A day prior to their match against the Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls made a bold statement that they are intent on winning the 2011 MLS Cup.

By trading away their first-round 2010 MLS SuperDraft selection midfielder Tony Tchani, midfielder/defender Danleigh Borman and their 2012 MLS SuperDraft selection to Toronto FC for midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, the Red Bulls organization made it clear to the league and their fans that are in a "win now" mentality.

With the acquisition of four-time MLS Cup winner Dwayne De Rosario, the Red Bulls now have a player who's been not only one of the most consistent MLS players for the decade, he's also been a "clutch" player during the postseason as evidenced by his heroics in his four MLS Cup champions with both the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo.

Last night at Red Bull Arena against the Houston Dynamo, De Rosario demonstrated the force he is capable of being with his new teammates. Coming out in the second half as a substitution, De Rosario registered his first assist with the Red Bulls when Dane Richards scored in the 47th minute of the game.

Unfortunately for Red Bulls fans, Houston tied it in the 50th minute when Cam Weaver scored the equalizer when GK Bouna Coundoul moved too far out of the box to defend. As a result, the match ended in a 1-1 tie. With the tie, the Red Bulls haven't won a match in two weeks and now have a 1-0-2 record.

For the Houston Dynamo, they've yet to register a win in their 2011 MLS campaign. By tying New York, the Dynamo for the second consecutive week played well on the road. Their GK Tally Hall was spectacular as he recorded nine saves, some of them which may be considered for the MLS Save of the Week.

In a game where the Red Bulls out-shot the Dynamo 24-9 while taking a 12-5 shots on goal advantage and held an 8-3 on corner kicks, the Red Bulls failed to capitalize on their numerous opportunities. For the third consecutive week, New York has only produced one goal. For the season, the Red Bulls have taken a total of 48 shots along with 20 shots on goal and it has resulted in three goals for the season.

No one can can accuse the Red Bulls of not trying to produce goals. After a lackluster first half where the highlight consisted a hot-dog vendor walking up and down the stairs of Red Bull Arena for the first time this season, the Red Bulls came out aggressive in the second half. By taking 16 shots and nine shots on goal, the Red Bulls attacked the net and were clearly the dominant team.

The season is still early and with the recent moves made by the organization, fans have reasons to believe that the Red Bulls will be in sync. The only main concern the team has right now is the playing of Thierry Henry who has yet to produce a goal this season. In addition, he's missing numerous scoring opportunities as evidenced by his six shots and four shots on goal that he took last night.

One has to wonder if Henry is injured more than he's letting on, not in playing shape or simply that time has caught with him. It's still too early in the season to tell but if he doesn't start producing, Red Bulls fans in the South Ward may begin to boo him.

Prior to last night's game, the Red Bulls also honored Rafa Marquez for playing his 100th game with the Mexican National Team, El Tri in a 3-1 victory over Paraguay on March 26, 2011. Since making his debut for El Tri against Ecuador on February 5, 1997, Rafa has been an important member of the Mexican National Team.

Next week the Red Bulls travel to Philadelphia where they will face 2-1-0 Philadelphia Union at the PPL Park at 7 p.m. E.T.

Other MLS Results

On Friday, April 1, 2011 the Columbus Crew won 2-0 over FC Dallas. Saturday matches resulted with Toronto FC tying Chivas USA 1-1. The Vancouver Whitecaps FC produced two goals in stoppage time to tie Sporting KC 3-3 at Empire Field in Vancouver. 

Meanwhile the New England Revolution tied the Portland Timbers 1-1 at the Gillette Stadium. The San Jose Earthquakes battled the winless Seattle Sounders to a 2-2 draw at the Buck Shaw Stadium in San Jose. At home in the Home Depot Center, the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0.

Cesar Diaz covers soccer for Latino Sports and freelances for USSoccerPlayers.com. You may follow him on Facebook at Covering Soccer and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer and @LatinoSports143. Please email your questions and comments to Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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