2012 New York Red Bulls season

The 2012 season began in earnest for MLS immediately after the 2011 MLS Cup final. The following day clubs submitted their list of players protected from selection by Montreal Impact in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft held on November 23, 2011. No Red Bull players were chosen by Montreal in the draft. However, on the same day MLS clubs waived players, effectively releasing them from their contracts. Through waivers, New York parted ways with goalkeeper Alex Horwath; defenders Mike Jones, Tyler Lassiter, and Teddy Schneider; and midfielders John Rooney and Marcos Paullo.[1]

One week later, the club declined the 2012 options on goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, defender Chris Albright, and defender Carlos Mendes, making all three players available for the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft.[2] Mendes had been the longest-tenured member of Red Bulls and was the last player remaining from when the franchise was known as New York MetroStars. He ranks among the club's all-time leaders in games and minutes. Mendes was chosen by Columbus Crew in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft on December 5, 2011. Coundoul and Albright were not selected and became free agents.

The same day the club confirmed the status of 2011 Red Bull goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who was also available in the Re-Entry Draft. Sutton had been loaned to then-North American Soccer League side Montreal Impact in July 2011. At season's end, Montreal exercised an option to acquire Sutton's MLS rights but subsequently declined his 2012 option.[3]

The club signed defender Connor Lade to a Home Grown Player contract on December 5, 2011.[4] The diminutive Lade spent parts of several years with Red Bull Academy. The following week New York announced that it had declined the 2012 contract option on midfielder Stéphane Auvray.

Red Bulls signed defender John Borrajo from Norwegian side Hamarkameratene on January 5, 2012. Borrajo had spent time at Red Bulls Academy before heading overseas. A much bigger move was confirmed by the club the next day: the short-term loan of star striker Thierry Henry to his former club, English juggernaut Arsenal.[5] The loan lasts until late February 2012.

The club was busy on SuperDraft day despite having only one selection. First, the rumored signing of Swedish defender Markus Holgersson was officially announced. The central defender is expected to step into a starting role for New York. The day's second announcement was the acquisition of forward Kenny Cooper from Portland Timbers in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money. The addition of Cooper to the forward corps led to speculation about the future of Juan Agudelo with the club.[6] As far as the actual SuperDraft, Red Bulls used its lone selection (#31) to choose goalkeeper Ryan Meara. The first goalkeeper chosen in the 2012 SuperDraft, Meara is considered a good bet to make the squad.

The following week the club drafted three players in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft: defender Mike Volk, midfielder Cristian Barreiro, and midfielder Nate Polak. The club also re-signed defender Stephen Keel to a new contract.[7]

On January 19, coach Hans Backe confirmed that goalkeeper Frank Rost would not be returning to the club. The following day oft-injured veteran midfielder Carl Robinson retired and joined the coaching staff of Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[8] These moves freed up one designated player slot (Rost) and two much needed international roster slots for Red Bulls. Early the following week, New York signed goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo from Finnish side AC Oulu.[9]

January 26 saw the official departure of defender Tim Ream to Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League after a month-long transfer saga.[10] A virtual unknown when selected by red Bulls in the second round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, Ream established himself as a starter from day one, finished his first season as a finalist for the 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year award, and secured a place with the United States men's national soccer team. Bolton paid a record transfer fee for an American defender, reportedly in the $3 million range, to sign Ream.[11] Red Bulls will receive 2/3 of the transfer amount and can use $650,000 of that as allocation money to override the MLS salary cap.

New York put some of the Ream transfer funds to immediate use when four days later the club traded allocation money to Chicago Fire for the MLS rights to defender Wilman Conde, whom New York signed immediately.[12] Conde is expected to start in central defense with fellow January signing Markus Holgersson.

Red Bulls finished the month by re-signing stalwart midfielder Joel Lindpere to a multi-year contract on January 31.[13] The club Most Valuable Player in 2010, Lindpere started all 37 MLS matches in 2011.

