New York City FC’s return to form

New York City FC ended the first half of the 2024 season on a frustrating note after a squad reduced to 10 players lost at home to Columbus Crew on Friday night. The result didn’t go NYCFC’s way, but it doesn’t take detract from the fact that this team posted one of the strongest first halves of a season in club history.

New York City now have 29 points after 17 games, which works out to 1.71 points per game (PPG). That equals the points tally of the 2022 and 2019 teams, which also had 1.71 PPG, and trails only 2017 (1.76 PPG) and 2018 (1.82 PPG). It’s even slightly higher than the total from 2021 (1.65 PPG), when New York City went on to win MLS Cup.

New York City FC Record | First 17 Games

* The COVID-interrupted 2020 season consisted of 23 games

The nine wins of this team match the club-best mark set in 2018 and 2017. By many measures, it’s a return to form for a New York City that suffered through a rebuild in 2023, when they earned just 18 points in 17 games, the second-lowest tally in club history. Last year looks increasingly like a blip, to use the technical term.

Not all the numbers are strong. NYCFC’s 20 goals allowed are in line with the club’s historic record, and place the team in a three-way tie for the fifth-fewest in Major League Soccer this season — only Columbus Crew, Charlotte FC, FC Cincinnati, and Houston Dynamo have fewer. But the 26 goals scored are in the bottom half of the team’s historic record, and place the team in a many-way tie for a less impressive 10th-most in MLS this year.

The six losses this season are also high for the club. The only years with more losses are 2015 (the club’s inaugural year, when New York City didn’t make the playoffs), 2020 (the COVID-shortened season), and 2023 (the only other year the club didn’t make the playoffs).

Still, New York City sporting director David Lee and head coach Nick Cushing must be pleased with how this season is shaping up. NYCFC are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference after 17 games, and in sixth place in the league standings. (Columbus, which rescheduled games because of their deep run in the Concacaf Champions Cup, have played only 15 games are behind New York City on points but ahead on PPG.)

2024 MLS Season | First 17 Games

*Made 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs
†Through 15 games

The results are especially impressive considering that this New York City squad is the youngest team in MLS, and in club history.

NYCFC’s attack historically had a mix of highly experienced veterans and young players, but this year it’s led by 24-year-old Santiago Rodíguez and 25-year-old Hannes Wolf. The two didn’t play together until this year – Wolf joined in the offseason, and hadn’t participated in a competitive game since May 2023 – but they are quickly developing a chemistry. The two have appeared in every game this season, and now have a combined 20 goal involvements. Incredibly, 17 of those are in the last eight matches.

New York City will need Rodríguez and Wolf to continue to improve if they are to finish the season toward the top of the table. While the club’s first halves of the season tend to be strong, the second halves are all over the place. In 2019, when NYCFC posted their best record in club history, the team had an imperious 2.06 PPG. In 2021, when they lifted MLS Cup, they had a dismal 1.35 PPG.

Often, it’s the goal-scoring that takes a dive: In five out of the team’s eight previous 34-game seasons, the number of goals dropped off.

New York City FC Record | Final 17 Games

* The COVID-shortened 2020 season consisted of 23 games

In part, it’s because New York City’s second halves to the season tend to have more away matches and more games played on short rest. This year will be no different. In the first 17 games of 2024, New York City played 10 home games and just one game on short rest. In the second set of 17 games, they will play seven home games, and 10 games on short rest.

That cycle begins this week, when New York City play two away games in a row, both on short rest. First, they face LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in sunny California on Wednesday. Then they play Nashville SC at Geodis Park on Saturday. That’s a lot of time spent in the air, which means not a lot of time practicing on the training pitch.

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But this coming week pales in comparison to a particularly difficult run of games that looms ahead in July: Away at Austin FC on July 6 (short rest), away at Chicago Fire on July 13, away at Atlanta United on July 17 (short rest), and away at Orlando on July 20 (short rest). That’s four away games in a row, three on short rest, all played in the sticky heat of July. (To be fair, the weather is always perfect in Atlanta’s climate-controlled Mercedes-Benz Stadium.)

That road trip will provide this team with their biggest challenge this year, at least in terms of logistics and recovery. New York City have four games between now and then, two at home and the two on the road mentioned above. Taken together, these eight games will go a long way to define the team’s second half of the season.

This New York City enter the summer in a strong position. But the real test will be how the team handle their travel-heavy schedule in June and July.