Lewis Morgan enjoyed a career year with 14 goals in 2022, but it could not get the New York Red Bulls past the first round again.
After a fourth straight early exit, the Red Bulls hope Morgan and newcomer Dante Vanzeir can produce consistent offense starting Saturday night, when they visit Orlando City in the season opener for both teams.
After being obtained from Inter Miami CF following the 2021 season, Morgan was New York’s only double-digit scorer last season as the Red Bulls finished with 50 goals. His standout performance earned him a three-year contract extension after his goals were third among MLS midfielders last season and the most by a midfielder in team history.
To give Morgan some help, the Red Bulls added Vanzeir as their designated player after the 24-year-old forward spent the past three seasons scoring 48 goals in 92 appearances with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise of the Belgian League.
“He has a special ability, a big nose for goals,” Red Bulls coach Gerhard Struber said of Vanzeir. “This is the missing link from what we had last season. We did not always have the right position or the right nose for goals.”
Orlando City are seeking a fourth straight postseason appearance but also hoping 10 new signings can get them past the first round. Among those newcomers are designated player Martin Ojeda, who scored 35 goals in 139 games through all competitions in Argentina.
Orlando City hope to get another productive season from Ercan Kara, who led the team with 11 goals last season after joining the MLS as a designated player from Austria. Also back is captain Mauricio Pereyra, who is the team’s all-time assists leader and who signed a two-year contract during the offseason.
“We want to be a team that dominates, a team that can improve its numbers on goals by scoring more,” Orlando general manager Luiz Muzzi told the Orlando Sentinel.
The Red Bulls lead the all-time series 9-7-2.
–Field Level Media
