New York City FC’s stoppage-time win set the tone for these ratings, with Tayvon Gray’s header in the 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia Union leading the way. Gray’s 8.6 tops his best Hudson River Blue player rating for all of 2025 (7.2), and the game-deciding performance led to his first Player of the Match honors this season — and just his third since HRB introduced the feature in 2023. (He also topped the vote once in 2024, and once in 2025.)
The other strong ratings belong to players who either executed the final actions of the win, or who kept NYCFC afloat long enough for Gray’s goal to matter. Matt Freese earned an 8.0 for his four saves, repeatedly holding firm during Philadelphia’s second-half push, while Agustín Ojeda also checked in at 8.0 for providing consistent width — and the cross that decided the result. Hannes Wolf’s 7.6 fits the simplest evaluation of the afternoon: He finished the opener and helped NYCFC play from in front.
Mark Radigan
Maxi Moralez landed at 6.7 and Keaton Parks at 6.9 for their steady, connecting work that helped NYCFC move the ball with confidence in the first half. Aiden O’Neill’s 6.8 reads like “important to the structure,” even if the second half became less about establishing a rhythm and more about surviving the Union’s pressure.
The Starting XI averaged a 7.3 rating, well above the 6.4 average earned last week in California. The tables below include the ratings given to each NYCFC player by the Sofascore algorithm in parentheses, followed by our reader-generated ratings.
Referee Chris Penso earned a 3.7, the lowest rating of the night. It’s not surprising after he oversaw a chaotic game that became as much about the officiating as the play on the field.
Below, find all the rest of the NYCFC Player Ratings from the 2-1 win at Subaru Park.
Matthew Mangam
Nico Fernández Mercau, off 89′ (6.5) – 7.4
Hannes Wolf, off 83′ (7.2) – 7.6
Agustín Ojeda (7.5) – 8.0
Maxi Moralez, off 74′ (6.7) – 6.7
Aiden O’Neill, off 83′ (7.4) – 6.8
Keaton Parks (6.6) – 6.9
Kevin O’Toole (6.5) – 6.7
Tayvon Gray (7.9) – 8.6
Raul Gustavo (6.7) – 6.4
Thiago Martins (6.0) – 6.9
Matt Freese (7.2) – 8.0
Seymour Reid, on 74′ (6.9) – 5.1
Drew Baiera, on 83′ (6.1) – 6.2
Kai Trewin, on 83′ (6.4) – 6.3
Talles Magno, on 89′ (6.4) – 6.6
Pascal Jansen – 7.5
Chris Penso – 3.7
Tayvon Gray (63% of the vote, 1st win of 2026) – 1 goal, 2 shots, 12 carries, 38/48 pass completion, 14/19 pass completion in opposition half, 5/7 accurate long balls, 8 defensive actions including 4 ground duels won.
Need correction. Tayvon Gray was not subbed off 80′.
so we don’t do the Player Highlight any more? gotta say i enjoyed it, featuring one to talk about other than the POM… 🙂
We’re trying this new format, a bit more streamlined here. But we’re adding a weekly Scouting Report feature that’s like the Player Highlight but much more fleshed out with stats provided by Sofascore. We featured Nico after MD1, Agustín after MD2…
🖤🖤🏌️♂️