RSL v. NYRB, Man of the Match: Brooks Lennon

The headline image of this article is Brooks Lennon’s reaction to reading my tweets where I have complained about him not being a right back for the past year on about a bi-weekly basis. He made me eat the hat that I don’t actually own multiple times tonight, and I couldn’t be more glad for it. I was astonished when I saw the team sheet for tonight’s game and honestly thought to myself that we would see the mistakes made by Demar Phillips against LAFC on both the left and the right tonight. On the contrary, Brooks made three extraordinary tackles in the first half and forced an important goal kick. The second half he was a bit more invisible, but hey, if you’re a defender that’s not exactly a bad thing. That said, only time will tell if this is a strategy that Mike Petke will continue to go with, and even then it remains to be seen if it’s a solution in the long-term.

Other Contenders

David Horst/Ted Unkel: I don’t exactly think it was a penalty. It was a bit soft, near the edge of the box, and a game-changing call considering how early it was in the game, but I’ll take it. Thanks Uncle Ted.
Corey Baird: He will be a gem. Oh boy, will he be a gem. It’s not often you come straight out of college and have a debut like that. He came out with something to prove, and he did exactly that.
Nick Rimando: The G.O.A.T made some great saves and dove for several balls which made it look like he hadn’t even been limping for large portions of the game. He also nabbed his 102nd RSL cleansheet.
Jefferson Savarino: He didn’t have an exceptionally great game, but he certainly looked much more active and held better position of the ball in compared to the last two games.
Mother Nature: We’re really good at playing in snow. Period.