Red Bulls defender Wilman Conde. File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

For years, RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. has been a house of horrors for the New York Red Bulls. Even going back to their almost forgotten years as the MetroStars, the team would travel to the nation’s capital and come away with a hard-fought loss. It was inevitable. Just mark it down as a loss and move on to the next one.

Wednesday night, the Red Bulls were headed for another disappointment in D.C. They trailed their archrival by a goal as the clock was winding down. They needed a miracle.

Red Bulls forward Sebastien Le Toux. File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

The New York Red Bulls knew that they were going to face first-place Sporting Kansas City a little shorthanded in their offensive attack, since captain and striker Thierry Henry was left home after his girlfriend gave birth to a baby.

However, there’s no way that RBNY could have ever expected facing the team they are chasing and collect a point without even registering a single shot on goal.

Midfielder Tim Cahill scored his first MLS goal. File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

HARRISON – Just 30 minutes into Sunday night’s game against the Portland Timbers, the New York Red Bulls looked like a beaten team. It didn’t matter that their opponents were in last place in the MLS Western Conference standings. It was of no consequence that the Timbers had not won in their last seven games, going 0-5-2 in that stretch.

That’s because Portland jumped out to what appeared to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes. The Red Bulls were going to need a little bit of luck and magic to keep their home unbeaten streak alive.

Red Bulls Jan Gunnar Solli notched his third goal of the 2012 season. File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

HARRISON – In the beginning of the MLS season, the New York Red Bulls became an offensive force thanks to the play of forwards Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper. The dynamic duo set records for scoring, both separately and as a pair. It enabled the Red Bulls to get off to a solid start, setting the tone for success for the rest of the campaign.

New York Red Bulls head coach, Hans Backe, was not pleased with his team’s sluggish performance against Houston. File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

While the New York Red Bulls have been pretty close to dominant at Red Bull Arena throughout the 2012 season, not losing a single match, posting a 7-0-3 record at home, they have become extremely lackluster on the road.

That was never more evident Friday night, when the Red Bulls failed to show up against the Houston Dynamo in Texas, falling 2-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium. With the loss, the Red Bulls surrendered their hold on first place in the MLS Eastern Conference, falling to 11-7-5 overall. The 38 points is now second to Houston (11-5-7, 40 points), which moved into the top spot in the standings with the win.

New York’s newest Designated Player, Tim Cahill, made his debut as a Red Bull against English Premier squad Tottenham Hotspur. Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

HARRISON – There were good things and bad things about the New York Red Bulls’ international friendly with English Premier squad Tottenham Hotspur Tuesday night.

First, the bad. The timing of the inaugural Barclays New York Cup match, holding it on a Tuesday night in the middle of a fiercely contested MLS season, was not really optimal.

The New York Red Bulls welcomed newcomer Tim Cahill during press conference at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ.  Photo: Jim Hague

HARRISON – The New York Red Bulls may have just added the missing piece that could bring the club its first-ever MLS Cup come November.

Monday afternoon at Red Bull Arena, English Premier League standout midfielder Tim Cahill was officially introduced as the newest member of the Red Bulls, after signing a three-and-a-half year contract with the club for an estimated $3.5 million per year.

Photo Credit: Thuymido/ Flickr

It was not the way the New York Red Bulls wanted to begin a brief road trip, getting totally outplayed by the Montreal Impact, 3-1, Saturday night at Stade Saputo in front of an enthusiastic, noisy sellout crowd of 19,441.

The Red Bulls were flat and had lack of energy from the outset. One might think that the team’s recent successful home stand, going 2-0-1 over the three, would have energized them for the trip north of the border, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

HARRISON – It’s called using your head in a soccer game. Just ask New York Red Bulls’ striker Kenny Cooper if he’s one to use his noggin. It’s definitely a rare occurrence.

Gain big victory on hottest July 18 ever in New Jersey history

File Photo: Vera / DailyHarrison.com

HARRISON  – Thierry Henry hadn’t scored a single goal since late April. He was beginning to question his usefulness to the New York Red Bulls and actually wondered if he had lost a step because of all the stops and starts this season.