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Red Bulls-Earthquakes Preview

May 7, 2010 - 5:39 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

New York (5-1-0) at San Jose (3-2-0), 10:00 p.m. EDT

A stunning resurgence has the New York Red Bulls comfortably leading the Eastern Conference, with coach Hans Backe and defender Tim Ream playing vital roles.

The Red Bulls look to surpass their win total from all of last season when they visit the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.

After reaching the MLS Cup final for the first time in 2008, New York (5-1-0) was a league-worst 5-19-6 last year, setting a franchise record for the fewest wins in a season.

In an effort to begin turning things around, the Red Bulls hired Backe, a well-traveled Swede who previously had stints with teams throughout Europe and served as an assistant under Sven-Goran Eriksson at Manchester City as well as the Mexican national team.

Backe and his staff selected Ream with the 18th overall pick of January's SuperDraft, hoping to solidify a defense that gave up a conference-high 47 goals.

Both moves are paying off.

The Red Bulls lead the East by seven points over Columbus and Chicago, the conference's top two teams from the 2009 regular season.

"Mentally, we're very, very strong," forward Salou Ibrahim told the Red Bulls' official website. "It comes also from the head coach, he is very strong and very relaxed and doesn't put too much pressure on the players. It comes forward to the players, how relaxed he is.

"That's very important. It helps us when we get to the field and we stay in the games and in the end we've been getting the three points."

New York, 2-1-0 on the road, is thriving defensively, allowing four goals on the season while getting three shutouts - one shy of its 2009 total.

Ream is a major reason for that vast improvement, playing every minute and emerging as an early favorite for the league's rookie of the year award due to his strong play and calmness on the ball.

"They talked about (last year) giving up soft goals," Ream said. "We're trying to close out every game we're in."

The Red Bulls did just that last Saturday, getting second-half goals from Ibrahim and Juan Pablo Angel to beat D.C. 2-0 and extend their winning streak to three.

Despite the strong start, Ream feels it's too early to get excited.

"It is six games," Ream said. "Six games doesn't do anything yet."

He'll now have to contend with a hot Chris Wondolowski, who has spurred San Jose's 2-1-0 stretch with a three-game goal streak after being moved into the lineup due to hamstring injuries to fellow forwards Eduardo, Arturo Alvarez and Cornell Glen.

Wondolowski's three goals - the latest coming in last Saturday's 1-0 win over Colorado - are two shy of his personal best set last year with the Earthquakes (3-2-0) and Houston. He had two goals in 32 games over the previous four seasons.

"Each year, I just try to keep learning," Wondolowski told the league's official website. "The guys around me I think are the biggest (differences). They're playing well and creating chances for me. I'm just able to take them."

San Jose and New York split two meetings last year with the home team winning each time.