• Matchday 34: New York City FC vs Seattle Sounders
• Date and Time: Saturday, October 18, 6:00 pm ET
• Venue: Citi Field, Queens, NY
• Forecast: Sunny, brisk, cooling 62F/17C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jessica Charman and Kacey White (English), Alejandro Figueredo and Tony Cherch (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Chris Penso (referee), Ryan Graves and Gianni Facchin (assistant referees), Guido Gonzales Jr. (fourth official), Geoff Gamble (VAR), Craig Lowry (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Seattle will wear the green-and-blue striped Anniversary Kit
It's Matchday 34, and New York City FC are home at Citi Field for a Decision Day matchup with Seattle Sounders in a battle of the 5th Place teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences.
NYCFC fans and players will be watching the league scorelines all night. New York City could climb to 4th Place if Charlotte FC stumble at home against Philadelphia Union, or could fall to 6th Place if results don't go their way — we run down through all the Decision Day scenarios here.
Seattle have less at stake, and will finish the season in 5th Place, no matter the result today.
• There will be no 7 Trains running between 34 St-Hudson Yards in Manhattan and 74 St-Broadway in Queens because of planned service
• If traveling from Manhattan, take the E/F/R and transfer to the 7 Train at 74 St-Broadway, or take the LIRR from Penn Station to Mets-Willets Point at no additional cost
Chris Penso will be refereeing a New York City game for the second time this season. He oversaw the 1-0 loss to CF Montréal on May 10 in Matchday 12, but Hudson River Blue readers had no issues with his officiating, handing Penso a 6.1 rating.
NYCFC historically have done well in the final game of the season, posting just two losses in 10 Decision Days. The first came in the inaugural 2015 season, when the expansion side didn't get much right on the field. The other came just last year, when they were shut out 2-0 by CF Montréal at Stade Saputo — not only did it end an eight-year Decision Day undefeated streak, it sent the team to a 6th Place finish.
New York City FC | Decision Day Record
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 15 | -5 |
The last Decision Day to be played at Citi Field took place in 2023. New York City beat Chicago Fire 1-0 on a second-half goal from Julián Fernández that night, but Charlotte and New York Red Bulls also won, grabbing the final two playoff spots as NYCFC finished in 11th Place in the East.
Still, Fernández scored a peach of a goal:
Julián Fernández scores vs Chicago Fire on Decisión Day 2023 | Courtesy newyorkcityfc.com and Apple TV
Hudson River Blue Staff
Oliver Strand
