Well the 2017 season is officially here tomorrow night and I think we can all agree that putting the rough 2016 campaign to bed is going to be a much welcome feeling (tifo spoiler in that opening there for ya). Before I get started with giving you guys some info on the Hounds first opponent, let me just apologize for slacking on the preview column towards the end of (more middle) last season. I think we were all sharing the same malaise and frustration at a season that pretty much had everything you could imagine and not in the positive sense.
Just like last year though, the Hounds open the season hosting the defending USL Cup Champions, this time the New York Red Bulls II. The Red Bulls ran rough shot over the USL in their second season in the league, posting a very impressive 21-3-6 record and claiming the USL double, winning the USL Cup and Shield by claiming the most points in the regular season.
There is some roster turnover with New York, which is to be expected from a reserve team which used over 50 players in the 2016 season. Gone is the thorn in the Hounds side Derrick Etienne who will start the 2017 season with the big team, though hopes of top goal scorer Brandon Allen staying in NY with the MLS side is not to come to fruition. He will begin the USL season with the reserve team and look to build on his impressive professional rookie season where he scored 15 goals and was the USL Cup MVP. Other notable players joining the Red Bulls from the firs team are Justin Bilyeu and Dan Metzger; both have seen significant time with the first team recently. Bilyeu has already been involved in MLS and the CONCACAF Champions League this season. Filling out the NYRBII roster will be a heavy mixture of Academy players getting their first taste of professional football and fringe Red Bulls first team players. For full details you can check it out here,
One change from the previous season for the Red Bull reserves is that will no longer be playing their home matches at the Red Bull Arena, which I think is a very wise decision. I unfortunately missed out on the trip to Patterson, NJ to see the Hounds lose in the 2015 playoffs to NYRB, but what I do remember from watching is that the Steel Army was the majority of the crowd. It is never good to play in front of an empty 20k plus arena, so the team will play at the much smaller Montclair State University soccer stadium. The University will also aid in the television production for NYRBII matches.
The Hounds lost both matches to New York in 2016, losing 3-1 at home in the infamous Romeo Parkes game, which I’m sure none of us need refreshing on that ugliness. NY beat Pittsburgh 1-0 in the return leg in New Jersey a few weeks after the match at Highmark.
With so much turnover with the Red Bulls, the Hounds and every team in the USL really, its hard to judge just how Saturdays home opener will go. The boys have had some mixed results in preseason, recently catching a 5-1 hiding from the fat unicorns in upstate NY, but hopefully the energy of the home opener will put some bounce in their boots.
Here’s to opening the year with a fresh 3 points
JK
#UNLEASH
