by ANTHONY J. MERCED

USL Beat Writer

After a draw in their first ever match, New York Red Bull II looks for their first win against Toronto FC II at Red Bull Arena on Saturday afternoon.

With Toronto having played one more game, NYRB II has had a bit more of an opportunity to scout the new Toronto USL franchise and hope to stifle a high scoring offense built to counterattack. Head coach John Wolyniec will have a few new faces this week as the mothership has announced a series of loans to keep certain MLS players fresh heading into the clash with DC United in a week’s time.

New Faces Same System

Much has been made of Jessie Marsch’s high-pressing style as it filters down to the USL affiliate. This week, several more MLS players will have short loan spells as the first division side has their second bye week of the season. Goalkeeper Kyle Reynish, defenders Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Connor Lade as well as striker Anatole Abang join the likes of Leo Stoltz and Santiago Castano in week two of USL action.

How involved they will be in the game against Toronto remains to be seen. It is no mystery that the USL side has been training with the first team as a way to keep chemistry issues from becoming problematic. Last week, NYRB II certainly had problems generating offense and the inclusion of Abang as a forward could give Marius Obekop a lethal target in front of goal. Defender Connor Lade could provide great action on the wings should the team go with Colin Heffron at center back in week two, where he played against Rochester after an injury to Konrad Plewa.

Head Coach Jason Bent has done his Research

Toronto FC II head coach Jason Bent did not shy away from his concern with NYRB II’s tactics. In fact he told the Toronto FC official website, “I’ve watched the video of their last game and have put the players through a video session. They have a really good attacking midfield that can play both ways with Leo Stoltz from UCLA. They have (Marius) Obekop who plays on the left and is a very exciting player, he has a strong left foot and is good in 1v1 situations.”

Mystery is certainly no longer on the side of NYRB II. Within inner circles, the Red Bulls have been known to have one of the better academies in the country and now look to display that in the USL. Teams like Toronto FC II are well aware of that and must now look for strategies to keep the stars of tomorrow at bay.

Toronto Represents the First True Scoring Threat

Rochester certainly deserved credit for being a stout defensive team but they continued their lack of goal productivity from the previous season. They had opportunities to take the lead but NYRB II goalkeeper Santiago Castano was more than capable of holding his team in the game. Toronto FC II represents a much higher goal-scoring threat than the Rhinos did. In their first two games. they have scored multiple goals and jumped out to early leads in both encounters. New York will have to shake off any nerves early in the contest or they may find themselves in a hole before halftime.

Shape and strong possession numbers will be key for the home team to succeed. Toronto FC II has also been a very dangerous counter attacking side and NYRB II will need to limit the number of midfield giveaways which created opportunities for the opposition in their first week.

If the second half against Rochester is any indication, they should be able to hold their own and push forward against Toronto FC II. However, they will need to be sharp early and carry that consistency throughout the full ninety minutes.