New York City FC II finally got to play their home opener and they beat Red Bull New York II at Belson Stadium in Jamaica, Queens, prevailing 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regulation.
It's a second straight draw to open the season for NYCFC II after they played to a 0-0 then lost the shootout, 4-5, while facing Columbus Crew 2 in Ohio on March 8th, though this time they gain an extra point because of their penalty-kick success.
Tomás Romero, the No 2 goalkeeper on the New York City FC depth chart at MLS level behind Matt Freese, provided some of that PK success as he came up huge while getting the start at MLS Next Pro level. Romero stopped two different Red Bull penalty takers to earn NYCFC II that extra point as shootout winners, making four total saves on the afternoon.
No keeper could stop the strike from Red Bull midfielder Rafael Mosquera that drew the match level in the 21st minute, a perfectly-curled effort into the top corner of Romero's goal that wiped out a fifth-minute goal from New York City FC Homegrown striker Seymour Reid.
Reid's goal, via @newyorkcityfcii
The Reid goal came from a transition moment, with recently-signed 2026 MLS SuperDraft selection Kevin Pierre forcing a turnover after applying some timely on-ball pressure while the Red Bulls were still trying to navigate out of their half of the field.
Máximo Carrizo gained possession after the Pierre intervention and smoothly played Reid in on goal, with the 18-year-old Jamaica international making no mistake while perfectly placing his shot past RBNY II goalkeeper Tobias Szewczyk.
After the early goal from Reid, the Baby Bulls were worth their eventual equalizer, enjoying more possession and momentum throughout the full remainder of the match. Red Bull II attempted 16 shots and put five on target, though NYCFC proved up to the task defensively and in goal en route to the win on penalties.
The Tomás Romero saves helped NYCFC II win the shootout, not the first time the goalkeeper originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, played the hero for the IIs while beating Red Bull II. Romero pulled off something similar when NYCFC II beat RBNY II during the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, with Romero making a penalty-kick save to deny the Red Bulls' current starting MLS striker, Julian Hall, from what would have been a late equalizer.
The win for NYCFC II means they take the slimmest of advantages in the all-time head-to-head of the MLS Next Pro version of the Hudson River Derby. NYCFC II now has six wins (five in regulation, one in penalties) and five losses (four in regulation, one in penalties) all-time when playing Red Bull New York II, the reigning MLS Next Pro Champions from the 2025 season.
IIs go heavy on First Team players
Romero, Reid, Carrizo, and Pierre were four of the 10 players in the NYCFC II starting lineup who are under contract with the full MLS squad, not the Next Pro team.
Sebastiano Musu stood alone as the only true NYCFC II player out there in the Pigeon Kit at kickoff. Jonny Shore started and played 78 minutes in the midfield one day after playing the final minute plus stoppage time of NYCFC's 3-1 win over Colorado Rapids at Yankee Stadium. According to Sofascore, Shore made 10 defensive contributions, tied for second-most among NYCFC II players.
Shore stood out, as did some other members of the NYCFC First Team while getting their minutes in MLS Next Pro. Fullback Nico Cavallo converted the decisive penalty kick to earn NYCFC II the shootout win, and like Shore, he had 10 defensive contributions.
Through four matches, Pascal Jansen has kept his MLS squad mostly unchanged and has only given his substitutes on average 13 minutes per appearance, the third-lowest minutes per substitution of any team in MLS at this early stage of the season, according to FBref.com.
Opportunities at MLS level have been fleeting or not there so far for this group of young First Team players who got the start for NYCFC II, so the chance to play and impress in the Next Pro version of the Hudson River Derby had to be a welcome one.
Shifting schedule for the Pigeons
NYCFC II was meant to play their season opener and home opener on the same day, but their February 28th match with Carolina Core FC got postponed due to lingering snowy conditions at Belson Stadium following the massive winter storm that hit New York City on February 22nd.
Thus the derby against Red Bull II became NYCFC II's home opener, though even this fixture was victim of some slight rescheduling. Kickoff was originally scheduled for after dark at 7:00 pm, but instead got bumped up to 4:15 pm, by way of an announcement on March 13th.
The wait proved worth it for NYCFC II as they got to celebrate beating their cross-river rivals, and now get to come right back in a few days and play at Belson Stadium yet again, as they'll host Toronto FC II on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 pm ET over in Jamaica, Queens.
After they play TFC II, NYCFC II won't be in action again until April 12, when they travel back to the midwest to play FC Cincinnati 2 at NKU Soccer Stadium on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. The next time they host the Baby Red Bulls, it will be at Icahn Stadium on the night of Tuesday, September 8th, one of seven NYCFC II matches scheduled for Randall's Island later this summer.
