New York City FC lost to Charlotte FC in a dramatic penalty
Yankee Stadium, Bronx (November 01,2025) — New York City FC lost to Charlotte FC in a dramatic penalty shootout in Game 2 of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Best-of-3 series. The sides battled to a stalemate over 90 minutes, forcing the contest to be decided from the spot. After 16 tense penalties, Charlotte prevailed 7-6, leveling the series at one game apiece.
The Croatian goalkeeper made huge saves his positioning and sheer fortune Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. His penalty shootout heroics powered Charlotte to a 7-6 victory after 90 scoreless minutes against New York City FC, forcing a decisive Game 3 on Friday back at Bank of America Stadium.
“I felt comfortable during the game, which is pleasing because I didn’t in the first half last week,” manager Dean Smith said. “The lads got it done in the penalties.”
New York City was in control after making its first three penalty kicks before Julián Fernández went wide on the fourth attempt. Charlotte made its final six attempts after Ashley Westwood’s shot in the second round was deflected wide by Matt Freese.
Charlotte created enough opportunities to avoid penalties entirely. Brandt Bronico hit the crossbar twice – once in the 14th minute, again in the 45th. Harry Toffolo missed wide from point-blank range in the 42nd minute with a 22% expected goal opportunity. Ashley Westwood’s shot hit the post.
“We created some really good chances,” Smith said. “BB hit the bar, West has hit the post, or the top of the post. Toffs missed a really good chance at the far post.”
Wilfried Zaha’s return from suspension provided the attacking spark Charlotte lacked in Game 1’s home loss. The former Premier League star was fouled before the 12th minute, drew a yellow card in the 27th minute for a hard foul, then picked up his own caution in the 81st for arguing with the referee.
The most recent playoff match that was played at Yankee Stadium prior to this afternoon was when New York City hosted Atlanta United FC on November 21, 2021, where the Club held their visitors scoreless in a 2-0 home victory.
In MLS (including postseason), New York City has posted a 3-5-2 (W-L-D) record against Charlotte, scoring nine goals and conceding 12.
This marks the first time New York City has been held scoreless by Charlotte when playing at home, whether at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Citi Field or Yankee Stadium.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese has reached a milestone of recording over 300 career league saves in MLS play (including postseason), spanning his time with both the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC.
But his presence forced NYCFC to commit fouls and opened space for teammates.
“It makes a big difference,” Smith said. “He’s probably just topped up the MLS fouls ratio a little bit more with the fouls that were on him today. He’s got that extra quality.”
In the 56th minute, Bronico had a one-on-one opportunity but chose to cross to Idan Toklomati instead of shooting. The ball went harmlessly by. Another chance evaporated.
NYCFC held a 59.54% possession advantage in the first half and finished the game with a 17-8 shot advantage. While Charlotte’s energy was noticeably better than Tuesday’s flat performance, the scoreboard remained stuck at zero.
Those moments proved critical as regulation ended scoreless, sending the match to penalties, where Charlotte had lost its previous three shootouts and NYCFC had won five of its past six.
“We’ve been working on penalties, obviously, because of the competition format,” Smith said. “After 90 minutes, there’s got to be a winner. We knew this format.”
Shootout drama decides season
Twenty-year-old Archie Goodwin, a late substitute for Bronico in the 75th minute, stepped up first for Charlotte and scored. NYCFC’s Alonso Martinez answered.
Westwood missed Charlotte’s second attempt when Matt Freese deflected it wide. Toffolo slipped on his approach but still scored to knot it at three, making up for his crucial first-half miss. When Fernández stepped up for NYCFC, he missed wide left with Kahlina diving the wrong direction.
NEW YORK CITY FC HEAD COACH – PASCAL JANSEN
On the game, including the penalty shootout after…
“The result—it’s a pity. We were focusing on getting the job done within two games. We had the opportunities, even though we didn’t play as well as I was hoping for. We had two or three big moments to go in front, and when it comes down to penalties, that can go either way. ‘Juli’ [Forward Julián Fernández] and ‘Agu’ [Forward Agustín Ojeda] missed their penalties, and the others were well taken. [Goalkeeper] Matt [Freese] saved one. You could see the response from the team, taking care of each other in these moments because it’s tough when you miss, but it’s part of the game. Overall, it shouldn’t have come to penalties. We should have finished them within 90 minutes.”
On how much of a missed opportunity this evening’s result was…
“It is what it is. We’ve proven throughout the season that we’ve become stronger in our away games. I mentioned the first hour in Charlotte—in and out of possession—and the final 30 minutes defensively. We did a good job. Charlotte [FC] is a tough team to beat at home, but we did it in a convincing way. Our goal was to finish this sequence in two games, but now they’ve made us work for Game 3 [in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series]. We’ll travel there Thursday with full confidence and go at them again on Friday.”
NEW YORK CITY FC DEFENDER – JUSTIN HAAK
On the mentality in the locker room…
“The immediate feeling is disappointment. We knew how big this opportunity was. Coming home in front of our fans—they were great tonight as expected—and not being able to give them the result to move on probably hurts the most. But we don’t have time to dwell on it. We’ll look back on this game, see what we can do better, what we didn’t do as well as in the first game, and focus on getting a good result in Game 3 [in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series].”
NEW YORK CITY FC DEFENDER – KEVIN O’TOOLE
On getting ready to go back on the road…
“It’s frustrating. We had a big opportunity in front of us today and we didn’t capitalize. I thought we defended quite well and created some chances, but it just didn’t fall our way today. This one will hurt tonight, and we just have to refocus tomorrow and make sure we’re ready to go for Game 3 [in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series].”
