Round One Game 3: New York City vs Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium

It's Game 3 of Round One of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, and New York City FC are back in North Carolina to face Charlotte in a do-or-die matchup in the rare Friday night game. The victor will earn the right to face Supporters' Shield-winning Philadelphia Union in Chester, PA, in an Eastern Conference Semifinal that will be held a little more than two weeks from now on November 22.

This will be the third time these teams faced each other inside of 10 days — will somebody tell Charlotte's Dean Smith that the compressed schedule is courtesy of the Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium's primary tenant? The groundskeepers need time to revert the field for a football game on Sunday after tonight's fútbol.

New York City were the better team in Games 1 and 2, finishing the two matches with a combined xG of 2.98 per MLS and 1.57 per g+ GameFlow to Charlotte's 1.12 and 1.31 respectively. But the series is tied up after NYCFC won Game 1 by the score of 1-0 but played to a 0-0 draw in Game 2 and lost in the penalty shootout. Now they're faced with beating a Charlotte that have lost just four games at home – the most recent being Game 1 – or playing to a draw and coming out ahead in the penalty shootout this time.

But if you do the math and add up those sets of numbers, you'll see these games should have seen four or five goals scored between them. Instead, there is just one lone goal that came via a moment of individual brilliance from NYCFC's Alonso Martínez in Game 1. Give credit to both defenses, who have frustrated all the attackers on the field. Notably, New York City have logged 12 clean sheets in all competitions this year, with three of those coming against Charlotte. And give credit to New York City's Matt Freese and Charlotte's Kristijan Kahlina, two of the best goalkeepers in the league.

Referee Pierre-Luc Lauziere will oversee tonight's game after officiating three NYCFC games during the regular season. All were New York City wins. First, there was the 2-1 home opener against Orlando City in March on Matchday 3. Then there was the 1-0 away win over Toronto FC at BMO Field in April on Matchday 10. Finally, there was the 3-1 win against Chicago Fire at Soldier Field in September on Matchday 28. The Canadian referee was solid in all three games, with no controversial calls or game-changing decisions.

With two teams so evenly matched, this looks to be a game that will be decided by fine margins: A rash challenge that leads to a penalty, a set-piece goal, a moment of magic from a player. Which team is on the winning side of that line will be determined tonight.

New York City vs Charlotte H2H