The first signing by the club after the start of training camp was draft pick goalkeeper Ryan Meara on February 6.[14] Four days later New York signed young Icelandic midfielder Victor Pálsson to the squad.

The club surprised fans on February 17 by waiving second-year homegrown players Matt Kassel and Šaćir Hot.[15] While 2012 playing time for the two was likely to be limited, the young players were just signed from Red Bulls Academy in 2011 and did not count against the team's salary cap. Also, team captain Thierry Henry returned from his short-term loan to Arsenal the same day that Kassel and Hot were waived.

Pre-season concluded in early March with the status of some key players still unresolved. Forward Luke Rodgers was still stuck in England unable to obtain a work visa to return to the United States; newly acquired defender Wilman Conde picked up an injury leaving his status for the first month of the regular season unknown; and forward Juan Agudelo was away from the club for an extended period as he trained with the U.S. Under-23 squad.

In the days just before the regular season began, New York made official the signings of defender Tyler Ruthven, midfielder Brandon Barklage and forwards José Angulo and Jhonny Arteaga.[16] Later in the month the club signed midfielder Ryan Maduro to the roster.[17]

The season started poorly with a 2–1 defeat at FC Dallas on March 11, 2012. A sluggish start led to a 2-goal deficit at the hour mark. The introduction of Kenny Cooper sparked some life into the club and the Red Bull substitute scored late in the match to close the final margin to one. The following week Red Bulls had to travel to Real Salt Lake. Another sub-par performance resulted in a 2–0 defeat.

New York Red Bulls players huddle up during their home opener against the Colorado Rapids.

On March 25, New York Red Bulls home opener, the team finally showed glimpses of unity and talents by sweeping Colorado Rapids 4–1 in front of 21,024 passionate supporters. Thierry Henry scored two goals and picked up an assist, winning him the MLS Player of the Week award.[18] Strike partner Kenny Cooper added two goals as well. A week after the dominating performance in home opener, Red Bulls host Montreal Impact in Red Bull Arena. They started poorly with many mistakes in the first half. The scoreline reads 2–2 at half time. After the inspiring talk from team captain Thierry Henry, Red Bulls put on a performance fans expected from them. Thierry Henry added 2 goals and 1 creative back-heel assist in the second half, which earn him his first-ever MLS hat trick since joining New York Red Bulls. He was again been rewarded the MLS Player of the Week with his heroic performance and leadership on and off the field. Also, his hat trick against Impact launched him to the top of MLS Golden Boot race with 5 goals in pocket.

Away from the field, the end of March was not kind to New York. Striker Juan Agudelo injured his knee while with the U.S. U-23 team during Olympic qualifying and surgery was required. The time frame for his return to Red Bulls was 6 weeks.[19] Worse still, the club announced on March 30 that English striker Luke Rodgers was denied a work visa to enter the United States.[20] As a result, the club transferred Rodgers to Lillestrøm SK of Norway. The stocky Englishman had become a fan favorite during the 2011 season due to his work ethic and goal scoring abilities.

MLS Results for March: 2 victories, 0 draws, 2 losses; 6 points
MLS Results Season-to-Date: 2 victories, 0 draws, 2 losses; 6 points, 2nd in Eastern Conference (MLS) through 4 matches

On April 5, Thierry Henry received the MLS Player of the Month award for his outstanding performance in March.[21] He received 17 out of 25 media votes, beating the second-placed Joe Cannon by big margin. Team captain Henry seemed no sign to stop his goal-scoring streak by adding 2 goals and 1 assist against Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium on April 7. His brace maintains him as the leader in MLS Golden Boot race with 7 goals in 5 games. His strike partner Kenny Cooper and Chris Wondolowski are not far behind with 6 goals each. History has been made when Thierry Henry was awarded another MLS Player of the Week, making it three consecutive Player of the Week for the striker.[22]

