Red Bulls Edge Revs 1-0 as Julian Hall Is MLS's Youngest to Score in His Club's First Two Games of a Season

None of the three Red Bulls who built the winning goal is old enough to vote. Matthew Dos Santos, 17, swung in the initial cross off a corner. Adri Mehmeti, 16, flicked it on with his head. Julian Hall, 17, nodded it home from point-blank range. Somewhere, a veteran center back felt very old.

Red Bull New York beat the New England Revolution 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Sports Illustrated Stadium, and Hall's 53rd-minute header made history. According to the AP, he became the youngest player in MLS history to score in each of his club's first two games of the season, and it was his MLS-leading third goal of the year. The Red Bulls are 2-0-0 with six points under Michael Bradley, who was only in his second game at the helm, per the AP. New England is 0-0-2 with nothing to show for two weekends.

Red Bulls Own the Ball, Turner Owns the First Half

Bradley's side set up shop in New England's half from the opening whistle and never really left. Justin Che tested Matt Turner from distance in the 3rd minute, Matthew Dos Santos dragged one wide in the 11th and Cade Cowell sent a header wide from a tough angle a minute later.

The best first-half look belonged to Ronald Donkor, who met an Emil Forsberg pass in the center of the box in the 20th minute and forced Turner into a strong save toward the top right corner. Donkor was booked two minutes later and did not come out for the second half, with Andy Rojas taking his place.

New England's attack was mostly a rumor. Its only first-half shot came in the 34th minute, when Griffin Yow fired a left-footed effort from the left side of the box and Ethan Horvath saved it in the bottom left corner. Otherwise, the Revs spent the half fouling and chasing. Yow and Dor Turgeman were both booked before the break, and the Red Bulls piled up three straight corners in the closing minutes of the half without breaking through.

The Turning Point

The goal had been coming, and when it arrived it looked like a training ground routine. Forsberg had a shot blocked in the 52nd minute, Jorge Ruvalcaba had another blocked in the same minute, and the Red Bulls won a corner. According to the club, Dos Santos played a give-and-go with Forsberg off the set piece and whipped a ball to the near post. Mehmeti flicked a header across to the far side. Hall was waiting, and ESPN's data has him heading it into the bottom right corner from very close range.

The club said it was the first goal in MLS history where three players aged 17 or younger contributed to a single goal. That sentence should probably come with a parental advisory sticker.

Hall nearly doubled the lead two minutes later, sending a left-footed shot from the center of the box wide to the right. At the other end, Turgeman forced Horvath into a save from a difficult angle on the left in the 56th minute, but New England could not build any sustained pressure.

The Revs Push, the Kids Hold

New England threw on Jackson Yueill and Alhassan Yusuf in the 64th minute, and Yow had a shot blocked in the 68th. The cards kept coming: Brooklyn Raines and Carles Gil were booked in the 75th and 78th minutes, taking New England to four yellows on the day.

The Revs' best chance to equalize came in the 79th minute, when Turgeman got his head on an Ilay Feingold cross from the center of the box and missed to the left. That was the moment.

The Red Bulls had chances to kill the game. Rojas fired over from outside the box in the 83rd minute, and substitute Eric Choupo-Moting met a Forsberg cross in the 86th, only for Turner to save in the top center of the goal. Four minutes of added time came and went without much drama.

Who Ran the Show

Julian Hall now has three goals in two games: two at Orlando on opening weekend and this one. Two shots, one on target, one goal. The club noted he is the second-youngest player in club history to score in a home opener.

"I wouldn't be able to score without my teammates," Hall said. "I think the chemistry of the team is at a really good level right now."

Adri Mehmeti has an assist in each of the first two games, and the club said he became the second-youngest player in MLS history to record an assist in each of the opening two games of a season. Freddy Adu is the name ahead of him.

Matt Turner kept New England in it with three saves, including the stops on Donkor and Choupo-Moting.

Ethan Horvath did not have much to do, but he made two saves and kept the clean sheet.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Red Bulls 64.8 percent, Revolution 35.2 percent.
• Passes: Red Bulls 553 attempted, Revolution 296.
• Shots: Red Bulls 12, Revolution 5, with four on target for the hosts and three for the visitors.
• Saves: Turner 3, Horvath 2.
• Discipline: New England committed 19 fouls and picked up four yellow cards.

What It Means

Two games, two wins and six points. According to the club, this is the sixth team in franchise history to win its first two games of the season, and Bradley became the third coach in franchise history to win his first two games in charge. The Red Bulls stay home to host CF Montréal on Sunday, March 8.

Bradley was clearly enjoying the moment, and he was quick to credit the kids.

"They have their football and they have personality," he said. "They are really talented young players. They have really good mentalities."

New England is in a tougher spot. After a 4-1 loss at Nashville SC on opening weekend, this makes two defeats from two games. The AP reported that the Revs' original home opener against Houston on March 7 was postponed because their field was not ready, so their next game is now March 15 against FC Cincinnati.

Closing Take

Every season has a story that sneaks up on the league, and this one has Gen Z fingerprints all over it. Hall, Mehmeti and Dos Santos played like they had no idea they were supposed to be nervous, and Bradley is clearly leaning into it.

"For the home opener, we wanted to make sure that we did everything we could to step on the field," Bradley said. "To show the team that we want to be, and to show our football and to show our personality."

Mission accomplished. The kids are not just alright. They are running the show.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the Associated Press recap via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by Red Bull New York (newyorkredbulls.com).