US Open Cup Matchday: New York City vs the Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ

Here, your Match Thread for New York City FC vs Red Bull New York in the US Open Cup, with a preview of the match, then with updates at the top as things progress in New Jersey. It's for subscribers only, so sign up now to read in full.

Update 9:10 pm ET: FULL TIME: New York City FC 3-1 Red Bull New York

Trio of corner-kick goals send New York City FC to Open Cup quarterfinals

Three different New York City FC defenders scored headers from Maxi Moralez corner kicks, enough for a 3-1 win in Harrison to book a spot in the US Open Cup quarterfinals for the third time in NYCFC’s history.

New York Soccer JournalMatthew Mangam

Finally, we can retire the talking points about New York City never beating or even scoring on the Red Bulls in a win-or-go-home knockout game. They accomplished both things, winning 3-1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in the US Open Cup's Round of 16 to seal a third-ever trip to the Quarterfinals of America's longest-running soccer competition.

NYCFC scored a trio of nearly identical goals, all headers scored by (sometime) center-backs, all assisted by Maxi Moralez, and all scored straight from corner kicks. First from Kai Trewin, second from Raul Gustavo, and the third from Thiago Martins. Julian Hall scored for the Red Bulls but in the end, it was as easy as 1-2-3 to cancel that out for New York City FC. They'll now play a TBD opponent in the Open Cup Quarterfinals on either May 19 or 20, pending results of the draw scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, April 30.

Update 7:10 pm ET: The Starting XIs, as New York City's team is a representative one with Pascal Jansen only opting for slight rotation, at left-back and at left-wing while Hannes Wolf remains out injured.

The Red Bulls started what is essentially their strongest possible XI though with rotation from Ethan Horvath to John McCarthy in goal, and with veteran striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting back available as a sub after missing their last match with an illness.

The 33rd Hudson River Derby is here and it's taking place in the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup's Round of 16, with Red Bull New York hosting New York City FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Both these teams are in poor form as they meet for the first time this season. New York City FC hasn't won in six league games, while the Red Bulls are winless in their last four league games, and with only one win across their eight most recent MLS matches (1W-3D-4L). The season started brightly for each team, but the vibe has turned slightly sour on each side of the rivalry as the draws and losses have piled up.

For New York City FC it was the best of starts, then the worst of starts

The 2026 season started with a four-match unbeaten run, but New York City has since gone six MLS games without a win, a period of struggle defined by unusual defensive frailty and an attack reliant on the brilliance of two players.

New York Soccer JournalAndrew Leigh

The Open Cup, though, is different. Lower-division competition proved no match for either New York City or the Red Bulls in the Round of 32, with NYCFC comfortably setting Westchester SC aside, 5-2, in Mount Vernon on the night of Tuesday, April 14.

One night later, the Red Bulls hosted Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in Harrison, New Jersey, and won 3-1, setting up a fourth Open Cup installment of this derby. The previous three were all also home games for the Red Bulls and all were shutout wins for the Red Bulls, so New York City doesn't have any positive head-to-head Cup history on their side as they enter this match.

New York City head-to-head vs RBNY: All competitions