The New York City Football Club ended in a 1-1 draw on the road against DC United last night as a pair of Penalty Kicks led both teams to walk away with a single point. On a night where Goalkeeper Matt Freese made a surprising return from suffering from an MCL injury a few weeks ago, the probable MVP of the team made 5 saves in 6 attempts as the club from the Bronx drops to 6th place in the East.
Head Coach Nick Cushing had this to say on the match: “[With] the mentality of our team and the hunger and desire of our team, it definitely feels like two points dropped because we want to win, and we want to solidify our league position. We want to continue to show improvement like we have had all year. We played really well in the first half, dominating the game for the whole 40-52 minutes. It does feel like two points dropped.”
There were positives however, as the Red Bulls and Charlotte both lost, allowing NYCFC to gain a point on both.
Next up is a pair of home matches in a 4 day stretch, first a Wednesday night match against the Philadelphia Union followed by a weekend home match against Inter-Miami (possibly with Lionel Messi back in the lineup) on Saturday.
5 STATS
1) After 28 matches this season, NYCFC sits at 40 points on the season. Last season after 28 matches they were at 30 points.
2) Matt Freese is now tops in the league in Save Percentage at 78.1% Second is Patrick Schulte with Columbus at 77.5%.
3) NYCFC has pulled a draw in 4 of it’s last 5 road games. The other match was the 4-2 loss to Columbus on August 31.
4) Of the team’s 41 goals on the season, Alonso Martinez and Santiago Rodriguez have a combined 20 (11 & 9 respectively). Last season the team ended with 35 goals.
5) NYCFC is third in the league this season in Blocked Passes with 248. League high is 282 for St. Louis.
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 14 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.