New York Red Bulls II get 2016 USL Cup final re-match for 2019 home opener

Remember the 2016 USL Cup Final? Ryan Meara, Aaron Long, Derrick Etienne, Tyler Adams, Ben Mines, Florian Valot, and Vincent Bezecourt surely do - since they all played in the 5-1 win over Swope Park Rangers that capped an incredible season for New York Red Bulls II. And the match included one magnificent slapstick goal that should never leave the memory of anyone who witnessed it.

It’s possible that one or two from the II-team’s USL Cup winning roster might feature for NYRB II on March 9, 2019, when the team plays the first home game of it latest USL campaign - against Swope Park Rangers.

The match-up doesn’t just bring back welcome memories of a special night in October 2016, it also helps to highlight yet another shift in the USL competition format: this year’s shuffling of teams in the league has seen SPR moved over to the Eastern Conference after three pretty good seasons in the West (the team was the USL Cup runner-up in 2016 and 2017, and had a solid run to the Conference semifinals in the 2018 USL playoffs).

New York Red Bulls II (mostly) play home games at Montclair State University’s Soccer Park. Look for individual game tickets to go on sale via the club’s website in January.