NASHVILLE – When Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls II initially met up at First Tennessee Park, the Baby Bulls got off to a fast start and Nashville SC came back to lead at halftime. With that contest abandoned due to weather, the rematch has played out in almost opposite fashion.

Nashville dominated the early going, with midfielder Ken Tribbett putting the Boys in Gold on top in the 10th minute. Corner kick service from Lebo Moloto found the head of the converted centerback, and Tribbett made no mistake hammering home to get off to a dream start. NYRBII slowly took control of the run of play, however, and finally broke through in the 44th minute when forward Jared Stroud found himself all alone on the back post, and tapped in the equalizer to make it 1-1 going into halftime.

After initially handling Red Bulls’ press well, Nashville resorted to booting the ball away later in the half – and couldn’t win the 50/50 balls in midfield to spark any fast-break offense.

With North Carolina FC’s win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies earlier this evening, a clear winner in tonight’s contest goes to the top of the table – while New York Red Bulls II would be in first even with a draw. A loss would drop Nashville to No. 4 in the standings, and a draw would have them level with NCFC on all tiebreakers.

Starting lineups

Match events

• 10′ NSH GOAL – 6 Ken Tribbett (headed), assisted by 10 Lebo Moloto (corner kick)
• 42′ NY Yellow card – 80 Chris Lema (foul)
• 44′ NY GOAL – 50 Jared Stroud (left foot), assist TBD
• 45’+1 Half time