RED BULLS' REVOLVING KEEPERS

TIM LEONARDE-mail: Leonard@northjersey.com
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
04-02-2011
RED BULLS' REVOLVING KEEPERS
Byline: TIM LEONARDE-mail: Leonard@northjersey.com
Section: SPORTS
Type: News

Once again, it's Bouna Time.

But for how long is anyone's guess.
Bouna Coundoul, the energetic and enigmatic goalkeeper who set a Red Bulls' franchise record with 11 shutouts last season, will make his season debut tonight when New York faces the Houston Dynamo at Red Bull Arena. Coundoul will be the third goalkeeper to start for the Red Bulls in three games.

Yet despite losing the starting role during preseason training and the job still seemingly up for grabs, Coundoul doesn't feel as if he has anything to prove. A strong performance certainly could allow him to regain the trust and confidence of the coaching staff.

"I never see it as I lost my spot. Every single day I've been coming and playing and training. The coaches are going to make decisions,'' Coundoul said. "I'm not going to say this is important to take the No. 1 spot. I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing.''

Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe has made no secret of his displeasure with Coundoul for leaving the club to join the Senegal National team for a match while the Red Bulls were doing their preseason training in Mexico. With backup Greg Sutton in a virtual dead heat with Coundoul at that point, Backe made the decision that Sutton would start the season as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper.

Sutton played well in the season opener, making five saves in a 1- 0 victory over Seattle. But he suffered a concussion during practice and the Red Bulls had to sign free agent Alex Horwath for last week's match against Columbus. Horwath made four saves in a 0-0 draw.

With Sutton scheduled to be re-evaluated on Tuesday, Coundoul will get the start tonight, and perhaps next Saturday against the Philadelphia Union. That could depend on how quickly Sutton recovers. The situation doesn't promise to be resolved any time soon.

TV DEAL DONE: The Red Bulls and MSG Networks have announced a multi-year agreement for MSG to continue televising the club's matches. MSG Networks has held telecast rights to the franchise since 1996.

The agreement is for 24 of 32 games to be televised this season, up two from 2010. MSG Networks also will produce pregame and postgame shows for select games. Steve Cangialosi will continue as the play-by-play announcer, with former New York Cosmos goalkeeper Shep Messing serving as the color analyst.

GET YOUR TICKETS: The Red Bulls have launched a ticket exchange website that will allow season-ticket holders to post tickets for re- sale on the internet at www.redbullsticketexchange.com.

Season-ticket holders will be able to sell tickets for matches they are unable to attend and fans who want to attend a match will have access to some of the best seats at Red Bull Arena.

RAFA HITS 100: Red Bulls defender Rafa Marquez earned his 100th cap for Mexico in a 3-1 win over Paraguay on Tuesday in Oakland.

Marquez received a trophy and a Mexico jersey with the number 100 on the back to commemorate the achievement.

2011