The New York Red Bulls make their long awaited return to action at Red Bull Arena against D.C. United on Sunday, March 22. This is the first of three regular season meetings with United.
Coverage for Sunday’s home opener in Harrison, N.J., begins at 5 p.m. EDT (TV: ESPN2).
Here are some numbers to know ahead of the Red Bulls’ home opener.
- 3-1-1 – The Red Bulls are 3-1-1 in their last five regular season matches versus D.C. United at Red Bull Arena. The last time D.C. left Harrison with a victory during the regular season was July 9, 2011.
- 11-3-5 – New York boasts an 11-3-5 all-time record in home opening matches. Of these 19 matches, three were against D.C. United. The Red Bulls are undefeated (2-0-1) in those home openers.
- 33 – Dane Richards returns to Red Bull Arena after more than 33 months since his last home game as a Red Bull. Richards ranks highly in numerous all-time club record categories including 2nd all-time in games played (147), games started (132) and minutes (11699), 3rd in game-winning assists (9), 4th in assists (26), 5th in game-winning goals (8) and tied for 9th in goals (21).
- 34 – Lloyd Sam has started 34 consecutive regular season matches dating back to the 2013 season. Against D.C., the Red Bulls are undefeated (3-0-0), including MLS Cup Playoffs, when Sam is on the score sheet with either a goal or an assist. In the last regular season matchup between the Atlantic Cup rivals, Sam scored a 90th minute goal to break United hearts. He also supplied the game-winning assist in the first-leg of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.
- 66 – Sunday, March 22 marks the 66th instalment of the New York-D.C. rivalry in its 20 year history. United leads the all-time regular season series (23-33-9), but the series is split in games played at Giants Stadium/Red Bull Arena (13-13-5).
