Orlando City-Red Bulls Preview
The New York Red Bulls put together a franchise-record home win streak last season that helped carry them into the playoffs.
The Red Bulls can match that run and boost their chances of finishing atop the Eastern Conference when they face Orlando City SC on Friday night.
New York (14-8-6) won seven in a row on its own field from Aug. 2-Oct. 11, 2014, and went on to reach the conference finals. The Red Bulls get another shot at making a postseason run after securing a team record-tying sixth consecutive berth Sunday with a 2-0 win in Portland.
The victory also pushed New York one point ahead of Columbus in the East and gave it the same point total as Vancouver in the Supporters' Shield race. The Whitecaps are on top because they have one more win than the Red Bulls.
"Being the first team to make the playoffs, is just kind of validation. It's a little bit of confidence, but it's a little bit of unfinished business because we realized that we're only one-third of the way to our goal," midfielder Dax McCarty told the team's official website. "Our goal should be to obviously win MLS Cup and now we can make a push for the Supporters' Shield. We have the playoffs locked away. We'll just take it one game at a time going forward."
New York's seventh consecutive home win in league play would be its 11th in 15 games overall.
They've outscored their last six visitors 16-3 and will face a team that's 2-8-2 in its last 12 road games. Orlando City (9-13-8) lost five in a row away from home and was mired in an 0-6-1 skid there until a 1-0 victory over Chicago on Saturday, its second straight win overall.
Bryan Rochez scored in the 86th minute - his second goal in as many games - to keep his team within four points of a playoff spot in the East.
Orlando City's latest two road wins have come against the last-place Fire, though, and New York won 2-0 at Orlando on July 18, one of Luis Robles' five shutouts in his past 10 games.
"This weekend is going to go a long way to deciding (the playoff fate) so it's a big game for us," coach Adrian Heath told his team's official website. "A mediocre performance won't be good enough. We're going to have to give one of our best performances of the season to get a result at Red Bull Arena."
Orlando City star midfielder Kaka is expected to play Friday after missing three straight contests. His latest cause for absence is an ailing leg, an injury he sustained while with the Brazilian national team.