By Dylan Butler

MARABELLA, Trinidad - The New York Red Bulls are in the midst of a disastrous season in Major League Soccer, its woeful record of two victories in 21 games is the worst in Major League Soccer and on par to be the worst in the American top flight's 13-year history.

But last year's MLS Cup finalists arrived in Trinidad on Tuesday night with a newfound confidence. The CONCACAF Champions League is a chance to wipe the slate clean, to leave its domestic doldrums back in New York.

And that fresh start begins with the opening leg of the Preliminary Round aggregate series against W Connection at Manny Ramjohn Stadium Thursday night.

"I definitely hope we all take this game as an opportunity for us to make something out of the season," Red Bulls captain Juan Pablo Angel said. "This is the first time this club is representing MLS internationally. We've got to make sure we do it right. We're carrying the Red Bull flag for the first time outside this country in a very important competition."

Since qualifying for the Champions League last year, the Red Bulls, which have a 13-game winless streak in all competitions, have touted how important the tournament is to their club. But with New York all but mathematically eliminated from the MLS playoffs and already bounced from its domestic cup, the Champions League is now vital.

"This is a new competition and we need to take this as a great opportunity to start winning some games and restore the image of the club," embattled Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "Hopefully we can do that tomorrow night."

W Connection also has a point to prove and will be looking to follow Joe Public's lead from last year when the fellow Trinidadian squad thrashed the New England Revolution 6-1 on aggregate to reach the group stage.

"We could kind of take a cue from that," W Connection coach Stuart Charles Fevrier said. "We compete against (Joe Public) already so if they can do well, we can do well, as well."

W Connection defeated the Puerto Rico Islanders, which last year made a surprise run to the Champions League semifinals, in the CFU Club Champions Cup to book its first Champions League ticket.

"Puerto Rico did the Caribbean proud by reaching the semifinals," Fevrier said. "Defeating them in the final this year again gave us the confidence that we are capable of doing well against Central and North American teams. I thought we surprised them."

The tournament is a good chance for W Connection, which is in fifth place in the Digicel Pro League, to raise its profile internationally. But its players also know that beating the New York Red Bulls will not be an easy task.

"Seeing that they're struggling doesn't mean that we can just lay back and take it easy," Trinidad international Andre Toussaint said. "We still have to work hard and do our best."

While the Red Bulls could arguably be the favorites heading into the series, W Connection has the pressure of competing at home in the opening leg. The return leg will be played at Giants Stadium next Wednesday.

"It's a challenge for us because we're playing at home first, but also football is a dynamic game and you're not guaranteed a win even though we're playing home," W Connection captain Elijah Joseph said. "Both teams can play football. We'll try our best to win at home."

The winner of the aggregate series advances to the group stage and will be placed in Group D with Pumas UNAM (Mexico), Comunicaciones (Guatemala) and the winner of the series between Liberia (Costa Rica)/Real Espana (Honduras).

This is not the first meeting between the two teams. They also met in March 2005 with New York winning 1-0 in a preseason friendly in Trinidad. Red Bulls sporting director Jeff Agoos was a member of that New York team.

On Thursday they meet again. This time, though, much more is at stake.

"For the short story that this franchise has, I think it's important that it's written in the right way," Angel said. "Hopefully we make the most of it. Knowing that all the circumstances have been very difficult for us this year, this could be a great chance for us."