On April 14, the Red Bulls hosted San Jose Earthquakes and played to a 2–2 draw. The game featured the three leading MLS goal scorers at the time (Henry, Cooper, and Wondolowski of the Earthquakes). Henry set up Cooper to open the scoring only five minutes into the match. Dax McCarty scored for the first time in his career, and Wondolowski scored the tying goal for San Jose.[23] A week later, Red Bulls travelled to Washington to face D.C. United. The home team controlled the play in the rain and won 4–1. Henry scored on a free kick, but not until after Chris Pontius scored three times and Nick DeLeon scored once for D.C. United.[24]

New York hosted the New England Revolution on April 28 and posted their first clean sheet of the year in a 1-0 win. Henry scored the eventual deciding goal for the Red Bulls in the seventh minute, but would leave the game in the first half with a hamstring injury. The Red Bulls young, inexperienced defense and rookie goalkeeper Ryan Meara were able to make Henry's goal stand, and the Red Bulls snapped their two-game winless streak.[25]

MLS Results for April: 2 victories, 1 draws, 1 losses
MLS Results Season-to-Date: 4 victories, 1 draws, 3 losses; 13 points, 3rd in Eastern Conference (MLS) through 8 matches

Juan Agudelo was traded in May for defenseman Heath Pearce.

The Red Bulls began May without their leading scorer, Henry, and a "makeshift" defense.[26] They traveled to California for a match against Los Angeles Galaxy on May 5. Joel Lindpere scored the only goal of the game for the Red Bulls while the defense kept Galaxy from scoring en route to a 1-0 win.[26] The Red Bulls then had to play on short rest on May 9 at home against the Houston Dynamo. For the third straight game, New York was able to score early and play tight defense to win 1–0. The goal was scored by forward Cooper.[27]

On Sunday, May 13, New York traveled to Pennsylvania to play the Philadelphia Union in their third game in eight days. Still without Henry and Rafael Márquez, the Red Bulls were able to win the match 3–2 in comeback fashion. New York scored first on a goal from Lindpere in the 17th minute, but Lionard Pajoy scored the next two to give Philadelphia a 2–1 lead. The lead would not hold, however. Philadelphia was forced to play with ten men after Freddy Adu was sent off late in the first half, and New York was able to come back to win. After a goal by Markus Holgersson in the 68th minute, Cooper netted the game winner in the 78th minute. The win was New York's fourth and moved them into first place in the Eastern Conference.[28]

On May 17, New York traded up-and-coming striker Juan Agudelo for defensemen Heath Pearce of Chivas USA. Agudelo, a Red Bulls Academy product, played little so far in his career with New York. He had no goals in 2012 and six in 2011 in 12 starts. Pearce had 35 caps for the US National team up to this point in his career.[29]

The Red Bulls traveled to Montreal to face the Impact on May 19. The Red Bulls were able to end Montreal's season-long unbeaten streak at home by winning 2-1. After Cooper scored on a penalty kick in the first half, Dane Richards scored on a rebound opportunity in the second half while the Red Bull were playing with ten men.[30] On short rest, New York would host Chivas USA on May 23 and face the recently traded Agudelo. Juan Pablo Ángel scored first for Chivas in the 47th minute, but Cooper answered in the 56th to tie the game when he converted a low cross from Richards into the box.[31] New York was unable to find a winner despite being able to apply pressure for much of the rest of the game. The draw snapped the Red Bull's five-game win streak—their longest in nine years.[30][32]

MLS Results for May: 4 victories, 1 draws, 0 losses
MLS Results Season-to-Date: 8 victories, 2 draws, 3 losses; 26 points, 1st in Eastern Conference (MLS) through 13 matches

Team captain Thierry Henry shone in the matches against Columbus Crew and Toronto FC, which earned him another two MLS Player of the Week. He provided two goals and one assist against Columbus Crew with a goal scoring directly off the corner in second half stoppage time. The legendary striker scored an assist hat-trick before scoring a 25 yards one-time chipped shot against Toronto FC.

