NYCFC stun Philadelphia at Subaru Park, book spot in Eastern Conference Final

A depleted New York City FC pulled off a major road upset, downing Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union 1-0 to win their Eastern Conference Semifinal at Subaru Park.

Maxi Moralez reprised the role of playoff hero, finishing off a silky five-pass team move to score yet another dagger goal on the Union in front of their home fans in the postseason.

That goal came in the 27th minute and chances were almost nonexistent for New York City from that point on, with the Union throwing everything forward in search of an equalizer. New York City’s best other scoring chance came when Nico Fernández Mercau nearly pulled a 2017 David Villa and caught Andre Blake way out of the Philadelphia goal with a shot from behind the halfway line, though this time Blake made a miraculous save that in the process cost him a hamstring and forced his removal from the match in the 60th minute.

Blake’s former protege now in net for New York City, meanwhile, delivered a playoff performance for the ages. Philadelphia created multiple clear and quality chances in each half, but Matt Freese stood tall against his former Union team, making five saves and many of them highlight-reel-worthy ones en route to his third clean sheet of the MLS Cup Playoffs and his 12th in all competitions for New York City this season.

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New York City FC brought the game to Philadelphia Union, scoring first then bunkering down to keep calm in a chaotic second half — and keep the hosts off the scoresheet to win this Eastern Conference Semifinal.

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Most dramatic and spectacular of Freese’s five saves was a sprawling stop made on a driven strike by Philadelphia forward Milan Iloski in the 92nd minute, with Freese just getting a hand on the powerful shot to put it out for a corner kick, a game-saving play in the second of six minutes added to the 90 by referee Guido Gonzales Jr.

The single first-half moment of attacking brilliance capped off by Moralez, plus the lockdown work done by Freese in goal and by the defenders in front of him were enough to set up a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to face Inter Miami CF in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday, November 29 at 6:00 pm ET.

Makeshift lineup makes it work

Pascal Jansen had big lineup decisions to make while playing without Alonso Martínez, Andrés Perea, and Aiden O’Neill.

The midfield duo of Perea and O’Neill somewhat surprisingly got replaced by a combination of 18-year-old Jonny Shore and usual left-back Kevin O’Toole. Nico Fernández Mercau slid in at striker in place of Martínez, while Agustín Ojeda earned a start on the right side of the midfield.

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It wasn’t a switch to a more conservative back-five defensive line from Jansen in Philadelphia, as the first-year NYCFC manager instead asked O’Toole to fill a different more central role than the one he’s normally filled, while also trusting Shore to step back into the MLS Starting XI for the first time since July 25, ending a stretch of 13 straight MLS matches starting out on the bench.

All the moves from Jansen worked out, and they all notably played a part in the goal that got them the win. O’Toole and Shore combined at the base of the midfield to start the passing sequence that led to Moralez’s winning goal, with Ojeda sliding by his defender before picking out Fernández Mercau in a dangerous area, setting the stage for Nico’s pinpoint pass threaded through three nearby Philly defenders and Maxi’s clinical finish.

Defensive spine rises to occasion

It was a signature performance in goal from Matt Freese, but the choice by Pascal Jansen to keep the Justin Haak-Thiago Martins center-back pairing rather than shift Haak back to midfield without Perea and O’Neill kept New York City as strong as possible directly in front of Freese.

The strength was necessary because Philadelphia put New York City under tons of pressure after conceding to Moralez and falling behind, a rare place for them while playing at home this season where they’d lost only once prior to getting knocked out by New York City.

Jonny Shore put in a dominant performance for a No 6 in front of that defensive line, doing a little bit of everything: Three passes blocked, three tackles, three interceptions (most of any NYCFC player), three clearances, and seven recoveries of the ball (also most of any NYCFC player). Not bad for an 18-year-old in his first taste of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Overall, New York City players blocked four Philadelphia shot attempts and 16 of their passes, and they made 36 clearances – the pressure was high but it was dealt with, repeatedly, en route to another match without conceding this postseason, which they’ve done in three of four games now.

The Iceman on fire

Maxi Moralez deepened his playoff legend with another goal to beat Philadelphia in the postseason, but Matt Freese added maybe the biggest chapter yet to his New York City playoff story, even surpassing his work in the Game 3 shutout and penalty shootout win in 2024 against FC Cincinnati.

The Union had multiple point-blank, clear-in-on-goal chances against Freese and he made the vital stops each time. Jakob Glesnes had the best chance to beat Freese in the 45th minute off a long throw-in, with the ball deflecting off Thiago Martins right into the Union defender’s path, but Freese reacted just quickly enough to get down and get a hand on the shot. He’d later use both legs to deny Frankie Westfield in the 75th minute when the fullback got in unmarked at the back post, then made the aforementioned diving save to keep Milan Iloski’s shot out in second-half stoppage time to ice the win.

Another performance to remember in the year of Freese’s career as he continues to impress in goal as the clear-cut starter for both New York City FC and now the United States men’s national team.

Miami challenge awaits

New York City now travels back to Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., where their 2025 season began all the way back on February 22, set to play a third Eastern Conference Final in club history.

Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami attack is in the midst of an unheard of scoring binge, with Messi already racking up six goals and four assists during four MLS Cup Playoffs matches, part of a stretch in which he’s scored 11 goals and added nine assists in his last seven matches in total, since we hit October on the calendar. Miami have scored 34 goals across their last 10 games, while tightening up their defense which at times looked leaky beyond repair this season.

New York City will again be the underdogs but they’ve thrived in that role twice already during these playoffs, especially in Philadelphia where they faced and defeated the league’s best team based on regular-season record.

The lineup is missing key contributors, but New York City FC’s resiliency, road form, and frequent-enough moments of attacking brilliance now have them one more win away from a trip to the MLS Cup Final. It won’t be easy to get that win on the road against a white-hot Miami team, but it’s also hard to count this team out after what they’ve now produced in back-to-back win-or-go-home playoff matches.