I generally try to make the MMCB an analytical post and stay away from narrative takes, but man that was some game on Saturday night. LouCity and NYRB2 really put on a show, scoring eight goals total and six in the first half. Slugger Field hasn’t seen fireworks like that since, well, the last time the Baby Bulls came to town.

It’s a real shame that RB2 doesn’t have much in the way of a fan following, even though it’s rational. They’re so good, so well coached, and play some of the most entertaining soccer in the USL year in and out. I’m not a big fan of “2” teams being in the Championship, even though I get the necessity of it, but I think our league would really miss them if New York was forced to exit.

And if you want to talk rivalries, well, it’s hard to find a bigger one since LouCity joined the USL than the one with Red Bulls 2. Three straight Eastern Conference Finals, at least one regular-season barn burner every year? Keep it coming.

As for the game itself, it started out fairly back-and-forth until Vincent Bezecourt perfectly executed a one-time shot off a cross from a rebound against the run of play in the 20th minute. City had finally found a footing in the match after a somewhat rocky opening five minutes or so. Magnus Rasmussen probably should have scored at 9′ in but was denied by the goal post.

Fortunately, Morados were up for it as Oscar turned a persistent run from his left fullback spot into space in the box and perfectly executed a one-time shot from Speedy Williams’s heady pass into the empty space where Oscar was headed. 1-1.

Then, after picking up a yellow card for a foul that probably wasn’t worthy of one, Napo decided he was going to make up for it by knocking in two goals off RB2 defending errors in as many minutes to give Morados a commanding 3-1 lead.

RB2 got one back a little bit later on off a handball call in the box against Sean Totsch. I don’t really know how the referee could have faulted Totsch for that play as there couldn’t have been any inferred intent to touch the ball with his arm, but the “unnatural position” corollary reared its ugly head I suppose and Jared Stroud converted.

Antoine Hoppenot made us all feel a little bit better just before halftime about things when he took the ball on a dribble for about 30 yards into the top right corner of the box, shook a defender and found space between two others to take a low shot that bounced off the NY keeper’s arm and into the net.

And that’s just the first half. It was exhausting.

The second was a bit more subdued, though it did feature a Goal of the Year candidate from Niall McCabe, below:

Let’s dive into some numbers.

New York actually out-possessed Louisville City on the night, 65.7% to 43.3%. It was a bit more even in the first half but in the second, City tried to hunker down a bit more and hold the line, which they more or less did. The Baby Bulls also attempted nearly 100 more passes than City did, something you’ll almost never see. Morados didn’t pass the ball particularly well on the evening, completing less than 70% of their attempts, and less than 60% in New York’s half. RB2 didn’t do much better, though, going 74.5% and 63.7%, respectively.

City bested RB2 in duels 54% to 46%, a bit unusual in this series. City had 16 interceptions, which is a lot. Morados outshot New York 15-14 and had seven shots on target to RB2’s five.

I won’t spend much time talking about individual performances in this game because they were all truly fantastic. I will take a bow to Napo for completing 100% of his 24 passes on the day, and to Brian Ownby for going 90 minutes off injury and really keeping the New York back line busy. Hats off to John Hackworth and his staff, too, for getting these guys in the right mindset to persevere in this, one of the tougher tests the team will face on the season. Until next week against Tampa, where we get to do this all over again.

This was one of those rare, if not unicorn-like performances this season where LouCity actually converted most of the good chances it created. We’re starting to see more of that, but New York was not the team I would have expected to see it all come together against. What a great night.