MLS Results Season-to-Date: 15 victories, 8 draws, 8 losses; 53 points, 2nd in Eastern Conference (MLS) through 31 matches

As of August 17, 2012.[33]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Previous Club
Goalkeepers
18	Ryan Meara		GK	(1990-11-15) November 15, 1990	Fordham University
24	Jeremy Vuolo		GK	(1987-09-05) September 5, 1987	AC Oulu
31	Luis Robles		GK	(1984-05-11) May 11, 1984	Karlsruher SC
88	Bill Gaudette		GK	(1981-09-14) September 14, 1981	Los Angeles Galaxy
Defenders
2	Wilman Conde		CB	(1982-08-29) August 29, 1982	Club Atlas
3	Heath Pearce		LB	(1984-08-13) August 13, 1984	Chivas USA
4	Rafael Márquez		CB	(1979-02-13) February 13, 1979	Barcelona
5	Markus Holgersson		CB	(1985-04-16) April 16, 1985	Helsingborg
7	Roy Miller		LB	(1984-11-24) November 24, 1984	Rosenborg
12	John Borrajo		RB	(1987-06-02) June 2, 1987	Hamarkameratene
15	Tyler Ruthven		CB	(1988-07-18) July 18, 1988	Atlanta
22	Stephen Keel		CB	(1983-04-11) April 11, 1983	Portland Timbers
25	Brandon Barklage		RB	(1986-11-02) November 2, 1986	D.C. United
Midfielders
6	Teemu Tainio		CDM	(1979-11-27) November 27, 1979	Ajax
8	Jan Gunnar Solli		MF	(1981-04-19) April 19, 1981	Brann
10	Lloyd Sam		MF	(1984-09-27) September 27, 1984	Notts County
11	Dax McCarty		CM	(1987-04-30) April 30, 1987	D.C. United
16	Connor Lade		MF	(1989-11-16) November 16, 1989	St. John's University
17	Tim Cahill		CAM	(1979-12-06) December 6, 1979	Everton
20	Joel Lindpere		LM	(1981-10-05) October 5, 1981	Tromsø
44	Victor Pálsson		CDM	(1991-04-30) April 30, 1991	Hibernian
Forwards
9	Sébastien Le Toux		RW	(1984-01-10) January 10, 1984	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
14	Thierry Henry		ST	(1977-08-17) August 17, 1977	Barcelona
27	Jhonny Arteaga		ST	(1986-11-24) November 24, 1986	F.C. New York
33	Kenny Cooper		ST	(1984-10-21) October 21, 1984	Portland Timbers
99	José Angulo		ST	(1988-01-13) January 13, 1988	Harrisburg City Islanders

Kickoff times are in EST.

Dallas v New York

February 7, 2012 Pre-season	Dallas	0–2	New York	Cancún, Mexico
13:30	Shea  41' Guarda  48'	Report	Cooper  33' Barklage  82' Hertzog  90' (pen.)

Mérida v New York

February 11, 2012 Pre-season	Mérida	1–1	New York	Cancún, Mexico
16:00	Noya  53' Uscanga  58' Charles  62'	Report	Pálsson  50' Maduro  54' Lade  80'

Estudiantes Tecos v New York

February 14, 2012 Pre-season	Estudiantes Tecos	1–1	New York	Zapopan, Mexico
21:00	Pereyra  34'	Report	Cooper  28' Márquez  51' Pálsson  77' Miller  82' Agudelo  87'	Stadium: Estadio Tres de Marzo

Pumas UNAM v New York

February 23, 2012 Red Bull Reto del Sol	Pumas UNAM	0–0	New York	Phoenix, Arizona
22:00	Orrantía  47' Velarde  87'	Report		Stadium: Chase Field Attendance: 14,597 Referee: Allen Chapman

Kickoff times are in EDT.

