Fabio celebrates his golazo. (Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports)

The Red Bulls toppled Nashville SC from the undefeated ranks, posting a 2-0 victory over its MLS Eastern Conference rivals at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Friday night.

In the team’s first game in its return from the international break, Fabio and Kyle Duncan were the offensive heroes as the Red Bulls boosted their home winning streak to four games in front of a crowd of 10,173.

The Red Bulls (4-2-2, 12 points) moved into third place in the tight conference while eighth-place Nashville (2-1-5, 11) became the last Eastern team to suffer a defeat.

Head coach Gerhard Struber called it “a massive win this night against a very difficult opponent.”

“We have to bring every game a different level, a higher level, and in the end, a higher standard,” Struber said. “This is what I expect from my players. I think today was the next benchmark.”

Added Patryk Klimala: “We feel so comfortable.”

Fabio boosted the hosts into the lead with a golazo in the 37th minute. Defender Sean Nealis sent a ball into the penalty area off a free kick. The ball bounced once as Klimala lobbed it to Fabio, whose full volley shot bounded off the far post and into the net.

“We train a lot of things like in the pressing” Klimala said. “When we defend, when we our attacking, I feel comfortable with Fabio. I can play with anybody, but it worked today with Fabio.”

Three minutes into the second half, Nashville thought it had knotted things up, but his goal was nullified due to an offside call.

Duncan, who earlier in the day was named to the U.S. men’s national team preliminary roster for the Concacaf Gold Cup, gave the Red Bulls some much needed breathing room in the 56th minute. Caden Clark passed to Duncan, who ran toward the net, cut inside and fired a shot past goalkeeper Joe Willis for a 2-0 advantage.

“Being in that position a bunch of times, I saw a lot of space in front of me,” Duncan said. “Gerhard is always telling me ‘Get forward and find the right moment and find the right opportunity to score.’ So, I didn’t see any[one] to pass it to and I figured I should take that chance and I took that chance.”

Nashville, which had overcome two-goal leads three times this season, could not duplicate that feat Friday night.

Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel recorded the clean sheet.

Next on tap is a Wednesday night matc at the New England Revolution.

“We need to use [the win] as motivation, go out and win away games and do well on the road because we have this down pat,” Duncan said. “We should celebrate the moment, but also realize we have to come back here and and keep that same energy so we keep this positive path going.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.