New York City FC 1-2 Sporting Kansas City: 4 Thoughts

New York City FC lost 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City in their second of three matches at the 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational, with two KC goals from Calvin Harris and Dejan Joveljić in the first half enough for David Lee’s new team to get the win despite a Seymour Reid goal from the penalty spot for New York City.

It was a completely rotated NYCFC Starting XI from what Pascal Jansen deployed during the first Coachella match against LAFC on Sunday, February 8, which ended as a 1-1 draw.

For this midweek match, the lineup was packed with five Homegrown players – Drew Baiera, Kamran Acito, Cooper Flax, Máximo Carrizo, and Seymour Reid. Unsigned non-First Team players like Sebastiano Musu and Luka Sunjic of NYCFC II, plus former MLS SuperDraft pick Arnau Farnos, all also earned starts.

While an assortment of New York City’s usual starters entered late in the second half, this was very much a chance for the squad’s depth to make cases for minutes in 2026, though it was also notable for giving us our first glimpse of the club’s one big signing made this offseason.

Here, then, are four thoughts on New York City’s narrow preseason defeat in the California desert.

1. Kai Trewin sees his first minutes

We got our first glimpse of New York City’s one significant signing of the winter, Australian defender Kai Trewin. The club welcomed Trewin to their preseason camp this week, splashing his photo across social media and showing off his involvement in training even earlier this same day they played Kansas City.

Trewin dropped directly into the left-center-back position regularly filled by Justin Haak last season once he entered the match in the 63rd minute. Soon after subbing on, Trewin was joined by numerous regular NYCFC starters he’ll likely share the field with when the regular season starts, and NYCFC looked much brighter and more dangerous than they had for much of the match while operating with what was essentially their second unit.

In his 30 minutes or so of action, Trewin looked calm and composed on the ball and gradually got involved more upfield as the team chased a last-gasp equalizer that never came. Trewin was mainly playing next to Max Murray and Strahinja Tanasijević in the team’s defense while out there, so it will be interesting to see him possibly lining up next to the likes of Thiago Martins in the Coachella finale on Saturday against San Jose.

Is Kai Trewin an upgrade over Justin Haak for New York City FC?

The 24-year-old Australian defender was one of the best players in the A-League last year, and looks like he could become New York City FC’s most attack-minded center-back since Alex Callens.

Hudson River BlueMark Radigan

2. Long look for Seymour Reid at striker

Reid, the 17-year-old striker, went a full 90-minute shift against Kansas City and opened his preseason scoring account from the penalty spot in the 51st minute.

That’s a no-messing-around penalty from Reid, hit with power and perfectly placed, the kind of decisive strike you want to see from someone you might be considering for a bigger MLS role while Alonso Martínez remains on the mend from his ACL surgery.

Reid still showed his youth at times in this game, most noticeable in the 35th minute, when Reid came into a decent chance in transition after being picked out by Máximo Carrizo in a pretty significant amount of space. Yet Reid dallied too long on the ball, attempted too many touches while Kansas City defenders regrouped and entered his path, and then ultimately failed to get a shot on target.

That would have been the kind of opportunity for Reid to display his instinctive and ruthless finishing ability, the potential for a quick-hit goal reminiscent of what Alonso Martínez has authored on the break a few times in his NYCFC career.

One area where Reid shined consistently against Kansas City was with his hold-up play. Multiple times, notably in the 56th minute and again late in the second half, the young forward received and retained possession with his back to goal in important moments of possession while NYCFC tried to successfully build an attacking move upfield. Goals didn’t come from open play in this game, but Reid’s game against Kansas City displayed the possible pros and cons of trusting a soon-to-be 18-year-old with a hefty share of striker’s minutes without Martínez.

3. Who took advantage of their opportunity?

Drew Baiera put in a strong shift while playing as right-back and his neat feet in possession while dribbling into the box earned the clear penalty that got NYCFC their one goal. He looked capable of stepping up to MLS level and his performance might ease concern about trusting him as a starter if an injury or suspension popped up for Tayvon Gray.

Arnau Farnos looked like an interesting player at a few moments during this game, tidy with the ball and able to turn away from defensive pressure while playing as a central midfielder. He attempted a nice through-ball for an in-stride Reid at the very tail end of the first half and nearly connected to get the striker in on goal, but the ball from Farnos slightly outpaced Reid and Kansas City’s keeper was able to claim it.

Farnos shifted over to the left midfield spot in the second half when fellow SuperDraft pick Kevin Pierre, the only member of the 2026 draft class with the club this preseason, entered and begin serving as a defensive midfielder. Farnos’s impact on the game waned while playing further out wide, but he looked like an interesting player when lined up next to Cooper Flax in the central midfield.

Kamran Acito had a few bright moments while playing left-back, successfully getting forward and combining with his midfield teammates at least twice during the first half. Acito, though, was unable to get a clearing touch on a low cross played to the feet of striker Dejan Joveljić leading to the first Kansas City goal, and got turned a few times during brighter spells enjoyed by SKC before halftime. He got a long look in this game after Nico Cavallo had played left-back against Austin and LAFC and showed flashes of potential, though perhaps not enough to jump ahead of Cavallo on Pascal Jansen’s left-back depth chart.

4. Injury absences remain notable

Midfielders Aiden O’Neill and Jonny Shore have yet to see any action this preseason, as neither played in this friendly against Kansas City, nor in any of the previous matches played to this point.

The loss to SKC was also another match where there was no sign of Talles Magno on the sidelines or out on the pitch, his second straight DNP of Coachella after he played a significant part in the team’s friendly against Austin FC on February 1 in Texas.

Those three would be significant misses if they’re not back to health and available for selection by February 22, a date that’s fast approaching and when the games will begin to count. That Andrés Perea, Alonso Martínez, and Malachi Jones are also all on the list of injured Pigeons means the most important thing about the third and final Coachella match might be avoiding any other names joining the list of walking wounded.