Penalties Decide the MLS Cup Final

This Saturday, the MLS Cup Final took place in a matchup between the Portland Timbers and NYCFC. It was NYCFC’s first time making it to the Cup Finals. Some may call it luck but it clearly isn’t now as New York City strolls away with the victory.

 With fans traveling across the country to watch a match of a lifetime, they certainly got it. After what seemed to be an inevitable win by NYCFC, with just four seconds left, the entire crowd and the players on the field thinking it was over, were in awe when suddenly Portland’s knight in shining armor Fellipe Mora was at the right place the right time when during Portland’s last chance on the offensive. Every NYCFC player and fans were shocked.

 It went into extra time, which is two fifteen minute halves and if the score is still tied after that, it goes into penalties which is exactly what happened. NYCFC was coming off of a previous 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Union and before that game, their conference semifinals game went into penalties in which they beat the New England Revolution 5-3 in penalties so they have quite some momentum going into this penalty shootout. 

NYCFC defeated the Timbers 4-2 in penalties after an outstanding performance by their goalie, Sean Johnson, who saved 2 of the Timbers 4 shots. Andrew Lowenhar, Harborfields Varsity Soccer's starting goalie said, “His performance was inspirational. He stepped up when he was needed. He did all the basic things correctly so he didn’t need to do anything amazing until the shootout.” 

This was the club’s first trophy and we can anticipate that there’s many more to come in the future. Jude Callan stated,”It was special to see so many people supporting the city’s team. It really brought the community together.”

 The entire club itself is feeling a lot more confident now after this win considering the organization is pushing for a new stadium. NYCFC has been playing at the Yankees stadium but has recently proposed a soccer-specific stadium to be built in New York City called the New York City FC Stadium.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams is vowing to re-open talks to help bring NYCFC their own stadium after their MLS Cup win. Adams stated “With their first ever MLS Cup victory this year, NYCFC did our city proud, and gave all New Yorkers reason for hope.” Adams then later stated, “My administration will re-engage in discussions to explore the possibility of siting a new soccer stadium to serve as a permanent home for the team.” 

This would be amazing for the club since they would of course have their own stadium to play their games in but they also won’t have to work around the Yankees schedule since Yankee games are prioritized first there.

Jude Callan told us, “After years of needing a stadium fit for soccer, is winning the MLS Cup the recognition they needed to get what they so desperately want?”

 We will have to wait and see what the future holds for NYCFC but we can say for now that it’s certainly looking bright.