Red Bulls top Rapids, 2-1, for third straight win
Daniel Royer scored his second goal of the season early, Derrick Etienne added his third later and the New York Red Bulls defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 for their third consecutive victory.
Bradley Wright-Phillips added his fifth assist on Royer's opener for the Red Bulls (6-3-0), who won on the road for a second time this season.
Jack McBean pulled a goal back late for Colorado (2-5-2), which suffered a fourth straight defeat and a third in a row by one goal.
Yannick Boli made his first MLS start at forward for the Rapids in place of Dominique Badji, who was a late scratch with muscle tightness.
Royer's opener was his second in three matches after the Austrian opened the season scoreless in his first four appearances despite leading the team in shots.
He registered four more attempts at goal on Saturday night, scoring on his first only five minutes into the match.
Wright-Phillips controlled Michael Murillo's pass on the right, spun and fired in a low cross toward the near post. That's where Royer met it, beating Colorado's Bismark Boateng to slip a first-time finish past keeper Tim Howard inside the near post.
Less than a third of the way through the season, the assist brought Wright-Phillips within two of his most in an MLS campaign.
Etienne came on for Wright-Phillips in the 67th minute and doubled the Red Bulls' lead nine minutes later when he hammered in Alex Muyl's cross. The goal was originally disallowed for offsides, only for referee Ismail Elfath to reverse his crew's decision after a video review.
McBean tucked in his first of the season in the 85th minute, slotting in a rebound after Luis Robles saved Shkelzen Gashi's initial effort.
But the Rapids couldn't find an equalizer, even after a combination of video reviews and injuries influenced Elfath to allow eight minutes of second-half stoppage time.
--Field Level Media
