New York City FC (NYCFC) outlasted FC Cincinnati in Game 3 of the first round of the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, winning 6-5 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes.
NYCFC will play their third Hudson River Derby of the season against a New York Red Bulls team on a two-game bounce, who swept reigning MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew in their first-round playoff tie. NYCFC won 2-1 in May at home and hammered the Red Bulls 5-1 in Harrison to take the Hudson River Derby trophy for this season.
It will be the first time NYCFC and the Red Bulls will face each other in the playoffs, and have a direct say in their crosstown rival’s season.
The remaining rounds — the conference semifinals, finals and MLS Cup final — will be decided in one match, and the conference semifinals will take place after the November international break on Saturday, Nov. 23, and Sunday, Nov. 24.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese showed the league why he should have won Goalkeeper of the Year, making three saves in the shootout to deny FC Cincinnati subsequent conference semifinal appearances.
The first three takers of each team buried their penalties in emphatic fashion, but Pavel Bucha had his saved by Freese. Captain Thiago Martins had a chance to win the game for his team, but Roman Celentano put out a strong hand to save his effort.
Miles Robinson and Justin Haak buried theirs in sudden-death territory, but Freese stepped up again to save Gerardo Valenzuela’s penalty. Chidozie Awaziem sent his penalty kick blasting over the crossbar, and on NYCFC’s third chance to win the shootout and the series, Andres Perea skied his too.
Mitja IIlenič scored the decisive spot-kick, sending the Blue and Orange goalkeeper Roman Celentano the wrong way.
IIlenič has stepped up in the last two games, deputizing for Tayvon Gray who was sent off in Game 1 at the TQL Stadium. He put in solid performances, assisting Alonso Martinez’s opener in Game 2 and kept Yuya Kubo quiet on his right side tonight, limiting him to just one shot.
Cincinnati had the better of the chances in 90 minutes, racking up 1.13 expected goals to NYCFC’s 0.16. The game was defined by not just the missed opportunities on both sides of the field, but by both teams’ rigid defensive organizations that allowed neither team’s forward line to carve out a clear-cut chance, going straight to penalties after the 90 minutes.
Cincinnati had a sustained spell of momentum in the first half hour, and Luca Orellano had a massive chance to give his side the lead, but Freese made an outstanding save to his left to keep it scoreless.
Santiago Rodriguez, who made it 13 goals for the season in Game 2, had a penalty shout waved away with five minutes left, after colliding with Robinson on a run into the box.
Orellano had another chance to put Cincinnati 1-0 up, as the ball came to him off a NYCFC corner. He slalomed his way through the pitch on the counter-attack, out-pacing Haak and spinning Ilenič around to get his shot off that went narrowly wide.
Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan made the first change with 20 minutes left to go in the second half, replacing Kubo, who had 10 goals for the Orange and Blues, with Sergio Santos. He immediately got involved, sliding a ball across the NYCFC penalty box to Luciano Acosta. Acosta slipped in DeAndre Yedlin who had almost scored, but his first-time shot found the side-netting instead.
FC Cincy squandered another chance to go ahead with 80 minutes gone when Yamil Asad saw his shot blocked at the edge of the 18-yard box. NYCFC tried to punish Cincinnati’s lackluster finishing straight after through Alonso Martinez, who led the counter-attack and sliced his shot just wide of the goal. Martinez was called back for offside, though, and was substituted off for Monsef Bakrar five minutes later.
The last 10 minutes turned scrappy, as referee Drew Fischer booked Kevin O’Toole, Alvas Powell, and Chidozie Awaziem for cynical fouls.
NYCFC won the 2021 MLS Cup but was knocked out in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals by Philadelphia Union in a 3-1 defeat. They face a familiar foe in cross-town rivals New York Red Bulls next match for the third installment of the Hudson River Derby.
“Before the game we knew [who NYCFC would play], so it was more motivation for us because we will play at home against Red Bulls,” said Ilenič. “We know what this means to our fans and we will prepare well and beat them.”
City has won both derbies this season, winning 2-1 in May through Hannes Wolf and Monsef Bakrar. They secured the Hudson River Derby trophy in September with a 5-1 win away from home — a game that kickstarted a three-game winning streak, solidifying NYCFC’s playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“The Blue Stomp Out is what we call it,” Felix Palao, a board member of NYCFC’s supporters’ group The Third Rail. “It’s an honor to hold this trophy because it’s something that our club worked for to support us. We get to be very proud of this.”
