Hans Backe won't be playing it safe in the first leg of his aggregate series with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Major League Soccer Playoffs, New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes, Leg 1: 17-year-old Juan Agudelo Gets First Start
Rather than play it safe by using someone like Mehdi Ballouchy as his second forward, Backe has elected to give 17-year-old Red Bulls academy product Juan Agudelo his first ever MLS start. He's only even made two appearances with the senior team, but did represent the United States in the 2009 U-17 World Cup. He has also appeared for the U.S. U-20 team.
Aside from Agudelo, the Red Bulls are using a pretty standard lineup with Juan Pablo Angel being paired with Agudelo up top; Ballouchy being joined by Joel Lindpere, Rafa Marquez and Dane Richards in the midfield; and Roy Miller, Tim Ream, Carlos Mendes and Chris Albright playing in front of Bouna Condoul on defense.
The Earthquakes are countering with this lineup: GK: Jon Busch; DF: Tim Ward, Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Ramiro Corrales; MF: Geovanni, Sam Cronin, Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Convey; FW: Ryan Johnson, Scott Sealy.
This series is a matchup between the two worst teams from last season, although both of them have shown marked improvement. The Red Bulls finished atop the Eastern Conference with 51 points and the Earthquakes claimed 45 points behind Wondolowski’s MLS-leading 18 goals.
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