• MLS Cup Playoffs, Round One, Game 1: Charlotte FC vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Tuesday, October 28, 6:45 pm ET
• Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
• Forecast: Chilly, air will feel cooler than the thermometer, chance of rain, 50F/10C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (free), Fox Deportes, FS1
• Apple Broadcast Team: Steve Cangialosi and Danny Higginbotham (English), Sergio Ruiz and Walter Roque (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Jon Freemon (referee), Jeffrey Greeson and Tyler Wyrostek (assistant referees), Allen Chapman (fourth official), Timothy Ford (VAR), Craig Lowry (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the black-and-neon 24/7 Kit; Charlotte will wear the white and shades-of-blue Carolina Kit: Explore
It’s the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, and New York City FC are in North Carolina to face Charlotte FC in the first game of Round One. According to Charlotte, more than 34,000 tickets have been sold for this midweek matchup, which should fill the lower bowl of the 75,000-capacity Bank of America Stadium.
The teams traded 2-0 wins earlier this season, with both sides coming out on top at home. Back in July, Charlotte ceded possession but made the most of the chances they managed to create, placing three shots on target and scoring twice in the 2-0 win. Then in September, New York City ended Charlotte’s nine-match winning streak behind two Alonso Martínez penalties to win 2-0, stopping them from setting a new Major League Soccer record.
But that was then. More recently, New York City are coming off two consecutive losses to finish the season, including falling to Seattle Sounders 2-1 on Decision Day courtesy of two set pieces. Charlotte finished the season with two wins to climb over NYCFC on the table and lock in 4th Place, including a well-worked 2-0 home victory over Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union.
But Charlotte’s Decision Day win also saw Wilfried Zaha commit a flagrant and completely unnecessary foul in the dying minutes of the game, which means the striker will be suspended for tonight’s match. That will leave Charlotte without three of their five leading goal-scorers this season, with Pep Biel out injured and Patrick Agyemang sold over the summer to Derby County.
That presents an opportunity for NYCFC. But which New York City will show up today? The team that struggled to find the back of the net against Seattle or Philadelphia despite leading both teams in expected goals? Or the NYCFC that went undefeated in six consecutive away games in the summer, beating four playoff teams in the process?
Glenn Crooks
Andrew Leigh
New York City vs Charlotte H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | -4 |
Charlotte lead in the overall head-to-head between these two clubs, but that’s only part of the story. New York City are winless in four games at Bank of America Stadium since Charlotte joined the league in 2022, where they were held scoreless in three of those matches. New York City have scored just two goals in the Queen City, or three if you include the game-winning own goal Richy Ledezma headed in for Charlotte in 2023.
Even if New York City are luckless at Bank of America Stadium, their overall record against Charlotte improved in recent years, with the club’s first wins coming, at home, in 2024 and 2025.
New York City Playoff Record
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 31 | -5 |
New York City’s playoff record can be divided into two eras.
The first ran from 2015 to 2019, when head coaches Patrick Vieira and Domé Torrent posted just two wins in eight games — and Jason Kreis failed to make the postseason altogether. NYCFC scored eight goals and allowed 18 in those eight games.
The second ran from 2020 to 2024, when head coaches Ronny Delia and Nick Cushing compiled a combined record of 5W-4D-3L, with three of those draws ending with shootout wins for New York City. NYCFC scored 18 goals and allowed 13 in those games.
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Winger Malachi Jones (leg) and midfielder Keaton Parks (blood flow issues) remain Out. Midfielder Máximo Carrizo is on international duty with the United States for the U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
• A bug has been traveling through the locker room, with some players not at their best in the Decision Day loss to Seattle Sounders 10 days ago. Word is that most of the roster has recovered, but some players still might not be 100 percent.
• One of those players is rumored to be Hannes Wolf. Will we see the winger replaced in the Starting XI by Julián Fernández or Agustín Ojeda?
• This will be New York City’s ninth appearance in the postseason, but it will be the first taste of the playoffs for Head Coach Pascal Jansen.
New York City FC | MLS Cup Playoffs
Results by Head Coach
| Name | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | G/G | GA/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pascal Jansen | 2025 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nick Cushing | 2022-24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 42.9% | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Ronny Deila | 2020-21 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 40.0% | 1.6 | 1.0 |
| Domé Torrent | 2018-19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 25.0% | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| Patrick Vieira | 2016-17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -8 | 25.0% | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Jason Kreis | 2016 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 31 | -5 | 35.0% | 1.3 | 1.6 |
Charlotte Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Midfielder Pep Biel (knee) is out injured, while defender Harry Toffolo (back/hamstring) is questionable. Forward Wilfried Zaha is serving a one-game suspension, and forward Nimfasha Berchimas is on international duty with the United States at the U-17 World Cup.
• Will Liel Abada step up for Charlotte in the absence of Biel and Zaha? The Designated Player hasn’t been in the Starting XI since August, and hasn’t hasn’t had a goal contribution in MLS since June. The 24-year-old forward is Charlotte’s second highest-paid player behind Zaha, but is widely considered a bust.
• Looking for more info on this Charlotte team? Daniel Bramlette of the Charlotte Soccer Show gave us the intel in “Oppo Research: 5 Things about Charlotte FC.”
Matthew Mangam
