NYCFC Crushes Charlotte To Move On In MLS Playoffs

Nicholas Fernandez Mercau celebrates his opening goal with Maxi Moralez. Photo provided by NYCFC.

New York City Football Club went on the road and won the deciding Game 3 of the opening round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, 3-1, over Charlotte FC, on Friday night.

NYCFC moves on to play the top seeded Philadelphia Union, winner of the Supporters' Shield, in the MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Nicolas Fernandez Mercau led the way for NYCFC with two goals, the first brace in his time with the club. He now has five goals in his last 10 MLS appearances, dating back to September 13 against Chicago Fire FC.

Late in the first half, in extra time, Fernandez Mercau took it down the right side in a two-on-one break. While it looked tempting to pass to Alonso Martinez, who was coming down the left side, Fernandez Mercau kept it and forced Charlotte's Nathan Byrne to dive, which allowed him to get around Byrne to fire one into the net to make it 1-0 in the 47th minute.

It didn't take long for NYCFC to double their lead, as Alonso Martinez scored on a fast break, after a long pass from Maxi Moralez, in the 50th minute.

This was Martinez's second goal of this Round One series, as he also scored the only goal in the opening game, a 1-0 NYCFC win in Charlotte on October 28. 

Martinez now has three career playoff goals, tied for the second-most in NYCFC history, along with David Villa and Valentin Castellanos. When he scores a goal in MLS play (regular season + post), NYCFC has a record of 22-3-3.

This was Moralez's first goal contributions in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and he has the most in NYCFC history with five goals and seven assists. 

Moralez broke his own record as the oldest player in club history to notch an assist. His prior mark was 34 years and 287 days old in the MLS Cup Final on December 11, 2021, at Portland. With this assist, it is now 38 years and 254 days old. 

Charlotte made it interesting when Idan Toklomati scored in the 81st minute to cut it to 2-1. This was Charlotte's first goal in regulation in the series, as their only ones came in the shootout in their Game 2 win last Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

NYCFC held the lead before they broke through in extra time, as they did in the first half.

Hannes Wolf corraled a long pass in Charlotte territory, holding onto the ball after a defender converged on him before he advanced towards the box. He dropped it off to Fernandez Mercau, who took it on the left side again, and flicked it over Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to make it 3-1.

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen said of how important Fernandez Mercau's goal was at the end of the first half, "They (Charlotte) will keep their energy going into the second half so that moment just before the break is very intense because they go into the dressing room needing to regroup. We were prepared to go for another 15-20 minutes like the first half started, but I thought we were a little better on the ball in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half. The goals came, and we played how we wanted to play."