NYCFC Season Ends As Red Bulls Delivered Early KO Punch

 

The action at midfield in front of what are usually the left-field seats at Citi Field. Photo by Jason Schott.

In the MLS Cup Eastern Semifinals, the New York Red Bulls shutout New York City Football Club, 2-0, in front of 24,891 at a frigid Citi Field on Saturday evening.

This was the first-ever playoff version of the Hudson River Derby, but it was the fifth time the Red Bulls have eliminated NYCFC in a knockout round match. In addition to this one, the Red Bulls beat them three times in the U.S. Open Cup, once in the Leagues Cup. 

The referee about to bring the ball to the center circle for the opening kickoff. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Red Bulls made a declarative statement early, as Felipe Carballo buried one, off a feed from Dante Vanzeir, from the left side just outside of the box in the 16th minute.

Then, just nine minutes later, Vanzeir got a goal of his own when he connected on one from the center of the box to make it 2-0.

Even though NYCFC poured in 25 shots, and had possession for 64.7 percent of the game, they never really threatened the rest of the way. 

Carlos Coronel earned the shutout for the Red Bulls, as he made six saves. 

Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel about to send a free kick to the other end. Photo by Jason Schott. 

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese made one save, as the Red Bulls only had three shots on net. Freese played all four NYCFC playoff games, including the three against FC Cincinnati, and he had a record of 1-2-1, with 14 saves and one clean sheet as he played all 360 minutes.

This was the third time NYCFC was shutout in the playoffs, with the other two coming against Toronto FC in 2016 and Atlanta United in 2018. Those are two of three teams, along with Toronto in 2019, to reach the MLS Cup Final after knocking off NYCFC.

COACH'S COMMENTS: NYCFC Head Coach Nick Cushing addressed the media after the game: 

On what went wrong today compared to the two regular season matches: “The difference between this game and that game is we took our chances in the 5-1 game.  There wasn't so much wrong with this game. We gave away the second ball, [which] drops and he [Felipe Carballo] hits it early and Matt Freese, he's blinded by it. Then, the set play goal I haven't actually seen back but to give a set play goal, [New York] Red Bulls feed off set plays and it's a huge part of their game. We did enough to win the football game, but I can't blame any guys in there. You look till the end, we're pushing the game we're trying to create. We get some chances, we don't. Sometimes it's just not your day. This is sport. There'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. There's one team that's going to win and we wanted to win but I'd be proud of my team if I was a New York City [FC] supporter tonight the way that they went about it. I’d be disappointed, but I'll be really proud of them.” 

On message to the fans: “Be proud of the team. Be proud of the journey that the team went on. Be proud of how the team grew through[out] the season. Be proud of how the team took the knocks and stayed humble enough to continue to work, to stay together. We had some difficult results this year, but we had some really exciting ones, and we had some exceptional results and a good run that we fell just short on penalties to the eventual winners in the 2024 Leagues Cup. [We] pushed all the way and finished strong in the regular season and got through a really difficult series against [FC] Cincinnati. [We] fought right till 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.”