Red Bulls  face Atlantic Cup rival at Red Bull Arena
The New York Red Bulls look to run their unbeaten streak to five games when they host Atlantic Cup rival D.C. United on Saturday, July 10 at Red Bull Arena at 7:30 PM ET (TV: MSG; Radio: WQBU 92.7 FM). A victory or a tie would give them the Atlantic Cup – the annual winner in the regular season competition between the two clubs – for the first time since 2003.

New York has gained a point in each match they’ve played in since May 29, going 3-0-1 in that span after picking up their first draw of the season at Colorado on July 4. The Red Bulls’ overall record of 8-5-1 gives them 25 points and they are just two behind Eastern Conference leader, the Columbus Crew.

New York welcomes D.C. United to Red Bull Arena for the first time ever. United comes into the match in a three-way tie with New England and Philadelphia for 6th place in the Eastern Conference, posting a record of 3-9-2 and 11 points. In its last match, D.C. earned a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium in San Jose against the Earthquakes. The Quakes jumped out to an early lead through Ike Opara in the 16th minute, but United equalized in the 2nd half. D.C. rookie and academy product Andy Najar found the back of the net in the 54th minute, and the teams finished even on the night.

This will be the 54th regular season installment of the Atlantic Cup rivalry between the Red Bulls and D.C. United, and the second and final meeting between the teams this season. D.C. leads the all-time series, as the Red Bulls have posted a record of 18-29-6 against United. Back on May 1, the Red Bulls defeated D.C. at RFK Stadium by a score of 2-0. Second half goals by Salou Ibrahim and Juan Pablo Angel paced New York, who picked up their first victory at RFK Stadium since 2005.

The winner of the Atlantic Cup is determined first by standings points earned in the two head-to-head games between the two teams. If that is equal, the next tiebreaker is total goals before total away goals. If the teams are still tied, United would retain the cup.

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