Decision Day clash with Huntsville City was their only meeting all year. Newcomer loanee Pedro Castro fired in a golazo to make things interesting toward the end of the 2-1 defeat.
Player spotlight
The breakout year of 18-year-old striker Christian Gallagher has been one of the headlines of RBNY II's season. He leads the team in scoring with 9g/2a. Starting the year as an Academy standout, Gallagher went professional in July and has been efficient with a team-leading 0,96 G/90 in his 843 minutes in the regular season.Â
Also jumping up from the RBNY Academy this year, 18-year-old winger Dennis Nelich. After signing his RBNY II contract in June, Nelich was rewarded with his MLS debut and inked a first-team homegrown contract earlier this month. His 7g/6a leads RBNY II in production and, if available, will be one to watch on Sunday.Â
Noted commodity, 19-year-old midfielder and team captain Nate Worth. He's added 2g/4a this year while being a box-to-box maestro. Also coming off a recent MLS debut, Worth's star continues to rise.
Road from here
Sunday's winner will have to wait for Eastern Conference quarterfinal action to play out Oct. 16-18 and will be subject to the highest remaining seed's pick-your-opponent selection.
