by ANTHONY J. MERCED

USL Writer

New York Red Bull II won their second consecutive road game with a 2-0 victory over Louisville City FC on Saturday night with goals from Konrad Plewa and Derrick Etienne.

New York saw several players return to the starting line up including Dan Metzger, Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Karl Ouimette with Anatole Abang, Leo Stolz and Manolo Sanchez missing from the team. Still, New York was able to show their high-pressure offense effectively while also keeping a very conservative Louisville defense off-balance.

The win makes Louisville’s hold of fourth place a bit more fragile with only two games remaining in New York’s long road trip.

The offense started fast and early for NYRB II as a forced error just in front of Louisville’s box in the fourth minute led to a quick effort by Konrad Plewa and the game’s first goal. From there, the home team was off-balance for the remainder of the half with New York pressing the action and nearly expanding the lead in the 26th minute when Chris Tsonis’ shot rang off the post. Louisville had their share of opportunities but a combination of smart fouls and Castano’s goalkeeping would send New York into the half with the lead.

The second half saw more of the same with New York pressing and forcing Louisville into errors. A giveaway in the 50th minute led to another opportunity. This time, Chris Tsonis glided a perfect pass into academy standout Derrick Etienne who slotted past goalkeeper Scott Goodwin. The goal would solidify New York’s lead as continued pressure made sure that the scoreline remained.

Louisville’s best effort in the half came off of the foot of Charlie Adam who had his shot blocked in the 77th minute.

New York now improves to 5-5-4 on the season and is only one point from 4th place in the standings. Next week, their six game road trip continues against St. Louis FC, a team which has not won a game since May 9th — a streak of six games without a win.