Union, Red Bulls play to scoreless draw

HARRISON, N.J. - The Union, of course, would always like to leave visitors' locker rooms with three points in the standings.

But they took a personal victory from their 0-0 draw against New York at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night - the club's first point on the road against the Red Bulls.

"It says a lot about our team and the way we've approached games this year," Union team manager John Hackworth said.

The Union (10-7-8) are now 0-4-1 all-time at New York.

Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath was busy throughout his ninth shutout of the season, the team's sixth clean sheet in its last 11 matches. MacMath made a key stop of a header on his doorstep in the 91st minute. In the 35th minute, he barely got his fingertips on a Fabian Espindola header from a few yards.

MacMath was quick to thank his back line, especially Amobi Okugo and Jeff Parke. The two defenders locked down New York captain Thierry Henry, who entered the game with seven goals.

"Credit to the guys in front of me who made my job easy tonight," MacMath said.

After a lackluster first half offensively for the Union - New York (11-8-6) dominated possession and completed nearly twice as many passes before halftime - the road team had a few quality chances in the final 17 minutes.

None was better than Sebastien Le Toux's shot in the 73d minute from just outside the penalty area that banged off the crossbar. The rebound fell to Antoine Hoppenot, a substitute for Jack McInerney in the 66th minute, who was called offside.

"The longer that game went on, I thought we'd open them up a little bit," Hackworth said.

The teams had split their two prior meetings this year and remain separated by a single point in the Eastern Conference standings.

Players said the atmosphere Saturday was comparable to that of a playoff game. MacMath was asked whether getting that elusive point in a stadium that hasn't been the easiest of venues gives the team confidence.

"Not just here, but anywhere," the keeper said.