Three times New York City FC had a chance to knock FC Cincinnati out of the MLS Cup Playoffs in a penalty kick shootout Saturday, and three times it missed the mark. A team rarely gets one gift in the postseason, but when the fourth opportunity to put the home team away came, NYCFC finally came through.
The sequence capped a closely fought best-of-three first-round matchup that saw each team win its home match ahead of a pivotal third game at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. A scoreless deadlock in regulation gave way to a penalty-kick shootout, and the sequence served as a worthy showcase for two U.S. men’s national team hopefuls in goal: Matt Freese of NYCFC and Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano.
The first three kicks were well taken from each team, as the net rippled on six consecutive occasions. Cincinnati midfielder Pavel Bucha stepped up next and hit his attempt to his right only for a diving Freese’s parry, the shot wide of goal. After James Sands made NYCFC’s fourth attempt and Kevin Kelsy brought things level, it was up to Celentano to keep his team in contention. The former Indiana Hoosier did just that, diving to his right to stop a well-placed shot from NYCFC captain Thiago Martins.
Though Miles Robinson and Justin Haak converted shots in the sixth round, the seventh round kicked off a quartet of kickers who seemed uncomfortable in the pressure moment. Freese and Celentano alternated saves before Cincinnati’s Chidozie Awaziem and NYCFC’s Andres Perea sent their attempts into the supporters section behind the goal.
Cincinnati had a third consecutive taker fail to convert at the start of the ninth round, as defender Teenage Hadebe’s tentative run-up led to a shot that was easy for Freese to prevent. It was right back Mitja Ilenič who wrapped things up to send New York City back to the conference semifinal for the third time in four seasons.
Winner of the 2023 Supporters’ Shield, Cincinnati was expected to contend on all fronts again this season. The club brought back many key figures from last season’s squad while working hard to fortify its defensive ranks in the offseason. Ultimately, the sale of U.S. international Brandon Vazquez to CF Monterrey proved to be a shakeup too strong to overcome. Cincinnati brought Kelsy to the team on a loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, but the 20-year-old Venezuelan was far more green as a line leader than Vazquez had been.
That, coupled with the sudden departure of fellow striker Aaron Boupendza, left a team with plenty of talented defenders and midfielders without an obvious goal scorer to finish off sequences. In Saturday’s game, Cincinnati put just 4 of its 15 shots on Freese’s net, failing to maximize a 1.18-0.28 expected goal advantage. Reigning MVP Luciano Acosta did his part to pull the strings and Argentinian wing back Luca Orellano was tantalizing on his dribble, but the lack of a proven goal scorer up top has ultimately kept Cincinnati from contending for its first MLS Cup title.
On the flip side, it’s a hard-earned advancement for Nick Cushing’s side, which finished sixth in the Eastern Conference table. NYCFC recovered from missing its first postseason last year, its first time since 2015, on the back of ample year-to-year improvement from returning players. Costa Rica international Alonso Martínez has proved himself as a dependable scorer, and Uruguayan playmaker Santi Rodríguez showed similar prowess in his second season after the club turned his loan into a full transfer. Coupled with dependable midfield play from Keaton Parks and James Sands as well as the progress from local defenders Kevin O’Toole, Haak and Tayvon Gray, gave plenty of dependability for Cushing.
Freese was arguably the standout, a noticeable omission from the finalists for MLS goalkeeper of the year. The 26-year-old joined NYCFC in 2023 after four years as Andre Blake’s backup in Philadelphia, finally finding a chance to prove himself. Like many domestic MLS goalkeepers before him, the change of scenery has helped him work into the first team. His 7.35 goals prevented in the regular season ranked fourth league-wide.
The win sets New York City FC up to host a conference semifinal showdown with rivals the New York Red Bulls. It’s unclear where NYCFC will hold this game, as their primary venue (Yankee Stadium) will host a college football game between Army and Notre Dame on Nov. 23 and their secondary option (Citi Field) is hosting the touring Circus Vazquez from Nov. 15 through mid-December.
In the past, NYCFC has held games at Red Bull Arena, the home venue of their New Jersey-based counterpart. As things stand, there’s a realistic chance they’ll serve as nominal hosts in the last place they’d want to face their biggest adversary.
(Photo of Mitja Ilenič and Matthew Freese: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer via Imagn Images)
