Shutting Out Red Bulls ‘Nothing Incredibly Difficult’

The New York Red Bulls, a 13-year-old Major League Soccer franchise, has yet to win a title. On Tuesday, they lost to a second-year United Soccer Leagues Division II team, Crystal Palace Baltimore, in round three of the U.S. Open Cup. It wasn’t even close, with the senior side losing by two goals, despite having a man advantage for the best part of an hour.
 
“To be honest, without sounding too confident, it [the win] doesn’t surprise me,” Baltimore co-coach Jim Cherneski said. “We have a very good team. We hit the post twice. We missed two wide-open opportunities in front of the net. To be honest, it should have been 4-0, and we were playing a man short.”
 
NY’s veteran goalkeeper Zach Thornton was out-performed by his opposite number, Matt Nelson, who made seven saves as New York failed to take advantage of a red card to Baltimore captain Ibrahim Kante just past the half-hour mark. “The guys in front of me were just able to absorb the pressure really well,” said Nelson. “I made some saves, but to be honest, they were nothing incredibly difficult.” Palace is on the road to New England for next week’s quarterfinal.