Red Bulls With a Complete Performance Defeat San Diego FC

By Daniel Feuerstein | Harrison, NJ | October 10th, 2026

Red Bull New York returned from the International Break to face San Diego FC for the first time. They got their nine players back from international duty and were looking to try to get back on the pitch and compete for the final stretch run of the 2026 season. What they got was a fabulous opening 45 minutes and held off defensively till they added one more in the final moments of the match. They took out their opponents from Southern California, as the Red Bulls earned a big win as they knocked off San Diego FC by the final score of four goals to one.

Hall is back on the scoresheet

When Julian Hall got his first chance to play for the U.S. National Team, some thought he might do well or look o.k., but the young man from the Upper West Side took the opportunity and scored three goals in his first three international matches. He came back and scored another goal for the club as he took advantage of some poor defense and poor goalkeeping when he got a fabulous opportunity to score a big goal from a strong pass by Jorge Ruvalcaba. CJ Dos Santos misplayed the ball and gave Hall an open net to make it 1-0 in the 15th minute

“I said to Jules after the game that it’s not always easy to switch gears, you know, and especially for a young player who has experience with youth national teams, but in reality, this is the first time that he’s ever done it, where you go from club football to national team, and then have to quickly change gears and get yourself back into your club and back into rhythm. And from the beginning tonight was ready. And I honestly would even say that the way that he came right back into training over the last few days was excellent. You could see that he was excited to be back. That he had energy and confidence from his time with the national team,” said Michael Bradley

Padelford used his noggin

A second goal came very quickly when the Red Bulls earned a corner from the far side. Cade Cowell delivered the corner and crossed it as the ball bent towards the area. No one was marking Devin Padelford as he found the space to run inside and delivered a snap header that got the ball to bounce and past Dos Santos inside the far post for his very first Red Bull New York Goal in the 20th minute. Two goals scored in five minutes was an amazing accomplishment, as we haven’t seen this club score that quickly in a very long time. They were on the front foot and taking their chances.

Ruvalcaba back on the ledger and with authority

The Red Bulls continued to find ways to set up chances and put the ball into the back of the net. When Cowell’s chance was blocked, he was able to retrieve the ball and restart the attacking play. He found Adri Mehmeti on his side of the pitch. Then Mehmeti went to the far side for Ronaldo Donkor, who quickly saw Jorge Ruvalcaba and passed the ball towards his path. As Ruvalcaba got all the way down to the end line, Dos Santos came off his line and then defended Ruvalcaba. A quick turnaround to look for a pass, but instead Ruvalcaba took the shot at such a tight angle that he went over the left shoulder of Dos Santos and just tucked it underneath the crossbar and then inside the back post in the 27th minute. Three goals in 12 minutes.

“He had a really good game tonight. You know, obviously scores a goal, has a really good assist. But beyond that, his work, his pressing, his understanding of how to you know of what we want from our wide attackers, that part was all really good, and yeah, it’s you guys have heard me say this a bunch this year. Attacking players anywhere in the world go through go through these ebbs and flows where there are moments where the goal seems as big as the ocean, and there are other moments where the goal seems really small, and that’s just that’s part of it.

And so you encourage Jorge, you encourage all of them to keep going, to keep doing the things that help the team, to keep doing the things that ultimately put them in good situations, in good spots over and over again. You remind them that if they miss a chance or if a ball doesn’t go in, that it’s not the end of the world. You know that ultimately the ability to get more chances and push and push as the dam breaks eventually, and we’re really happy for Jorge and again just like I alluded to with Ethan we’re going to continue to meet him in a big way as we as we move down the stretch,” said Michael Bradley

Horvath finally stops a penalty

A late challenge inside the Red Bulls’ area as Julian Bazan, who was in an awkward position, was trying to get the ball away from Marcus Ingvartsen. Instead of taking the ball away, Bazan fouled Ingvartsen inside the area, and the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. Bazan was issued a yellow card for the challenge. Then it was Anders Dreyer’s turn to convert the penalty. As he stood and watched the ball, Dreyer ran up to the spot and struck the ball towards his right, but was stopped by Ethan Horvath, who made a huge left-handed save to preserve the clean sheet in the 44th minute.

Choupo-Moting megs the keeper

The Red Bulls continued to show how much they wanted to keep attacking as the match entered second half stoppage time. After Hall was fouled, Matthew Dos Santos came in as a concussion substitute and restarted the play at the far side with a long looping ball that somehow bounced in front of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. As he tracked the ball and had two defenders go after him, Dos Santos once again left his line to stop Choupo as well, but it was clever footwork as the Cameroonian International nutmegged the keeper, and everyone watched the ball harmfully and slowly go inside the front post and into the back of the net in the third minute of six in second half stoppage time.

San Diego tried but couldn’t get back

While San Diego FC was attempting a comeback, the Red Bulls held their ground. While Cédric Bakambu got a fabulous cross from Anders Dreyer to convert the chance at the hour mark, the Southern California side just couldn’t threaten their net at all for the majority of the game. This was a big victory for the club, and they are now three points ahead of NYCFC and still one point behind Orlando City as they exacted revenge on the Columbus Crew after losing to them in the U.S. Open Cup Semi-Finals. Next week is a two-in-a-week as they face D.C. United away at Audi Field and then host Toronto FC on the weekend.

JULIAN HALL: Scored his 11th goal of the season, 14th in all competitions, and his 14th career MLS Goal

DEVIN PADELFORD: Scored his first Red Bull New York Goal, scored his 2nd goal of the season, and his 3rd career MLS Goal

JORGE RUVALCABA: Scored his 8th goal of the season, and earned his first MLS assist

ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING: Scored his 4th goal of the season and his 21st career MLS Goal

RONALD DONKOR: Converted his 7th & 8th Assists of the season, earned his 11th & 12th career MLS Assists

CADE COWELL: Earned his 8th Assist of the season; earned his 23rd career MLS Assist

MATTHEW DOS SANTOS: Earned his 2nd career MLS Assist

TIM PARKER: Played in his 300th Career MLS Match.

Red Bull New York takes out San Diego FC with a complete performance at Sports Illustrated Stadium

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