HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Dante Vanzeir and Cameron Harper scored second-half goals to rally the New York Red Bulls from a two-goal halftime deficit to a 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC on Wednesday night.
Charlotte (6-8-5) grabbed an early lead when Benjamin Bender corraled a long pass from goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina in the 13th minute to score a one-touch goal.
Bender scored again when he took passes from Enzo Copetti and Justin Meram and found the net in the 19th minute for a 2-0 advantage. It was Bender's third goal of the season and the fifth of the 22-year-old's career.
The Red Bulls (4-6-8) struck quickly in the second half to pull even. Vanzeir scored in the 53rd minute and Harper found the net in the 58th. Kyle Duncan and and Elias Mancel picked up assists on Vanzeir's second goal of the season. Duncan and Sean Nealis had assists on Harper's first netter this year.
Carlos Coronel had one save for New York. Kahlina saved four shots for Charlotte.
Charlotte managed just six shots against New York. It's the 15th time in 18 matches this season that the Red Bulls have surrendered fewer than 10 shots. No other team has done it more than eight times.
The Red Bulls were coming off a 3-0 home loss to Orlando City. The club has lost two straight just once in its last 68 regular-season matches. The two clubs played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season. It marked the first time a Red Bull other than Elias Manoel scored against Charlotte. Manoel had all three Red Bulls goals scored in the first three meetings. They are the only goals of Manoel's career.
Charlotte returns home to host CF Montreal on Saturday. The Red Bulls will host Atlanta United on Saturday.
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