Dallas v New York

March 11, 2012 Match 1	Dallas	2–1	New York	Frisco, Texas
15:00	Lloyd  11' Benítez  38' Ricardo Villar  61'	Report Live TV: NBC Sports	McCarty  5' Tainio  68' Cooper  78' Pálsson  88'	Stadium: FC Dallas Stadium Attendance: 20,906 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Real Salt Lake v New York

March 17, 2012 Match 2	Real Salt Lake	2–0	New York	Sandy, Utah
22:00	Espíndola  39' Gil  22',  58'	Report	Richards  14' Cooper  72' Holgersson  83'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 16,738 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

New York v Colorado

March 25, 2012 Match 3	New York	4–1	Colorado	Harrison, New Jersey
16:00	Henry  3', 53' Cooper  6', 89' Solli  31' Márquez  60'	Report Live TV: ESPN	Cummings  77'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 21,024 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

New York v Montreal

March 31, 2012 Match 4	New York	5–2	Montreal	Harrison, New Jersey
16:00	Henry  28', 56', 89' Cooper  45+3' (pen.) Ballouchy  72',  77'	Report	Nyassi  18' Mapp  38' Corradi  41'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 13,415 Referee: Michael Kennedy

Columbus v New York

April 7, 2012 Match 5	Columbus	1–4	New York	Columbus, Ohio
15:00	Anor  53' Gruenebaum  83' Marshall  89'	Report Live TV: Univision Deportes	Cooper  3', 13' Henry  40', 90' Keel  59'	Stadium: Crew Stadium Attendance: 11,516 Referee: Mark Kadlecik

New York v San Jose

April 14, 2012 Match 6	New York	2–2	San Jose	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Cooper  5' McCarty  22' Richards  47' Márquez  86'	Report	Baca  15' Salinas  25' Wondolowski  35' Chávez  52'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 17,114 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

D.C. United v New York

April 22, 2012 Match 7	D.C. United	4–1	New York	Washington, D.C.
18:00	Pontius  8', 32', 69' DeLeon  36' Kitchen  71' Dudar  71'	Report Live TV: ESPN2	Henry  72'	Stadium: RFK Memorial Stadium Attendance: 13,262 Referee: Mark Geiger

New York v New England

April 28, 2012 Match 8	New York	1–0	New England	Harrison, New Jersey
15:30	Henry  7'	Report Live TV: NBC Sports	Ruthven  18' Joseph  19'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 18,152 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Los Angeles v New York

May 5, 2012 Match 9	Los Angeles	0–1	New York	Carson, California
20:00	Beckham  32' Barrett  88'	Report Live TV: ESPN	Lindpere  19' Richards  31' McCarty  80'	Stadium: The Home Depot Center Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Kevin Stott

New York v Houston

May 9, 2012 Match 10	New York	1–0	Houston	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Cooper  7',  45' Lade 56' McCarty  59'	Report		Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 11,315 Referee: Sorin Stoica

Philadelphia v New York

May 13, 2012 Match 11	Philadelphia	2–3	New York	Chester, Pennsylvania
12:30	Adu  5'  43' Pajoy  19',  31', 46'	Report Live TV: ESPN2	Lindpere  17',  54' Ballouchy  22' Holgersson  68' Cooper  78'	Stadium: PPL Park Attendance: 18,193 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

Montreal v New York

May 19, 2012 Match 12	Montreal	1–2	New York	Montreal, Quebec
19:30	Corradi  22' (pen.) Brovsky  71'	Report	Pálsson  4'  58'    Cooper  37' (pen.)    McCarty  65'    Richards  67'	Stadium: Olympic Stadium Attendance: 20,373 Referee: Ismail Elfath

New York v Chivas USA

May 23, 2012 Match 13	New York	1–1	Chivas USA	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Cooper  56' Lindpere  73'	Report Live TV: Univision Deportes	Ángel  47'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 13,919 Referee: Armando Villarreal

Chicago v New York

June 17, 2012 Match 14	Chicago	3–1	New York	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:00	Nyarko  4' Gargan  37' Segares  68',  79' Rolfe  81' Oduro  65'	Report Live TV: Univision Deportes	McCarty  55' Richards  80'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 18,526 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Vancouver v New York

