NYCFC fans at Citi Field Saturday evening had their eyes on a huge replica MLS Championship Cup displayed in the plaza area before entering the gates. Their team came close to holding the real cup with a playoff run that came to a conclusion, a first postseason Hudson River Derby match against the Red Bulls.
An Eastern Conference semifinal 2-0 loss that advanced the Red Bulls to their first final since 2018. For NYCFC a run that was abruptly stopped in their quest to win their second Cup in franchise history. The rivalry has become a battle of two NYC area teams, though the Red Bulls home venue is situated in Harrison, New Jersey.
NYCFC also hosts home games at Red Bull arena when Yankee Stadium or Citi Field are not available, two fan bases that are loyal and supportive as over 24,000 showed up. At times Red Bulls chants were louder than those of NYCFC.
Anticipated for two weeks was this match since both advanced with second round wins over higher seeded teams. However, NYCFC could not convert the goals with opportunities that were denied. The Red Bulls got their chances and made the best of them with two goals in the first half.
Quickly it seemed NYCFC would have to come from behind and at Citi Field that had been a part of their repertoire. And after handling the Red Bulls twice this season, there was that confidence a third time would get them a step closer to the Cup.
“We got some chances, we don’t,” said NYCFC coach Nick Cushing. “Sometimes It’s just not your day. This is a sport. We got some chances, we don’t. Sometimes It’s just not your day. They’ll be one team that wins at the end and all the other teams have to go back to the drawing board and work hard. It’s not failure.”
For sure the season was not a failure. NYCFC with different roster changes and Maxi Moralez developed into a premiere player in the league. Cushing was confident his team, after an early season struggle would fight for the MLS Cup, defying the odds but came up short.
For sure, though, NYCFC will return in a few months with a different look, the 2025 season of new additions and those who will return. Change is common with MLS player contracts and how they are structured. Though it is expected a good portion that got them to the conference semifinal will return.
Regardless, the new season begins this coming week. Cushing is returning after a rumor of a reunion in England as a coach with the Arsenal, though a disappointment of losing and getting close to the Cup will sting for some time.
“Pushed all the way and finished strong in the regular season,” Cushing said regarding his 6th seeded team that overtook the Red Bulls behind them. “Fought right til the end tonight. What we’ve shown is there’s a real spirit and a real soul in there and a real foundation to go forward and continue to try and win with this team.”
For some reason the Red Bulls were more aggressive and got that early advantage with the second postseason goal from Felipe Carballo in the 16th minute. It was a long distance strike that went past keeper Matt Freese who had 14 career postseason saves.
“A lot of confidence,” said midfielder Keaton Parks about the offseason and moving ahead. “Like I said, we were doubted at the beginning of the season and we showed what we were capable of as a young team. I think we grew a lot this year. We came to the playoffs against a good team (FC Cincinnati) who had a great season and we knocked them out in three. We have a lot of positives we can take from this season and grow on for next season.”
Parks added they started too slow and that played a role in this loss. NYCFC had been more aggressive during their run and at times seems to lack that drive in getting to the net.
For now, though, the Red Bulls have momentum and defied the odds as they won only three of their final MLS regular season matches. They eliminated the defending CUP champion Columbus Crew in their best-two-of-three and await the winner between Atlanta and Orlando City that will be contested Sunday.
So it was a solemn postgame media scrum for NYCFC. They expected a better outcome and have a month to regroup, the MLS offseason is brief and training begins in late January.
Regardless of a successful season, that replica Cup outside Citi Field was just a reminder of what could have been.
“We know it’s not easy to change this in just one year, with a lot of new players coming and helping us,” said defender Thiago Martins. “But, at the same time I feel like we wanted to go further.”
He said NYCFC will get fresh and prepare for next season. And that’s all they can do in their quest for a second franchise MLS Cup. They came up short this time and like so many others in their quest this loss will be a far fetched memory.
Rich Mancuso: X (Twitter) @Ring786) Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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