HARRISON, N.J. (October 7, 2016) – New York Red Bulls II defeated the defending champion Rochester Rhinos in penalty kicks, 3-3 (5-4). Brandon Allen scored two goals, including the game-tying penalty kick in the 119th minute, while Derrick Etienne Jr. added a goal in regulation. Konrad Plewa scored the game-winning goal in the penalty kick shootout to advance NYRB II to the USL Eastern Conference Final for the first time in club history.

In the shootout, Dos Santos, who scored two goals in regulation, fired his shot high in the fourth round of penalties to provide New York the advantage. In the fifth and final round, defender and second-year NYRB II player Plewa stepped up and buried his penalty kick to win the game.

New York took the lead in the 22nd minute when Vincent Bezecourt’s cross found Etienne Jr. on the left flank. He took on his man and fired a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Tomas Gomez to open the scoring.

Less than two minutes later, Rochester tied the game on a quickly-played free kick on the edge of the penalty box. Christian Volesky played in Steevan Dos Santos from the free kick, who buried his shot at the back post.

Red Bulls II regained the lead moments before halftime, thanks to Allen. In the 44th minute, Bezecourt played in Florian Valot, whose shot was saved, but New York’s leading goal scorer was in position to bury the rebound.

In the second half, Rochester’s Dos Santos tied the match with his second goal of the game on a cross from Ryan James.

At the end of regulation, the match remained tied, 2-2, and headed into overtime.

Rochester took the lead in the 110th minute when Wal Fall scored to make it 3-2, but the overtime lead was short lived. Dan Metzger earned a penalty kick and Allen buried his second goal of the night from the penalty spot to tie it and eventually force penalty kicks. Allen has now scored three goals in the USL Playoffs, bringing his 2016 total goal count to 19.

New York Red Bulls II returns to action in the Eastern Conference Final to host the winner of Louisville City FC/Charleston Battery on October 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Scoring Summary (Assists in parenthesis):

NY: Derrick Etienne Jr. (Vincent Bezecourt) 20’

ROC: Steevan Dos Santos (Christian Volesky) 22’

NY: Brandon Allen (Florian Valot) 44’

ROC: Steevan Dos Santos (Ryan James) 55’

ROC: Wal Fall (Kenardo Forbes) 110’

NY: Brandon Allen (PK) 119’

Penalty Kick Summary:

ROC: Wal Fall - Make (0-1)

NY: Aaron Long - Make (1-1)

ROC: Joe Farrell - Make (1-2)

NY: Derrick Etienne Jr. - Make (2-2)

ROC: Vasileios Apostolopoulos - Make (2-3)

NY: Brandon Allen - Make (3-3)

ROC: Steevan Dos Santos - Miss (3-3)

NY: Dan Metzger - Make (4-3)

ROC: Georgios Kyriazis - Make (4-4)

NY: Konrad Plewa - Make (5-4)

Discipline Summary:

ROC: Joe Farrell, Caution 20’

ROC: Sofiane Tergou, Caution 40’

NY: Tyler Adams, Caution 57’

NY: Dan Metzger, Caution 63’

NY: Zach Carroll, Caution 82’

Lineup:

NY: Ryan Meara, Noah Powder, Aaron Long, Zach Carroll (Tim Schmoll, 120’), David Najem (Konrad Plewa, 110’), Tyler Adams, Dan Metzger, Vincent Bezecourt (Zoumana Simpara, 110’), Derrick Etienne Jr., Brandon Allen, Florian Valot (Stefano Bonomo, 77’)

NYRB II Quote Sheet

New York Red Bulls II Head Coach John Wolyniec

On the even game and winning in a penalty shootout:

Yeah, we knew we were going to be up against a great opponent, we knew it was going to be a tough test. We did a lot of good things, we made some mistakes. The best thing about the effort though was that we just kept fighting, kept going. Even when things looked the darkest, we were still pushing forward and we pulled off a play in the end to tie it up, and you go five-for-five in PKs, shows a lot of character in the guys.

On Konrad Plewa taking the game winning PK:

After the game, before the PKs, I gave the guys the first five and Konrad’s a guy I’ve known for a while now and you don’t put someone in fifth place unless you trust them. I have a lot of trust in that guy and he comes through for us.

On Rochester’s increased aggression in the first half:

They weren’t too dissimilar to what they were the last game against Charlotte and we knew there was a chance they stepped up field a little bit more and denied us from playing out of the back, but they’re still really hard to play against and I think early on in the game we showed some jitters but as the game went on we got more and more confident.

On the speech going into extra time:

I’ll be honest, I didn’t say much, what’s great about this group is a lot of guys stepped up and said things, Ryan [Meara] was a great leader out there. The great thing about being a coach is seeing guys step up and say things and you don’t have to. It’s a proud moment for me and those types of things show character and depth in the team, and that’s what carried us through in the end.