June 20, 2012 Match 15	Vancouver	1–1	New York	Vancouver, B.C.
23:00	Hassli  67' Bonjour  75'	Report	Richards  14' Lindpere  19' Pearce  86'	Stadium: BC Place Attendance: 20,060 Referee: Chris Penso

New York v D.C. United

June 24, 2012 Match 16	New York	3–2	D.C. United	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Barklage  20', 45+2' McCarty  38' Solli  55',  90+3' Ballouchy  90'	Report Live TV: NBC Sports	Pontius  1', 66'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 25,187 Referee: Mark Geiger

Toronto v New York

June 30, 2012 Match 17	Toronto	1–1	New York	Toronto, Ontario
19:00	Koevermans  6' Dunfield  32'	Report Live TV: Galavisión	Solli  4' Richards  47'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 20,071 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

New England v New York

July 8, 2012 Match 18	New England	2–0	New York	Foxborough, Massachusetts
19:00	Nguyen  24' Bengtson  84'	Report	Richards  9' Miller  48' Lindpere  67'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 14,373 Referee: Drew Fischer

New York v Seattle

July 15, 2012 Match 19	New York	2–2	Seattle	Harrison, New Jersey
16:10	Le Toux  24' Lade  53' Lindpere  61' Henry  74'	Report	Fernández  15' Burch  44' Rose  66' Montero  67'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 19,414 Referee: Jorge Gonzalez

New York v Chicago

July 18, 2012 Match 20	New York	1–0	Chicago	Harrison, New Jersey
13:00	Barklage  60' Henry  71'	Report	Pappa  20' Nyarko  90+1'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 15,814 Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

New York v Philadelphia

July 21, 2012 Match 21	New York	2–0	Philadelphia	Harrison, New Jersey
14:30	Cooper  43', 58',  62'	Report	Pajoy  49' Farfan  54' Hoppenot  90+3'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 21,842 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

Montreal v New York

July 28, 2012 Match 22	Montreal	3–1	New York	Montreal, Quebec
19:30	Bernier  27' Di Vaio  48',  71' Arnaud  50' Nyassi  74'	Report	Henry  57',  73' Miller  71' McCarty  83'	Stadium: Saputo Stadium Attendance: 19,441 Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

Houston v New York

August 3, 2012 Match 23	Houston	2–0	New York	Houston, Texas
20:00	Taylor  2' Carr  28'	Report	Pearce  46' Pálsson  90'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 22,039 Referee: Silviu Petrescu

New York v Houston

August 10, 2012 Match 24	New York	2–0	Houston	Harrison, New Jersey
20:00	Lindpere  58' Holgersson  61' Lade  67' Solli  90+2'	Report	Kandji  28'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 15,730 Referee: Chris Penso

New York v Portland

August 19, 2012 Match 25	New York	3–2	Portland	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Cooper  42' Cahill  45' Pearce  83'	Report	Dike  8' Nagbe  32' Chara  93'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 19,043 Referee: Jason Anno

Kansas City v New York

August 26, 2012 Match 26	Kansas City	1–1	New York	Kansas City, Kansas
21:00	Kamara  4' Collin  36' Espinoza  68' Sapong  76'	Report	Kamara  28' (o.g.) Cahill  45' Conde  78'	Stadium: Livestrong Sporting Park Attendance: 18,491 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

D.C. United v New York

August 29, 2012 Match 27	D.C. United	2–2	New York	Washington, D.C.
20:00	DeLeon  21' De Rosario  68',  72'	Report	Lindpere  19' Conde  88'	Stadium: RFK Memorial Stadium Attendance: 10,303 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

New York v Columbus

September 15, 2012 Match 28	New York	3–1	Columbus	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Henry  9', 90+3' Cahill  56' McCarty  79'	Report	Mirošević  3' James  50'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 17,134 Referee: Abiodun Okulaja

