Charlotte FC Trounces 10-Men RBNY In HUmbling 6-1 Defeat

If you thought it couldn't get worse than a 3-0 loss at home to CF Montreal, you were wrong.

On Saturday, Red Bull New York was humiliated by Charlotte FC 6-1 at Bank of America Stadium. 

Idan Toklomati, Kerwin Vargas, Pep Biel, Wilfried Zaha and Archie Goodwin (x2) all found the back of the net for the home side while Julian Hall scored a consolation tap-in in the 81st minute.

Red Bulls central midfielder Gustav Berggren, who was used by Michael Bradley as a center back for the match, was dismissed in the 53rd minute with a straight red card after denying Toklomati of a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Charlotte got the goal-fest started early, as Toklomati towered over Red Bulls defender Robert Voloder for a simple header off a set piece that Ethan Horvath had no chance of stopping in the 14th minute. Voloder got his third consecutive start ahead of injured first choice center backs Justin Che and Dylan Nealis.

Berggren started alongside him for his first start of the season, with MLS veteran center back Tim Parker remaining on the bench.

The Red Bulls did show some flashes of good football in the first half, though. Namely, Jorge Ruvalcaba created a few chances for himself off the left wing but couldn't find a way past Kristijan Kahlina.

Late in the half, Ronald Donkor did beat Kahlina, but mashed his effort off the joint of the post and the crossbar, an unfortunate near miss that could've changed the scope of the match.

The game got beyond New York's reach quickly in the second half.

Within 30 seconds of the second half starting, Charlotte doubled the lead. A quick start from the kickoff opened a lane for Djibril Diani to serve a cross towards Kerwin Vargas that substitute left back Omar Valencia handled poorly, leaving Vargas to a simple tap-in.

Then, to make matters worse, Berggren earned his marching orders in the 52nd minute when he pulled back Toklomati when he was through on goal. Not only did the Red Bulls go down to 10-men, but Biel scored on the ensuing free kick to make it 3-0.

With the floodgates opened and the Red Bulls down to 10-men, Charlotte firmly took control of the match. New York's defense began chasing shadows and the midfield could not get ahold of possession for more than a few moments at a time.

It turned into a rout in the 68th minute when Zaha carved a path by former Charlotte full back Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and unleashed a shot past Horvath for his first goal of the season.

Then, in the 77th minute, Australian substitute Archie Goodwin slipped away from his markers in Parker and Hall to tap home a free header for his first career MLS goal.

Hall would pull one back for New York a few minutes later on a second-chance effort from a corner, but all it did was take a clean sheet away from an otherwise squeaky clean Charlotte performance. It was Hall's fourth goal of the season, he remains one of two players to score for the Red Bulls on the year.

Even still, Charlotte got the last word in. Goodwin improved his MLS account to two in second half stoppage time when Liel Abada served him a tap-in on a silver platter. It was an emphatic cherry on top of an embarrassing night for the Red Bulls.

A total disaster in the end for the Red Bulls, apart from some decent moments in the first half. It was a season-worst of performances across the board, with players like Cade Cowell and Matty Dos Santos remaining entirely anonymous and others like Voloder, Marshall-Rutty, Valencia and Berggren (to name a few) making a poor case for their right to be in the lineup.

The one positive from the match is that the club announced at halftime that RBNY all-time record goal scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips will be the second inductee into the club's Legends Row on May 2 vs FC Dallas. BWP's 99 shirt is already the lone jersey number to be retired by the club.

Three straight winless matches with two lopsided losses among them won't bode much confidence for RBNY as they limp into the March international break, and neither will their goal scoring record of five goals scored in as many matches with 11 conceded.

The wheels are starting to fall off the wagon of the 2026 Red Bulls, and it's starting to feel like their first two performances of the season were only as good as they were as a result of playing two of the worst teams in the league (Orlando City and the New England Revolution).

The result represents the club's second biggest loss in club history, with the only one worse coming way back in 1999 when the club was still the MetroStars.

When MLS play resumes, the Red Bulls will host a loaded FC Cincinnati team on Saturday, Apr. 4 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.