FC Cincinnati were the bookies' choice to win.
The No 3 seed were hosting No 6 seed New York City FC at TQL Stadium, where Cincinnati beat them four times this year alone — and where NYCFC haven't won a game since 2021. Not only that, the home team had triumphed in every Game 3 since the Round One best-of-three format was introduced to the MLS Cup Playoffs last year. If New York City were to advance, they needed to become the first team in league history to get a Game 3 result on the road.
NYCFC did exactly that, playing Cincinnati to a 0-0 draw in regulation time, then winning in an epic penalty shootout that lasted 18 attempts — and that saw seven players fail to convert. It was an improbable result sealed by an unlikely hero in Mitja Ilenič, the 19-year-old right-back who made just one start in the final five games of the regular season, but who sent his howitzer of a shot past Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano.
New York City: 7 shots, 1 shot on target, 50.6% possession, 422 passes, 77% pass accuracy, 13 fouls, 4 saves
Cincinnati: 16 shots, 4 shots on target, 49.4% possession, 454 passes, 81.1% pass accuracy, 12 fouls, 1 saves
Goals:
• None
Penalty Shootout:
• Cincinnati, Luciano Acosta ✅
• New York City, Santiago Rodríguez ✅
• Cincinnati, Yamil Asad ✅
• New York City, Mounsef Bakrar ✅
• Cincinnati, Sérgio Santos ✅
• New York City, Keaton Parks ✅
• Cincinnati, Pavel Bucha ❌
• New York City, James Sands ✅
• Cincinnati, Kevin Kelsy ✅
• New York City, Thiago Martins ❌
• Cincinnati, Miles Robinson ✅
• New York City, Justin Haak ✅
• Cincinnati, Gerardo Valenzuela ❌
• New York City, Kevin O’Toole ❌
• Cincinnati, Chidozie Awaziem ❌
• New York City, Andrés Perea ❌
• Cincinnati, Teenage Hadebe ❌
• New York City, Mitja Ilenič ✅
Attendance: 22,487
Because of that penalty, New York City will host New York Red Bulls at Citi Field on November 23 in the Eastern Conference Semifinal in that will be the first-ever playoff edition of the Hudson River Derby.
MITJA WHEN IT MATTERED MOST 🐐 pic.twitter.com/M5qgrmUKSU
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) November 9, 2024
As for Cincinnati, the collateral damage is yet to be determined after a disappointing end to another if-only season. Playmaker Luciano Acosta, the 30-year-old talisman who was instrumental in transforming the squad into one of the league's best since joining the club in 2021, hinted that his days at the organization might be over. "Maybe it is the end for me at" Cincinnati, he said in the locker room after the game through an interpreter.
Hudson River Blue Staff
A game of fine margins
In many ways, Game 3 was a replay of Game 1, when Cincinnati dominated the run of play at TQL Stadium while New York City simply tried to keep up. In both games, Cincinnati controlled most of the field and dominated the attack, testing New York City goalkeeper Matt Freese.
New York City FC vs FC Cincinnati Field Control | Game 3
New York City's Game 3 attack (6 shots, 1 on target, 0.28 xG) was a carbon copy of Game 1 (6 shots, 2 on target, 0.32 xG). But the team made marginal improvements on their defensive performance in Game 1, holding Cincinnati scoreless in New York City's first clean sheet since the 0-0 draw with Querétaro FC on July 28 in Leagues Cup.
Cincinnati's scoring troubles are well-known, and the New York City defense did just enough to limit a team that had trouble finishing chances all year despite the playmaking abilities of Acosta.
In Game 1, Cincinnati had seven shots on goal, created six big chances, finished with a 3.40 xG, and managed to score just one goal. In Game 3, Cincinnati had four shots on goal, created two big chances, finished with a 1.13 xG, and couldn't find the back of the net.
FC Cincinnati Attacking Stats | Game 1 vs Game 3
| Game 1 | Game 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 22 | 15 |
| SOG | 7 | 4 |
| Big Chances | 6 | 2 |
| Corners | 9 | 1 |
| Touches in Box | 36 | 28 |
| xG | 3.40 | 1.13 |
Was this a defensive masterclass from New York City? Not quite. Acosta enjoyed a return to form after being contained in Game 2, and was once again the engine of Cincinnati's attack. But James Sands, Keaton Parks, Thiago Martins, and Justin Haak chipped away at his dominance in the attacking third. You can't help but think what the scoreline might have been had Cincinnati signed a replacement for failed striker Aaron Boupendza and had a more clinical goal-scorer in the Starting XI. But you field the players you have, not the players you want.