New York v Kansas City

September 19, 2012 Match 29	New York	0–2	Kansas City	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00		Report	Sapong  12' Kamara  19' Espinoza  37'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 10,286 Referee: David Gantar

New England v New York

September 22, 2012 Match 30	New England	1–1	New York	Foxborough, Massachusetts
19:30	Rowe  57' Barnes  63',  90+5'	Report	Lade  54'  74' Tainio  62' Conde  68' Gaudette  88' Lindpere  90+1'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 24,364 Referee: Sorin Stoica

New York v Toronto

September 29, 2012 Match 31	New York	4–1	Toronto	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Holgersson  13' Cooper  27', 88' Henry  90+3'	Report	Johnson  6' Maund  69'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 25,017 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

New York v Chicago

October 6, 2012 Match 32	New York	0–2	Chicago	Harrison, New Jersey
15:30	Conde  14' Henry  43'	Report	Paladini  28' MacDonald  65', 78'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 21,157 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

New York v Kansas City

October 20, 2012 Match 33	New York	0–0	Kansas City	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00	Holgersson  38' Henry  44' Sam  70'	Report	Kamara  54'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 25,219 Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Philadelphia v New York

October 27, 2012 Match 34	Philadelphia	0–3	New York	Chester, Pennsylvania
13:30		Report Live TV: NBC Sports	Cooper  13' (pen.), 66' Henry  35',  90+3' Márquez  61'	Stadium: PPL Park Attendance: 18,533 Referee: Chris Penso

Kickoff times are in EDT.

D.C. United v New York

November 3, 2012 First Leg	D.C. United	1–1	New York	Washington, D.C.
20:00	Miller  61' (o.g.) Najar  71'  71'	Report	Lade  23' Hamid  65' (o.g.) Pearce  75'	Stadium: RFK Memorial Stadium Attendance: 17,556 Referee: Jair Marrufo
Note: Order of legs reversed from original schedule due to Hurricane Sandy.[35]

New York v D.C. United

November 8, 2012 Second Leg	New York	0–1 (1–2 agg.)	D.C. United	Harrison, New Jersey
19:30	Márquez  61'  75' Cooper 74'		Hamid  69' Pajoy  71' DeLeon  88'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 14,035 Referee: Mark Geiger
Note: Game originally schedule for November 7, 2012 but changed due to a Nor'easter.[36]

Kickoff times are in EDT.

Charleston v New York

May 29, 2012 Third Round	Charleston	0–3	New York	Charleston, South Carolina
19:30	Sanyang  65'	Report	Cooper  14' Pearce  41' Lade  70'	Stadium: Blackbaud Stadium Attendance: 3,527 Referee: Daniel Fitzgerald

Harrisburg v New York

June 5, 2012 Fourth Round	Harrisburg	3–1 (a.e.t.)	New York	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
19:05	Touray  13', 94' Duckett  28' Welker  38' Pelletier  87' Basso  90+2' Noble  115' Mkosana  117'	Report	Lade  58' Arteaga  90+2' Holgersson  120'	Stadium: Skyline Sports Complex Attendance: 1,477 Referee: Robert Sibiga

New York is in the #11 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.[37]

It is believed that New York has 11 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. It is believed the three extra slots that New York possesses were acquired from the Houston Dynamo franchise (then based in San Jose) in January 2005 in exchange for Ricardo Clark, again from Houston in March 2009,[38] and from Colorado Rapids in the September 2010 Macoumba Kandji trade. The trade of this spot was not included in the press release.[39]

Future picks acquired: *2013 MLS SuperDraft conditional draft pick from San Jose Earthquakes; *Unspecified year conditional draft pick from Toronto FC.
Future picks traded: *2013 MLS SuperDraft Round 1 to Portland Timbers; *2013 MLS SuperDraft Round 2 to Sporting Kansas City; *2014 MLS Supplemental Draft Round 2 pick to Los Angeles Galaxy.