East Rutherford, N.J. – Nicolas Hernandez scored early in the first half and the Colorado Rapids beat the short-handed New York Red Bulls 1-0 Sunday.
Bouna Coundoul made seven saves for Colorado, which won its first road game this season in handing the Red Bulls their first loss.
“I kept thinking about this day for a very long time,” said Coundoul, a native of Senegal who played at Martin Luther King High School in the Bronx. “When we came here last year, I didn’t play, so I wanted this chance this time. I was just happy to get a chance to step onto the field, (and) getting the shutout was like icing on the cake.”
Hernandez’s score, his first of the year, came in the 24th minute after teammate Kyle Beckerman stole the ball in the Red Bulls’ territory. He made a quick pass to Herculez Gomez, who got the ball to Hernandez. He beat Red Bulls goalie Jon Conway with a shot into the left corner.
“The play was very fast, but Gomez made a nice pass and I was just following the play,” Hernandez said.
The Red Bulls, who had not trailed this season, couldn’t convert several scoring opportunities against Coundoul.
Conway made two saves, getting the start because Ronald Wattereus was out with a sprained ankle, as was defender Hunter Freeman. The Red Bulls also played without standout midfielder Claudio Reyna, who missed the game with a groin strain.
Red Bulls star Clint Mathis made no excuses for the team’s lackluster performance.
“We were bad in our passing, bad in our ball movement and bad in our execution,” Mathis said. “It’s not the way we normally play. Things weren’t working out. … We just had a bad game today.”
