Hot Start Propels New York Red Bulls to Comfortable 4-1 Win Over San Diego FC
October 10, 2026 Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, NJ
An explosive first-half display powered the New York Red Bulls to a comfortable 4-1 victory over San Diego FC in their first-ever meeting at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Ending a frustrating four-game home winless streak, the Red Bulls overwhelmed the visitors early, effectively putting the game out of reach before halftime.
In need of points to hold their playoff spot, the Red Bulls were pleased to have their international players back after the international break. The Red Bulls wasted no time asserting themselves on their home turf. Operating with their trademark high-tempo transition play, New York routinely bypassed San Diego’s lines to create a flurry of early opportunities.
The opening breakthrough materialized down the right flank. Jorge Ruvalcaba carved through the defense and delivered a low cross toward the back post. The 18-year-old Julian Hall easily shrugged off his marker and stuck out his left foot for a clean tap-in in the 15th minute, marking his 11th goal of the campaign. Just five minutes later, the Red Bulls struck from a set-piece. Winger Cade Cowell whipped a pinpoint corner kick directly into the heart of a congested box. Defender Devin Padelford rose above traffic and guided a thunderous header into the bottom right corner for his first career goal for New York.
New York would look for more, and in the 27th minute, midfielder Ronald Donkor picked out Jorge Ruvalcaba near the right end-line. Ruvalcaba held off his defender from a tight angle and slipped a clever strike inside the near post. San Diego had a golden opportunity to climb back into the match just before the whistle after a penalty kick was awarded. However, New York goalkeeper Ethan Horvath read Anders Dreyer's spot-kick perfectly, executing a diving stop to ensure the Red Bulls went into the locker room up 3-0.
San Diego FC, desperate to get on the scoresheet after a demoralizing first half, pushed numbers forward early. Their persistence bore fruit in the 60th minute. Operating on the front foot, San Diego strung together a precise passing sequence that unlocked the Red Bulls' backline, allowing veteran striker Cédric Bakambu to slot home a clinical finish to narrow the deficit to 3-1. Looking to avert any momentum switch, Michael Bradley turned to his substitutes to inject fresh legs into the match, inserting Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg in place of Cade Cowell and Mohammed Sofo. The adjustments helped New York regain control of the match. As the match ticked into injury time, the Red Bulls' counter-pressing structure yielded one final reward. In the 93rd minute, Matthew Dos Santos lofted a perfectly weighted, defense-splitting chip directly into the penalty box. The veteran Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap, collected the pass in stride, and calmly slotted a low right-footed shot past the rushing San Diego goalkeeper, CJ dos Santos, into the back of the net to make it 4-1 for New York.
After the match Head Coach Michael Bradley commented on few things:
On Jorge Ruvalcaba…
“He had a really good game tonight. You know, obviously scores a goal, has a really good assist. But beyond that, his work, his pressing, his understanding of how to you know of what we want from our wide attackers, that part was all really good, and yeah, it's you guys have heard me say this a bunch this year. Attacking players anywhere in the world go through go through these ebbs and flows where there are moments where the goal seems as big as the ocean, and there are other moments where the goal seems really small, and that's just that's part of it. And so you encourage Jorge, you encourage all of them to keep going, to keep doing the things that help the team, to keep doing the things that ultimately put them in good situations, in good spots over and over again. You remind them that if they miss a chance or if a ball doesn't go in, that's it's not the end of the world. You know that ultimately the ability to get more chances and push and push like the dam breaks eventually and so yeah we're really happy for Jorge and again just like I alluded to with Ethan we're going to continue to meet him in a big way as we as we move down the stretch."
On Julian Hall…
"Yeah, I said to I said to Jules after the game that it's not always easy to switch gears, you know, and especially for a young player who has experience with youth national teams, but in reality, this is the first time that he's ever done it, where you go from club football to national team, and then have to quickly change gears and get yourself back into your club and back into rhythm. And he from the beginning tonight was ready. And I honestly would even say that the way that he came right back into to training over the last few days was excellent. You could see that he was excited to be back. That he had energy and confidence from his time with the national team."
On Tim Parker making his 300th career MLS start…
"Yeah, it's an incredible achievement, you know, to be able to be as consistent as Tim has been over the years, as reliable as he's been. It speaks to who he is as a player, who he is as a person, as a leader, as a competitor. And so, in this last period, when we've needed him to be ready to start and play from the beginning, when we've needed to bring him on in games, he's been there. And so, it's a great night, a great achievement for him. And obviously, when you can take three points, it makes it even better."
Red Bull New York 4, San Diego FC 1
Scoring Summary:
NY – Julian Hall 11 (Ruvalcaba, Donkor) 15’
NY – Devin Padelford 1 (Cowell) 20’
NY – Jorge Ruvalcaba 8 (Donkor, Mehmeti) 27’
SDFC – Cédric Bakambu 2 (Dreyer, Alvarado) 60’
NY – Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 4 (Dos Santos) 90’+3’
Misconduct Summary:
SDFC – Jeppe Tverskov (caution, foul) 30’
NY – Julian Bazán (caution, foul) 42’
SDFC – Manu Duah (caution, dissent) 55’
NY – Devin Padelford (caution, dissent) 82’
SDFC – Kieran Sargeant (caution, dissent) 85’
Red Bull New York: Ethan Horvath; Devin Padelford (Matthew Dos Santos, 88’), Julián Bazán, Justin Che (Tim Parker, 61’), Dylan Nealis ©, Adri Mehmeti, Ronald Donkor (Sekou Koné, 71’), Mohammed Sofo (Emil Forsberg, 71’), Jorge Ruvalcaba (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, 81’), Cade Cowell (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, 71’), Julian Hall
Unused Subs: John McCarthy, Pedro Castro, David Ruiz
San Diego FC: CJ Dos Santos ; Kieran Sargent, Manu Duah, Ian Murphy (Christopher McVey, 61’), Oscar Verhoeven, Jeppe Tverskov © (Alejandro Alvarado, HT), Gabriel Pirani (David Mimbang, 61’), Anibal Godoy (Onni Valakari, 90’+1’, Marcus Ingvartsen (Cedric Bakambu, HT), Elias Achouri (Amahl Pellegrino, 79’), Anders Dreyer
Unused Subs: Pablo Sisniega, Dagur Thorhallsson, Bryan Zamble
Match Statistics:
Possession: RBNY 37% - SDC 63%
Total Shots: RBNY 27 - SDFC 14
Shots on Goal: RBNY 12 - SDFC 5
Offsides: RBNY 0 - SDFC 1
Fouls Committed: RBNY 20 - SDFC 14
Corner Kicks: RBNY 4 - SDFC 7
Saves: RBNY 4 - SDFC 8
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