Schwartz: Top MLS Scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips Leads Red Bulls Into Playoffs

By Peter Schwartz
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When you think about the best current professional athletes in the New York/New Jersey area, names such as Odell Beckham Jr., John Tavares, Noah Syndergaard, Carmelo Anthony, Henrik Lundqvist, Masahiro Tanaka, Muhammad Wilkerson, Kyle Palmieri and Brook Lopez come to mind. You could make an argument for other players in the four major sports, but there probably aren't many fans in our area who would even think of a soccer player.

But numbers don't lie.

Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 24th goal of the season in Sunday's regular-season finale, a 2-0 victory in Philadelphia. BWP has earned his second career Golden Boot award as MLS' top goal scorer, beating out NYCFC's David Villa, who finished with 23. For Wright-Phillips, the individual award is nice, but he says winning a championship is more important.

"Like I was telling the team before, it isn't everything because I've won it before and the team didn't win the MLS Cup," Wright-Phillips said.

Wright-Phillips, just the third player in league history to win the Golden Boot twice, has been a scoring machine since joining the Red Bulls in 2013 and is the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer with 69 balls to the back of the net in 107 career matches. His 68 goals over the last three seasons is an MLS record, and he is the only player in league history to have multiple seasons of 20 or more goals.

Wright-Phillips, who also won the Golden Boot in 2014 with 27 goals, is a big part of a Red Bulls team that is now ready to begin what it hopes is a run to the MLS Cup.

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"Obviously we are all really excited for Bradley," said head coach Jesse Marsch. "He is in a really good way right now, and I think our whole group is in a really good way right now. We are looking forward to the possibilities and who our matchup will be to get ready for next weekend."

That's when Wright-Phillips and the Red Bulls begin their quest for the MLS Cup with the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals on the road next Sunday against an opponent still to be determined.

With Sunday's win, the Red Bulls closed the regular season with a 16-match unbeaten streak and will be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They fell just a bit short of their third Supporters' Shield (MLS regular-season champions) in three seasons, but they have rebounded from some blown second-half leads to head into the playoffs with four straight wins, including Sunday's shutout victory.

"That's what we wanted, and that was the plan," Wright-Phillips said. "We wanted to be a strong team and come into the playoffs strong, but more importantly we wanted a clean sheet. I know there has been a lot of talk about how we give up goals this season, but we wanted to correct those wrongs."

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How valuable has Wright-Phillips been to the Red Bulls?

They were unbeaten in matches when BWP scored a goal, going 10-0-6. All-time, the Red Bulls are 33-4-12 when Wright-Phillips finds the back of the net during the regular season. If he can keep up that scoring touch during the postseason, the Red Bulls could certainly make a push for that elusive first championship in franchise history.

He might not be a familiar name or face to the average local sports fan, but Wright-Phillips is right up there with some of the best athletes in the New York/New Jersey area. His goal-scoring ability, especially in the clutch, brings back memories of when legendary Cosmos star Giorgio Chinaglia lit up the Giants Stadium scoreboard on the way to four NASL Soccer Bowl titles.

Wright-Phillips' goal-scoring prowess has been a huge part of the Red Bulls' success over the last few seasons, but there's one thing that's missing -- an MLS Cup championship.

Baby Bulls Win It All

Congratulations to New York Red Bulls II, who won the USL Cup on Sunday night, beating the Swope Park Rangers 5-1 at Red Bull Arena. In just their second season, NYRB II, led by head coach John Wolyniec, captured the first championship for the organization.

It's appropriate that Wolyniec was involved in the Red Bulls' first championship, as he played for the MetroStars in 1999 and then again from 2003-05. He also has been with the Red Bulls as a player and coach since 2006.

"It feels great," Wolyniec said. "I was proud before the game; I'm proud after the game. I knew we were going to put a good effort out there. I knew we put a lot of work in during the year."

NYRB II, the Red Bulls' reserve team, became the first MLS-owned-and-operated USL team to win a championship. USL MVP finalist Brandon Allen netted a hat trick to go along with an assist and was named the championship Most Valuable Player.

For Allen, the championship match performance capped off a tremendous year that saw him score 15 goals during the regular season and six more in the playoffs. But he knows he got a little bit of help from his friends.

"It feels amazing," Allen said. "But I wouldn't be able to have those achievements without my teammates. They've been there for me the whole season, and they've been a big part of my success."

Just like the first team, NYRB II finished the season on a long unbeaten streak, going 13-0-1 in their final 14 matches. After a record-breaking regular season that saw them score 61 goals, the "Baby Bulls" beat Orlando City B 4-0 in the opening round of the playoffs, but needed penalty-kick shootout wins over Rochester and Louisville City FC to reach the final.

Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow @NewYorkRedBulls, @TheRealBWP and @NYRB II.