3 things we learned as NYCFC lost their final 2025 road game to Philadelphia

On Saturday, New York City FC played the Philadelphia Union in what was the final road game of the season.  The Pigeons had just won their sixth match away from home in the bonkers Hudson River Derby against the New York Red Bulls, and wanted their seventh.  Plus, they wanted to stop the Union from winning the Supporters’ Shield while playing against them.

Despite a decent performance, NYCFC could not get the stop, for they lost 1-0 to the Philadelphia Union.  All it took was one giveaway in the midfield that led to Mikael Uhre’s deflected shot to get the Union on the board.  As a result, they won the Supporters’ Shield in front of a packed Subaru Park. 

NYCFC’s biggest problem was that the players lacked the clinical attempts and finishing in the final third.  There were a couple of times they should have scored, but alas, it was not meant to be.

At least the Pigeons can focus on the positive fact that they competed with a very talented team and almost spoiled the party.  Therefore, here are three things that we learned from NYCFC’s loss to Philadelphia.

Alonso Martínez should have scored

Alonso Martínez had a brilliant opportunity to put NYCFC in front early on in the game.  The striker drove Andre Blake off his line and out of his goal, maneuvering the ball around the goalkeeper.  This led to the open goal and a perfect chance to score.  However, Martínez sent the ball wide, failing to convert what might have been his easiest chance of the whole season.

There was no question that the Costa Rican should have scored.  The fact that he missed, which understandably can happen, was an early knock in the chest.  That miss came back to bite them, and might have been the difference of them leaving with a point or potentially shocking the Union to where NYCFC could have won. 

As always, it is never a guarantee, but a goal could have changed the game.  Not scoring in that moment is something that cannot happen in the postseason.

NYCFC ends the season with a solid road record

After a few years of having road woes, which predominantly occurred under Nick Cushing’s tenure as the head coach, there was a feeling that 2025 would be the same.  Until July, NYCFC only had one road win in Major League Soccer.

However, an insane win against Orlando City SC seemed to change things, and eventually the Pigeons won six matches away from home.  Overall, they ended the season with a 6-6-5 road record, which is a solid one, especially in this league.  As a comparison, they went 4-8-5 in 2024, and even worse, 1-8-8 in 2023. 

Of course, it was not their best road record, for NYCFC went 7-5-5 in 2019, which was the only year they finished the Eastern Conference in first place.  However, while losing to the Union was not what they wanted, at least the Boys in Blue can be proud of their solid time on the road this year.  Ideally, this will be the trend they will go in when the 2026 season begins.

Winning the final game is the only option for NYCFC

After losing to Philadelphia, there is no question that NYCFC must win on Decision Day against Seattle Sounders FC.  Both teams currently sit in fifth place in their respective conferences, and the Sounders will play during the international break.  That long pause could be detrimental to NYCFC’s goal of hosting two of the three possible games during the Round One Best-of-3 series in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

But even if they win, the Pigeons will rely on the teams around them, specifically Charlotte FC and Orlando City.  Charlotte’s final game will be against the Union, and since they won one more match, which is the first tie breaker in MLS, the North Carolina team would finish ahead of the Bronx side if both teams win on Decision Day and end the season with 59 points.

With Orlando, the Florida side has two more games left.  If they win both and NYCFC wins against Seattle, then the Boys in Blue will finish ahead in the standings.  But any dropped points would mean that Orlando would finish above them. 

Still, the Pigeons can slightly control where they finish in the Eastern Conference.  If they lose, they could fall to seventh place.  A win guarantees at least fifth place.  Hence, NYCFC must earn the three points in the final match of the regular season.  Only then will they have a shot at moving into fourth place and hosting rights for the first round of the playoffs.