Alonso Martínez and defender Thiago Martins scored in the first half, leading New York City FC to a 3-1 win over FC Cincinnati at Citi Field on Saturday, which set up a deciding match.
Santiago Rodríguez secured the victory by scoring a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time during the second half. This goal allowed No. 6 seed NYCFC to tie the best-of-three first-round series with third-seed Cincinnati.
Cincinnati, who had recently won six out of seven games with a strong goal differential, will host the final match on Saturday.
NYCFC took an early lead in the 22nd minute when Martínez received a pass from 19-year-old defender Mitja Ilenic and scored his first playoff goal in just his second game. Ilenic’s assist was also special since it was his first in the playoffs during his debut.
Martins helped NYCFC double their lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal in the 40th minute. This was his first goal in the postseason after five games, all of which he started.
Cincinnati managed to score in the 65th minute, cutting NYCFC’s lead to 2-1 with a goal from rookie Luca Orellano, who was assisted by Sergio Santos and Luciano Acosta.
Santos, who joined the game in the 57th minute, recorded his third assist in 13 playoff appearances. Acosta contributed his second assist this postseason and his fourth overall in 11 games, with 10 of those being starts.
Rodríguez’s penalty kick came after he was fouled by Cincinnati defender Chidozie Awaziem. This marked Rodríguez’s second goal in nine playoff games, all of which he has started.
In goal, Matt Freese made four saves in his second postseason start for NYCFC, while Roman Celentano had one save in his eighth career playoff start for Cincinnati.
Cincinnati had not played at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, since September 2022 and had never participated in a playoff game there. The field is narrower than many other stadiums, making it a unique setting for the match.