Besides, that imaginary striker would need to go through Matt Freese, who once again demonstrated why he's among the best shot-stoppers in Major League Soccer — and why he should have been named a finalist for 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year.
Time and time again 🥶 pic.twitter.com/33cBzqjDlp
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) November 9, 2024
Freese kept his team in a game that, on paper, they should have lost in regulation time. Then he did it again in penalty kicks, when he made one key save after another.
THE ICEMAN IS REALLY THAT GUY 🥶 pic.twitter.com/xsgpBfbhWJ
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) November 9, 2024
Andrew Leigh
18 attempts?!?
New York City worked on penalty kicks during Thursday's open training, when members of the media were allowed to watch the team practice. To be honest, the squad didn't look so great.
But we didn't have access to a video feed of Cincinnati's penalty training. Presumably, they looked even less impressive.
Both teams were solid in their opening attempts but increasingly shaky as they advanced through their lineups, as one player after another failed to convert. It took 18 attempts to decide the outcome, with nine players from both sides stepping up to the spot. What was no doubt highly entertaining for the neutral fan was anxiety-provoking for the supporters of these two teams. The penalty shootout lasted 16 minutes, but it felt like hours.
Buckle up, because this whole PK shootout was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions 🎢😅 pic.twitter.com/pM7W3snBWQ
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) November 10, 2024
The most important penalty was Ilenič's decisive shot. It was as confident as it was unstoppable, and it speaks to the potential of the 19-year-old defender.
But the attempt converted by Justin Haak is a close second. Like Ilenič, Haak didn't see much playing time throughout the year — he became a regular starter only at the end of the season, after being called on to fill in at center-back in the win over Red Bulls on September 28. But the game was on the line when the 23-year-old stepped up to the spot: Cincinnati's Miles Robinson had just made his penalty, and if Haak failed to convert his, New York City would be eliminated.
Haak fired a laser to the left past the diving Celentano — the Cincinnati goalkeeper guessed correctly, but he couldn't keep pace with the shot. It was a phenomenal shot by Haak, who had taken just one First Team penalty before this one (in the Leagues Cup win over New England Revolution), and has just one career goal in MLS — and that was back on July 8, 2023. None of that mattered tonight, when Haak out-dueled Celentano in front of the 3,000-plus screaming Cincinnati fans in The Bailey, the standing section at TQL Stadium.
Once again, Freese was key to New York City's success. The goalkeeper saved the attempts by Pavel Bucha, Gerardo Valenzuela, and Teenage Hadebe, while Chidozie Awaziem sent his shot over the bar. Soccer is a team sport, but it's hard to imagine New York City advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinal without Freese in goal.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Next Up: Red Bulls
Now New York City will face Red Bulls in what will easily be the most important Hudson River Derby game played to date. That match will be played on Saturday, November 23, at 5:30 pm at Citi Field, the same venue where NYCFC defeated Red Bulls 2-1 in May.
It's an unlikely matchup if you go by the regular season table, and required No 6 seed New York City to defeat No 3 seed Cincinnati, and No 7 seed Red Bulls to defeat No 2 seed Columbus Crew. To go by the rankings, this should have been an all-Ohio semifinal, the Hell Is Real playoff derby.
Instead, it's an all-New York affair. (Well, New York and New Jersey.) Both NYCFC and Red Bulls had to win on the road in a Round One that heavily favors the home team, and both had to do it against tough opponents who were considered among the favorites to lift the 2024 MLS Cup.
But the regular season only counts for so much in this league. Inter Miami, winner of the Supporters' Shield and the most expensive team in the history of MLS, were defeated at home late last night by No 8 seed Atlanta United. That leaves No 4 seed Orlando City, who needed three games to win at home on penalty kicks, the highest-ranked team left in the Eastern Conference.
It's shaping up into a playoff where anything can happen. This New York City have to like that.
• New York City, Keaton Parks, yellow card, bad foul 11′
• Cincinnati, Pavel Bucha, yellow card, bad foul, 65'
• New York City, Kevin O’Toole, yellow card, bad foul, 83'
• Cincinnati, Alvas Powell, yellow card, bad foul, 85'
• • New York City, Santiago Rodríguez, yellow card, bad foul 89′
• Cincinnati, Chidozie Awaziem, yellow card, bad foul, 90'
Officials
• Referee: Drew Fischer
• Assistant referees: Logan Brown, Michael Barwegen
• Fourth official: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
• VAR: Kevin Stott
• Assistant VAR: Tom Supple
