New York City FC closed out the 2026 edition of the Coachella Valley Invitational by losing 2-0 to San Jose Earthquakes, conceding twice in the second half – first to Ousseni Bouda, then Niko Tsakiris (PK) – while never finding a way past Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel.
More important than any result, given this is preseason, is the fact that numerous New York City players expected to feature in the Starting XI once the 2026 MLS season kicks off next weekend against LA Galaxy got long stretches of game time against San Jose.
A pair of key players made their first starts of the preseason, the Kevin O'Toole positional experimentation by Pascal Jansen reached new heights, and with preseason now over, attention can officially turn to all the matches to come that will now count for something. Read on for four thoughts on what went down during the Coachella finale.
1. Trewin, O'Neill make significant starts
Both of the New York City FC players from Australia were in the Starting XI against San Jose, with midfielder Aiden O'Neill and defender Kai Trewin each getting their first starts of the preseason in what was the finale of preseason.
