New York City FC 3 – 1 San Diego FC: 5 Thoughts

While those of us in the Northeast are bracing ourselves for the arctic air rolling in tonight, New York City FC won their second friendly in the 2025 Coachella Invitational under the sunny skies of California, beating San Diego FC 3-1 at the Empire Polo Club. It was a fairly complete performance from a squad that featured a mix of First Team regulars, NYCFC II players, MLS SuperDraft selections, and preseason trialists.

Here are five thoughts about New York City's first win at this year's edition of the Invitational — and San Diego's first-ever game against a club from Major League Soccer.

1. The Mounsef-Martínez partnership looks promising

With Santiago Rodríguez not available (more on that below), Head Coach Pascal Jansen played Alonso Martínez on the left and Mounsef Bakrar at striker. It worked. The two linked up for the second goal of the game, with Bakrar burying a cross from Martínez.

Bakrar is really like that 🥶 pic.twitter.com/cKlhFZzg8b

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 8, 2025

It was a goal straight from the playbook: Martínez carried the ball into a dangerous spot, and Bakrar made the run.

In fact, Martínez was involved in all three New York City goals. He scored the first (see video below), assisted the second, and scored the third.

Año nuevo, el mismo Alonso 🇨🇷 pic.twitter.com/iqefWdWWCr

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 8, 2025

Now, what do we call this strike partnership? M&M? A-to-B? The BM?

We still have time to workshop the name.

2. Will Nicholas Cavallo get a contract?

MLS SuperDraft selection Nicholas Cavallo started at left-back in place of Kevin O'Toole, who seemingly sat out this game with an injury. It was the second time in as many games that Cavallo saw minutes, and he looked sharp.

That's good news for New York City, who need depth at left-back now that Christian McFarlane left for Manchester City. O'Toole will be the presumptive starter, but as we discussed in his player preview, he needs an understudy.

Cavallo made the case today that he could fill that role. The left-footed defender was comfortable playing in New York City's system, linking up with the attack and tracking back to defend. Cavallo even earned the hockey assist on NYCFC's second goal: Justin Haak crossed a dead ball to Cavallo, who carried it past the halfway line and split two defenders with the through-ball to Martínez. He then took the ball into the box and launched a cross to Bakrar.

The entire run of play took 13 seconds.

Cavallo was a third-round selection in the MLS SuperDraft, and the 88th overall pick. It's unusual for a third-round pick to make the First Team, but never say never. Remember, O'Toole was a second-round pick who is now a fixed starter.

Cavallo was subbed off later in the game for the left-footed Prince Amponsah, who was just signed to a Homegrown contract. Amponsah is already on the roster, but he's a natural center-back, and there could yet be a need for Cavallo.

3. Is this Julián's year?

Another highlight of the game was Julián Fernández's run to set up New York City's third goal. The tall midfielder has a gazelle-like gait that is a pleasure to watch — when he carries the ball halfway up the field to create a goal it's all that much more fun to take in.

Cosas normales para este mae 🇨🇷 pic.twitter.com/T1Xs4ozljg

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) February 8, 2025

Could this be Julián's year? The 21-year-old only saw 663 minutes in 2024, scoring two goals and providing two assists in that time. If he continues to play like he did today against San Diego, we should see more of him in 2025.

4. Is Tomás the backup goalkeeper?

We're two games into the Coachella Invitational, and the only goalkeepers we've seen take the field are Matt Freese, the team's unquestioned No 1, and Tomás Romero.

Does this mean that the 24-year-old will be the everyday backup? The El Salvador international has 24 MLS starts in his career, making him the second-most experienced goalkeeper on the team after Freese.

But Romero made a rash challenge late in the second half that had him clattering into an attacker outside of the box. It was whistled for a foul, but the announcers correctly speculated that it would be a straight red card in a league game. As they say in San Salvador, that was no bueno.

5. A few glaring absences

Rodríguez didn't suit up for this game, or the previous friendly played on Wednesday. His absence fans the flames of the rumor linking the Designated Player to Botafogo in Brazil, who are said to be interested in the attacking midfielder. NYCFC Radio announcer Glenn Crooks said during the broadcast that he doesn't think there's much to the rumor, but the fact is that New York City's single most important outfield player has yet to make an appearance at Coachella.

Another conspicuous absence is center-back Thiago Martins, who has yet to play in any of the team's preseason friendlies — or feature much in their training videos or photo shoots. Crooks said during the broadcast that the 29-year-old Designated Player is recovering from a calf injury. Maybe it's that simple, but the fact remains that the club's highest-paid player has yet to take the field.

For those of you keeping count at home, a sum total of zero Designated Players have featured so far at Coachella.