Will New York City FC make the MLS Cup Playoffs? Or will these 2023 NYCFC playoff hopes be smashed apart like a ship battered to pieces on a rocky coast by a hurricane we’ve been watching but just couldn’t manage to avoid?
The Hudson River Blue playoff tracker will let you know where the team stand, and what the odds vibes are of making the postseason.
This page will be updated after every game to reflect the most recent results, vibes, and NYCFC’s place on the table.
• New York City FC 2023 Schedule and Results, all competitions
October 21: +3 points
Matchday 34: NYCFC 1 - 0 Chicago Fire
11th place, 41 points
Playoff Vibes: Too little, too late
And that's it: NYCFC miss the playoffs for the first time since 2015. The 2023 season ends on a high note with a feel-good 1-0 win over Chicago Fire on Decision Day, but this team finish the year just two points away from making the postseason.
Take your pick of the club-record 14 draws, turn one of those into a win, and NYCFC finish the year in 9th or even 8th place.
October 7: 0 points
Matchday 33: DC United 2 – 0 NYCFC
13th place, 38 points
Playoff Vibes: Not looking like a playoff team
It wasn’t just that NYCFC lost this must-win game, it’s that they deserved to lose. Another game in which they created chances but didn’t finish, and in which the defensive lapsed let the other team get a result. Sound familiar?
There were times this season when New York City deserved the win but luck/fate/officiating did them wrong. Not tonight. This NYCFC are all but eliminated from the playoffs, and that looks like a fair outcome.
October 4: 0 points (bye)
No Game
10th place, 38 points
Playoff Vibes: Squeaky bum time
NYCFC didn’t play tonight, but the other six teams contending for the last two playoff spots did, and the results didn’t help New York City. Chicago Fire defeated Inter Miami and CF Montréal drew Houston Dynamo, which dropped NYCFC to 10th place and outside of the playoff zone.
New Jersey Red Bulls upset FC Cincinnati and now are just one point behind NYCFC, while Charlotte FC thumped Toronto and also added points. They live to fight another day
It’s not all bad news. DC United lost, which puts their playoff hopes on life support.
September 30: +1 point
Matchday 32: Inter Miami 1 – 1 NYCFC
8th place, 38 points
Playoff Vibes: Holding steady, right?
It shoulda been a win. But Mounsef Bakrar didn’t finish his chances in the first half, and referee Victor Rivas let a physical Miami side get away with too much.
Oh yeah, there were the seven minutes of stoppage time, which allowed Miami to score the 90+5′ equalizing goal.
Still, NYCFC took a point on a night that saw CF Montréal lose, which allowed New York City to inch up into eighth place.
September 24: +3 points
Matchday 31: NYCFC 3 – 0 Toronto FC
9th place, 37 points
Playoff Vibes: Never a doubt
It was a solid win over a weak opponent on a soggy afternoon in Harrison, NJ. This wasn’t just the result NYCFC needed, it was the one they frankly expected, but a team that has broken under pressure earlier this year looked strong and confident on this day.
Almost forgot: NYCFC climbed over DC United to take the #9 spot and are now in the playoff zone for the first time since the spring.
September 20: +3 points
Matchday 30: NYCFC 2 – 0 Orlando City
10th place, 34 points
Playoff Vibes: What is this unfamiliar feeling some call “hope?”
To be honest, hopes weren’t so high around here heading into this game. A midweek match against Orlando, the best road team in MLS? They like to score goals in bunches, and they looked like a formidable opponent. But NYCFC came through with their strongest performance since returning from Leagues Cup play to notch their seventh win this season.
Mounsef Bakrar headed in the first goal, Talles Magno broke a scoreless streak stretching back to the spring, and Matt Freese logged his second clean sheet in a row. The levels are high.
September 16: +1 point
Matchday 29: NYCFC 0 – 0 New Jersey Red Bulls
12th place, 31 points
Playoff Vibes: Disappointed parent
Both NYCFC and New Jersey needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Neither got the job done, and both ended the day with just one point. New York City are four points off the final playoff spot with just four games left this season.
On the plus side, Inter Miami lost to Atlanta United, and both the CF Montréal vs Chicago Fire and Charlotte FC vs DC United games also ended in scoreless draws, so there was no movement in eighth to fourteenth place. On the minus side, DC drew an earlier game, and gained a point on NYCFC and the others.
September 2: +1 point
Matchday 28: NYCFC 1 – 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
12th place, 30 points
Playoff Vibes: Don’t talk to me right now
A wasteful NYCFC dropped points after letting a winnable game slip away. The team inched up to 12th place, but remain three points off the playoff zone.
August 30: +3 points
Matchday 27, NYCFC 2 – 0 CF Montréal
13th place, 29 points
Playoff Vibes: We detect a heartbeat
A win in the Bronx! NYCFC gets three points for the first time since July 1, although the club remain in 13th place, they’re now just three teeny tiny points below the playoff zone.
August 26: 0 points
Matchday 26, FC Cincinnati 3 – 0 NYCFC
13th place, 26 points
Playoff Vibes: Stop the world I want to get off
Losing to Supporters’ Shield-leading FC Cincinnati in Ohio shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the result certainly doesn’t help a NYCFC that remain stalled in 13th place, six points off the playoff zone.
