EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – This season was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for Danny O’Rourke. After the San Jose Earthquakes announced their move to Houston, the 23 year-old was going to be playing soccer in the same town his father played football in, as a member of the Oilers, back in the late 1970s.

But a trade in late March changed all of that and the second year midfielder was coming to New York as a member of the newly christened Red Bulls.

Yet, that doesn’t matter to O’Rourke, since he’s comfortable in his new surroundings.

“I love New York so far; it’s a great team and a great community,” said O’Rourke, who has taken up residence in Hoboken. “I don’t really go into the city that much, but I have friends living there and when I went in, I loved it.”

What O’Rourke cherished more, though, was a crack at his former team, which he got last Saturday when the Red Bulls played to a 1-1 tie against the Houston Dynamo at the Meadowlands.

“It was kind of relaxing coming in before the game, because you know their tendencies,” he said. “But five to ten minutes into the game, I was nervous, then as the game started to get going, I was fine.”

O’Rourke played all 90 minutes and registered one shot in the game. But with veterans like Tony Meola and Steve Jolly on the team, he has experience he can lean on.

“I need to keep learning from the older guys,” he said. “Steve and Tony are telling me what to do. I keep listening and soaking up what to do. I work on it everyday.”

The midfielder needed the help, since Houston knows the tendencies of their former player.

“They know my strengths and weaknesses, but I know them,” O’Rourke thought. “It was a pretty even game today. Unfortunately, we gave up a soft goal on a deflection, but Tony came up big.”

Even with a huge game from the goalie, the Red Bulls only managed another tie – their seventh in ten games – which can be frustrating.

“Everybody wants to win,” O’Rourke said. “Houston is one of the best teams in the league, so to tie them is good. But, we have to get that mentality that we should have won.”

If O’Rourke continues to improve, the Red Bulls may get that state of mind.

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