HARRISON, N.J. ( May 4, 2025) - New York Red Bulls II (4-1-2, 15 pts.) defeated Carolina Core FC (1-3-4 9 pts.) in a penalty kick shootout 7-6 on Sunday night at MSU Soccer Park.
New York opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Defender Matthew Dos Santos whipped in a corner kick onto the six-yard box that was deflected by defender Brooklyn Schwarz and fell to midfielder Rafael Mosquera who volleyed it into the bottom left corner.
Late in stoppage time in the first half a red card was issued to Carolina forward David Polanco for a tackle on midfielder Adri Mehmeti.
Carolina evened the match in the 51st minute as midfielder Facundo Canete headed a corner kick from defender Paul Leonardi into the back of the net.
Red Bulls II earned the lead again in the 75th minute. Mosquera split two defenders with a dribble and crossed the ball onto the six-yard box to midfielder Dennis Nelich who placed a shot into the bottom right corner.
Carolina was awarded a penalty kick late in the 90+6th minute. Canete’s initial attempt was saved by goalkeeper Aidan Stokes, but the midfielder converted the rebound to even the match.
The match moved to a 10-round penalty kick shootout thriller. Stokes stood out making three saves and converted the shootout winning goal. Kasule, Mosquera, Nelich, Schwarz, Caio Ramalho, and Juan Gutierrez also converted on their attempts. Red Bulls II won the shootout 7-6 to earn two points.
Nelich made his second appearance with the team and scored his first career MLS NEXT Pro goal.
Mosquera scored his second goal of the season and sixth of his career. He also tallied his first assist of the season.
Ramalho made his MLS NEXT Pro debut, subbing into the match in the 86th minute.
Kasule surpassed Andrew Tinari for 10th most minutes played in club history.
Following Sunday’s match, New York will travel to Belson Stadium on May 9 to face Hudson River Derby rivals NYCFC II. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET with coverage on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass.
