One goal, three points, and a playoff spot. The New York Red Bulls marched into Nashville on Saturday and came out with a 1-0 victory in their final match of the MLS regular season. With the win, New York clinched a playoff spot for the 14th consecutive year, the longest streak in MLS history.
Coming into the night, the Red Bulls knew it was a must-win situation with their postseason hopes on the line. For Nashville, although they had already clinched a playoff spot before the match, they were still playing for the chance at higher seeding.
It was a slow-paced affair as it remained scoreless well into the second half. New York had the advantage with 12 shots (five on goal) over Nashville’s nine (four on goal) but could not make anything of it.
The last game of the regular season came with the usual drama, as there were a combined 26 fouls and five yellow cards given. Goalkeepers Carlos Coronel and Joe Willis held their own with four saves each.
Entering the 90th minute, the Red Bulls playoff hopes were dwindling with just four added minutes left on their season. But with two minutes left, midfielder Luquihnas did what he does best: dribbled around Nashville into their box and drew a penalty. With the season on the line, who better to take the penalty kick than “Morris County Messi” John Tolkin?
Tolkin stood at the penalty kick spot and sent the ball into the bottom right corner to put the Red Bulls into the postseason. The 21-year-old from Chatham scored his second penalty kick across all competitions this year, earning New York the 8th seed in the postseason.
“It honestly felt like a whole season worth of ups and downs, crazy times, hard work, and just everything kind of felt like it came down to that kick,” Tolkin said. “It would either be pretty tragic or it would be written in the stars and luckily it was written in the stars. It felt like a huge weight off our shoulders and [I] can’t really describe it, to be honest.”
After such a gritty and tough season with all its ups and downs, head coach Troy Lesesne could do nothing but commend his team and staff for the effort they put forth.
“The first thing I’d like to do is congratulate the players,” Lesesne said. “The players have continually worked this entire time since taking over in really challenging circumstances. They continue to believe and they never question whether we could achieve something this season I just give them so much respect and appreciation for everything they put in every day. Secondly, I’d like to congratulate my coaching staff directly the guys that really worked with me day in and day out.”
The Red Bulls hold the record for the most playoff appearances in MLS history and have the longest streak of playoff berths in men’s North American sports. The streak began in 2009, and no other men’s team in North America has a longer playoff streak.
With the win over Nashville and Montreal CF’s loss to the Columbus Crew, New York will host the wild card match against Charlotte FC. Red Bull Arena won’t be closed yet, with one more home match to be played.
“I think we're in good form right now,” Lesesne said. “I think we're in very good form right now. And I think Charlotte's in good form right now. So let's just be clear about that. That's what the test is that is in front of us now. We have to get ourselves reset. Physically, mentally. The guys, I can see that they're happy, but they're also exhausted. Both regards. So we got to get on the plane. We got to get back home and take care of ourselves. Because I'm very happy to give our fans another home match. They deserve that. But we have to repay that by being prepared in the best way possible so that we can progress in the playoffs.”
The Red Bulls will match up against Charlotte FC for the Eastern Conference Wild Card match of the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday.
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