The New York Red Bulls youth movement doesn’t only apply to academy players.
For defender Aaron Long, who worked his way to a first team contract after one season with New York Red Bulls II, his first season in MLS was a resounding success.
“Aaron went from a great year in USL last year, started out strong and only got stronger as the year went on,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “To watch him, in this last game, shut down [Sebastian] Giovinco, was phenomenal. We challenged Aaron a lot to developed in terms of leadership, in terms of communication, in terms of presence, in terms of understanding, in all those ways he’s responded.