Charlotte Evens Series With NYCFC At The Stadium

 

NYCFC's Maxi Moralez looking to make a play in the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club lost a heartbreaker to Charlotte FC on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the second game of Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

After a scoreless 90 minutes, they went right to penalty kicks, which Charlotte won, 7-6, to even the series at a game apiece.

The final game of this Best-of-3 Series will be Friday night in Charlotte, kickoff time to be determined. NYCFC won the series opener there this past Tuesday, 1-0.

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese made three saves in regulation, while Charlotte took eight shots overall.

With a possession edge of 53.9 percent, NYCFC poured in 17 shots, and Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made five saves.

The procession of the shootout, which went eight rounds, went as follows:

Charlotte - Archie Goodwin - made - 1-0 CLT

NYCFC - Alonso Martinez - made - 1-1

Charlotte - Ashley Westwood - missed - 1-1

NYCFC - Aiden O'Neill - made - 2-1 NYC

Charlotte - Idan Toklomati - made - 2-2

NYCFC - Thiago Martins - made - 3-2 NYCFC

Charlotte - Harry Toffolo - made - 3-3

NYCFC - Julian Fernandez - missed - 3-3

Charlotte - Wilfried Zaha - made - 4-3 CLT

NYCFC - Justin Haak - made - 4-4

Justin Haak converting his penalty kick. Photo by Jason Schott.

Charlotte - Adilson Malanda - 5-4 CLT

NYCFC - Hannes Wolf - made - 5-5

Charlotte - Djibril Diani - CLT 6-5

NYCFC - Raul Gustavo - 6-6

Charlotte - Nathan Byrne - 7-6 CLT

NYCFC - Agustin Ojeda - missed - 7-6 CLT

Kristijan Kahlina making the save on Agustin Ojeda. Photos by Jason Schott.

Kahlina races from the net after his game-winning save. 

Charlotte players race to celebrate with Kahlina. 

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen said of the defeat, "The result - it's a pity. We were focusing on getting the job done within two games. We had the opportunities, even though we didn't play as well as I was hoping for. We had two or three big moments to go in front, and when it comes down to penalties, that can go either way. 'Juli' (Julian Fernandez) and 'Agu' (Agustin Ojeda) missed their penalties, and the others were well taken. Matt saved one. You could see the response from the team, taking care of each other in these moments because it's tough when you miss, but it's part of the game. Overall, it shouldn't have come to penalties. We should have finished them within 90 minutes."

On how much of a missed opportunity this result was, Jansen said, "It is what it is. We've proven throughout the season that we've become stronger in our away games. I mentioned the first hour in Charlotte - in and out of possession - and the final 30 minutes defensively. We did a good job. Charlotte is a tough team to beat at home, but we did it in a convincing way. Our goal was to finish this sequence in two games, but now they've made us work for Game 3. We'll travel there Thursday with full confidence and go at them again on Friday."