Maxi Sends NYCFC Off To Miami

 

Maxi Moralez celebrates his goal. Photo provided by NYCFC.

New York City Football Club went down the turnpike and beat the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Sunday night in the MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals.

NYCFC moves on to face Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night, with kickoff at 6 p.m. 

Miami won the other Semifinal on Sunday, 4-0, in Cincinnati, with Messi earning a hat trick.

Philadelphia was the top seed in the playoffs, as they won the Supporters' Shield, something that does not guarantee success in postseason play.

This is the third time NYCFC has made it as far as the Eastern Finals, out of nine times the franchise has made the postseason. They won the MLS Cup in 2021.

After a vigorous start to the match, NYCFC began an advance up the field from their own end in the 27th minute.

Agustin Ojeda had it coming up the right side, and he then slipped it to his left to Nicolas Fernandez.

As the Philadelphia defense closed in on Fernandez, he sprung a pass ahead to Maxi Moralez, who sprung ahead of the congestion, and he buried it it to make it 1-0.

Moralez has now scored a goal in all four of NYCFC's MLS Cup Playoff games against Philadelphia, five overall, ties for the third-most goals against an opponent in the MLS postseason. He is the only player in the MLS to have multiple goals against the Union in MLS Cup Playoff games.

In NYCFC history, Moralez is now the oldest player to score in an MLS Cup Playoff match, at 38 years and 269 days old. David Villa had the prior record at 36 years and 332 days. 

Moralez leads NYCFC all-time in MLS Cup Playoffs history with six goals and seven assists, and has made a team-most 22 appearances.

NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese earned the clean sheet, his third of the postseason, as he made five saves. 

Regarded as the best keeper in the MLS, it wasn't surprising that Freese, also the US Men's National team goalkeper, made the early goal stand up.

Freese now has the NCYFC club record with four clean sheets in the MLS Cup Playoffs, surpassing Sean Johnson. In this postseason, Freese shutout Charlotte in the first two games of the best-of-three opening round of the playoffs, with the first goal he allowed coming deep in the final game. Charlotte technically scored in Game 2, as they won it in a shootout.

Even though possession was pretty even, with a slight edge to Philadelphia had a slight edge in possession at 50.9 percent, and they made the most of it by pouring in 20 shots overall, to six for NYCFC, who had four on target, so nearly all of NYCFC's shots were high-quality.

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen said of the win, and withstanding Philadelphia's pressure, "Well, you know, at some point, especially here in Philly with the players they have and the way they play, that phase is going to come and that they will get their moments (to attack), and they did. It's always a very pleasant thought that you have Matt Freese in the goal...He is one of the best there is and he's in good shape and shows that again tonight. Also, you see the commitment and the resilience that the team shows in particular moments to defend with their lives and have that block or throw their body in between the shot and the goal, it's so impressive. But again, that foundation was laid on the training (pitch)."

Jansen said of Moralez's leadership, "It was a massive goal today, but it's not only about today. His leadership was there from day one. He's been a great inspiration for the whole dressing room since day one because he came back from a severe injury last season. If you see how much commitment he's shown throughout the season to be available and bring the level to the game that he's done, this doesn't surprise me. I'm very happy for him and for the team with a  fantastic goal."