Union fizzle out of MLS Cup playoffs with deflating 1-0 home loss to New York City FC

The Supporters’ Shield winning Philadelphia Union crashed out of the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 home loss on Sunday night to New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

After an extended 22-day break across an international window from the first round of the playoffs, the Union were frustrated early by New York City FC, undone by a sweeping move, and kept at bay in a furious comeback attempt by a lack of sharpness and heroics in net from from former Union man Matt Freese. 

Grizzled veteran Maxi Morales scored the game’s only effort in the 27th minute, and the Union’s ensuing barrage, which totaled 2.5 xG, was not to be. The Union were inherently unlucky not to equalize but frustrated by a perfect storm of factors on Sunday night that cut a season already containing hardware short of its potential.

New York City, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, advanced to the next round to play Inter Miami on Saturday.

The Union have only advanced past the conference semifinals twice in their history, and have now fallen in the final eight of the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2025, 2023, 2019 and 2011. For the second time, the Union have won the Supporters’ Shield and been handed defeat in the playoffs by the team they beat in the regular season to claim their silverware. 

To start the match, Bradley Carnell deployed the Union in essentially his first-choice starting XI, with Milan Iloski resuming his role at right midfield over Frankie Westfield in the only change from the last game against the Fire.

New York City, missing a glut of midfielders and Costa Rican striker Alonso Martinez, lined up in a tricky shape with Nico Fernandez, a usual winger, up top as a false nine and Maxi Moralez underneath him. 

Augustin Ojeda was given a wingback role on the right with license to push up, and Raul Gustavo, a nominal center back, was stationed on the left touchline, allowing Justin O’Toole to freelance centrally as a defensive mid with the ball next to Justin Shore. Tayvon Gray, Thiago Martins and Justin Haak could all play as center backs without the ball, but had freedom to take turns stepping into the midfield.

The fluidity helped New York keep five back against two or four Union attackers when needed, but also allowed them not to have to build out with five deep, with options on both lines in more of a 2-6 with touchline to touchline width to dull the Union’s press. 

The effect was a nice foothold for the visitors in the first 15 minutes. Even if New York did not occupy much possession in dangerous areas, the Union were not able to introduce a lot of space into the game. And the first chance went to Fernandez, who took advantage of a Jakob Glesnes giveaway to hit the post at a tight angle from the left side. 

Bruno Damiani put the Union’s first real threatening chance on frame with a shot from 20 yards out in the 20th minute after a bit of jostling on the backline, as Matt Freese made a save. 

In the 27th minute, New York undressed the Union backline with a slick sequence of passing, starting with Tayvon Gray winning a turnover and getting rid of the ball quickly to a streaking Ojeda on the right, trapping three Union defenders behind the ball. Ojeda dragged Olwethu Makhanya wide, cut back inside and found Fernandez dropping into a pocket. He played in Moralez onto goal for an unmarked simple finish with the Union shredded horizontally and vertically.

A sensational team move is finished off by Maxi Moralez. 👏@newyorkcityfc // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/HdE6rzwWxr

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 24, 2025

So far, New York had denied the Union the turnovers their offense relies on, and eventually turned the Union’s ball-hunting against them. A center back stepping forward off a turnover at midfield shouldn’t trigger a collapse in the Union’s shape, but in Carnell’s pinball, Gray’s perhaps unlikely moment of composure sent the Union scrambling backwards. The ballwatching on Moralez’s run was also poor from Harriel, Makhanya and Glesnes, but the defenders were transfixed by a wide open Fernandez facing goal.

New York almost walked into another counter attacking chance in the next five minutes, but two players ran into each other at the top of the box to let the Union off the hook. 

The Union tried to lock New York in the rest of the half, and earned a corner kick in the 36th minute that Makhanya headed into the ground at point blank range into the hands of Freese. Within a minute, Shore pivoted out of three Union players’ pressure and released Ojeda into forty yards of space down the left hand side, which ultimately forced a stretched save from Blake. 

Forced to track back in space frequently, the Union still managed a few turnovers to spark dangerous runs, and Danley Jean-Jacque fizzed a ball across the face of goal in the 41st minute that Baribo just missed.

The hosts again almost equalized in the closing stages of the first half. Damiani headed an open set piece delivery from Kai Wagner wide, and Glesnes stabbed at a loose ball off a long throw-in to force another close-range Freese save.

Despite the late flurry, the game went almost exactly according to plan for Pascal Jansen’s side, with the Union unable to snowball a series of chances until about five minutes left, and having to risk sizable gaps in defense to do so.

Heading into the second half, the Union under Carnell had no magical solution to outfox New York, but a commitment to rev up the entire system and batter New York on field position and chance volume. 

The energy generally improved for the Union, but the visitors were sharp enough with the ball to counter effectively, and the first great chance of the second half was a 60-yard hopeful strike on the break from Fernandez with Blake up the field. The effort was rolling towards the goalmouth if not for a 25-yard dead sprint from the Jamaican to parry the ball away at full stretch.

Blake pulled off the heroic play, but the save aggravated his hamstring and forced him out of the game with teenager Andrew Rick thrust into the action. In the 58th minute, Carnell bundled the change in one window by adding Mikael Uhre and Frankie Westfield for Baribo and Lukic.

Westfield took on a creative wide midfield spot on the right and Vassilev slotted to a central role next to Danley, with Iloski on the left. 

The Union did not have a ton of sharpness, but ran the game open and took some semblance of a front foot. But multiple players on the field could not connect crisp passes when the space presented itself and the best chance in this stretch for Uhre in the 65th minute was actually offside. 

Jesus Bueno came on for Vassilev to provide a more natural player at the base of the midfield next to Danley in the 69th minute.

The move gave the Union some stability and Westfield then found plenty of space to cross. An accurate delivery in the 73rd minute found the head of Danley just six yards from the goal, but the midfielder was rather surprisingly hit by the ball than heading it himself.

And just a minute later, Westfield snuck in at the back post wide open on a cross from the left, and rolled a first time volley towards the corner, only for a fantastic reflex save from Freese to keep the lid on the game.

MASSIVE stop from Matt Freese! ❌@newyorkcityfc // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/GWUN753yPP

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 24, 2025

The Union kept surging with more and more momentum, but Rick had to do his part to keep the with a save on Morales in a dangerous position in the 79th minute.

In the 83rd minute, Cavan Sullivan came on for Danley as the Union’s last gasp hope for a moment of brilliance in the box. He immediately set up Damiani for a shot that was blocked for a corner. 

Wagner found Westfield in a similar pattern to his first chance just three minutes later for another unmarked effort. Westfield skied a volley on the delivery from the German over the bar from within eight yards, although he was likely offside.

Resorting to desperation, Iloski nearly took matters into his own hands with a mazy run in the 91st minute, but Freese extended to deny a rasping effort from distance.

The chance would be the Union’sfinal gasp, as the last few minutes were frantic but fruitless. 

Jansen and New York pulled off the upset with an inspired gameplan and the boldness to neuter the Union press with the ball, even with a lineup missing key contributors like Keaton Parks, Andres Perea, Aiden O’Neill and striker Martinez. 

Luck and last-ditch defending were needed in the second half, but the Union’s tactical rigidity and lack of high-end match-winners came up just short in a one-off game at home they trailed for over 60 minutes.

Plenty of questions awaited in the Union’s offseason before Sunday’s contest regardless, but the organization will have to consider another disappointing playoff performance on the field.