Dreams of a second MLS Cup are alive in The Bronx, as New York City FC clinched an MLS Cup Playoff spot for the second season in a row with a 2–0 win over Charlotte FC on Saturday.
The win saw The Pigeons snap Charlotte’s MLS-record nine-game winning streak, while extending a run of seven wins in their last nine games, as they hit form in the final few weeks of the season.
At the same time, it brought the club to 53 points, the sixth-highest in club history, with four games remaining, a mark that seemed in doubt after turning to a relatively unknown head coach in Pascal Jansen, as a replacement for Nick Cushing after finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference in 2024.
ALONSOOO CONVERTS FROM 12 YARDS 🎯 pic.twitter.com/O1Gcv9qELd
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) September 20, 2025
“We’ve clinched the playoff spot, which is obviously a success, but we want more,” Jansen said post-match. “We still have a few games to go and still 12 points to gain, and then we’ll see where we’ll finish. Once the league is finished, then we’ll start to focus on the playoffs.”
Although the Cityzens took a while to get going this season—they won just two matches of their first seven—they have found their form through the summer, leaning on key factors in Alonso Martínez, a new DP Nicolás Fernández Mercau, as well as goalkeeper Matt Freese, all of whom stood out on Saturday.
Up front, Martínez scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season, becoming just the third player in MLS history to score 10 game-winning goals in a single campaign, and the first since 2018. Meanwhile, Fernández Mercau continued to pull the strings in midfield, a role he has filled since debuting in June.
In net, Freese stopped a penalty, a strength he has showcased with the club and the U.S. men’s national team in 2025.
Come for Matt's save, stay for Thiago's reaction 😛 pic.twitter.com/AUr8als4LE
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) September 20, 2025
While Martínez entered the 2025 season as a key player, it was unclear how he would progress without his strike partner, Santiago Rodríguez, who had 12 goals and 10 assists last season. Yet, he’s maintained his form from 2024 and is thriving with Fernández Mercau.
“It is the first experience for me working in MLS, so when certain people were getting a little bit nervous that we didn’t sign any players, and when Santiago Rodríguez left, people were like, What’s going on?” Jansen said of doubts surrounding the team earlier in the year.
“Our strategy is very clear, and that’s what I committed to, and that’s why we got [center back] Raul Gustavo at the point that we got him, same goes for [defensive midfielder] Aiden O’Neill and Nicolas [Fernández Mercau].
Although Martínez leads the scoring and was a known commodity heading into the season, it was the signing of Mercau that genuinely changed the course of hope for The Pigeons.
Since signing, the Argentine has gone on to become an outright star for Jansen’s side, and has helped them to six wins in his seven games. At the same time, he’s helped Martínez and others around him reach a higher level.
That rekindled form has pushed their hope of heading into the final stretch of the regular season, as they aim for a top-four spot and home advantage in the first round best-of-three series.
And after that? They can dream of a second MLS Cup title, and first since 2021.
“If you look throughout the season, we’ve had some bumps,” Jansen added. “The approach is that every game should be a final. Every game you have to play like it’s your last game on Earth, and that’s a mentality thing. You won’t be as good as your last game, or maybe two games ago, but you have to improve every time. That is the focus that we have.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘We Want More’—NYCFC Dream Big After Clinching MLS Playoff Spot.
