Red Bulls, Nashville SC searching for first goals of season

Field Level Media|published: Thu 27th February, 21:12 2025

Feb 22, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Red Bulls defender Sean Nealis (15) heads the ball against FC Cincinnati forward Corey Baird (11) in the second half at TQL Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The New York Red Bulls will be honored for their surprising run to last season's MLS Cup final and hope it can spark a successful night of offense when they face Nashville SC Saturday night in their home opener in Harrison, N.J.

The Red Bulls (0-1-0, 0 points) are playing their first home game since Nov. 3, when they drew 2-2 with the Columbus Crew and won 5-4 on penalties in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. After beating Orlando City in the conference finals, they took a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in their second MLS Cup final appearance.

New York started defense of its Eastern Conference title by allowing the tiebreaking goal in the 70th minute of a 1-0 loss at FC Cincinnati.

"We had our moments," Red Bulls coach Sandro Schwarz said. "We were very active. We had good situations with the ball. We had our chances to score. We are disappointed about the result. In looking at the performance, I'm satisfied with the performance, upset about the result."

The Red Bulls were unable to score despite attempting 15 shots -- but only three were on target. Last season, the Red Bulls were 2-4-10 in games when they attempted 15 shots or more.

Nashville (0-0-1, 1 point) is coming off being shut out, but was able to earn a point with a 0-0 draw against the New England Revolution. In their home opener, Nashville SC's Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge combined for 11 of the team's 13 shot attempts while Mukhtar had a goal disallowed due to an offsides call.

Nashville has 12 new players to reshuffle a roster that amassed just 38 goals last year, second-fewest in MLS. It also played without Jacob Shaffelburg, Gaston Brugman, Patrick Yazbek and Bryan Acosta versus the Revs and those players will be out again Saturday against the Red Bulls.

"It's going to take time (to develop an identity)," Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan said. "It's always going to be a step-by-step process. I think what we saw (Saturday) was that the team had a committed attitude to doing what we wanted to do, and there were some good ideas."

--Field Level Media

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