RECAP New York Red Bulls II fall to the Richmond Kickers, 4-2

New York Red Bulls II (3-5-3) dropped an away match to the Richmond Kickers, 4-2. Richmond got on the board in the 14th minute after Brian Ownby scored a goal off a corner kick. Derrick Etienne's cross drew a penalty in the 31st minute, but Kickers goalkeeper Ryan Taylor made three consecutive saves to deny the Baby Bulls. The Kickers followed up with a goal 6 minutes later from Jason Yeisley. They scored their third in the 39th minute as Eli Garner set up George Davis IV.

The Red Bulls got on the board in the 48th minute thanks to a goal from Academy player Derrick Etienne, but we'll get to that later. The Kickers put the match away in the 68th minute after Davis IV converted a penalty. Chris Tsonis added a consolation goal, finishing the rebound after his initial penalty shot was saved.

Tsonis gets his first goal

Chris Tsonis became the first player with a USL contract to score for NYRB II. His initial effort on a penalty was blocked, but the rebound fell to him and he blasted the ball into the net. This will be the first of many goals for him. He gets a lot of opportunities and has scored at virtually every other level of his career. He will score here. Just needed one to open the floodgates.

Derrick Etienne?

Derrick Etienne. Derrick Etienne. Derrick Etienne. Derrick Etienne. Derick Etienne. Derick Etienne. Erick Detienne. Derrick Etienne. Etienne Derrick. Derrick Etienne. Derrick Etienne. Derick Etienne. Derrick Etienne. Enneite Kcirred.

Did you hear? Derrick Etienne scored another goal. This time he dribbled down the endline and blasted the ball into the net at a nearly impossible angle. You know, ho-hum. Boring stuff from the youngster.

He is committed to attend the University of Virginia beginning next fall.

Lack of MLS players in center of defense

Karl Ouimette, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, and Anthony Wallace are (presumably) with the MLS squad in Seattle and it showed. The USL defenders are not up to snuff, although they were going up a very potent attack in the Richmond Kickers. This is about development, and obviously everyone is really young, so there are going to be hiccups like there were today.

Personally, I'd rather these players get chances and make mistakes when the MLS players aren't present because it will have a positive impact on their careers. Fans always would bemoan the lack of match experience for players on the bench (or in the reserves), and now they're getting it. This is how it goes. We don't care about wins and losses, merely that perhaps a couple of these players will contribute to the MLS squad at some point down the road.

Other thoughts

- I'd like to see more out of Castano. Not really much to elaborate on there, but if you're watching these games, you know what I mean.

- There are probably a lot of typos in this post. I'm a bit off today and my eyes are starting to get that weird feeling where I've been staring at a computer screen for too long. Forgive me.

- Seriously, Derrick Etienne.

- The chicken wings I had didn't come with blue cheese dressing. I need that dressing.

- Bedoya played well. He pulled off some nifty moves.

- Being unable to finish on three straight shots on that sequence with the missed penalty shot was a pretty good indicator for how the rest of the match would go.

New York Red Bulls II travel to Montreal to play FC Montreal on Saturday, June 6th.

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Lineups (via the New York Red Bulls)

NY: Santiago Castano*, Shawn McClaws* (Colin Heffron, 63'), Konrad Plewa, Mike da Fonte (Bolu Akinyode, 76'), James Thomas, Tyler Adams, Leo Stolz*, Dan Bedoya, Manolo Sanchez* (Alex Clay, 69'), Juan Sebastian Sanchez** (Chris Tsonis, 59'), Derrick Etienne**

Unused subs: Rafael Diaz, Franklin Castellanos

* -- MLS player on loan, ** -- RB Academy players on amateur agreement

RIC: Ryan Taylor, Braeden Troyer, William Yomby, Hugh Roberts, Stephen Basso, Owusu Sekyere, Samuel Asante, Jason Yeisley (Nate Shiffman, 46'), George Davis IV, Brian Ownby (Matthew Delicate, 40'), Eli Garner (Rickey Burker, 89')

Subs: Romig, Lee, Oldham, Callahan