This past season, NYCFC made it to the MLS Cup playoffs for the fourth time in the club’s history. How exactly has the team grown since its inaugural season in 2015?
New York City F.C. finished the 2015 season in eighth place under head coach Jason Kreis, who used to coach Real Salt Lake. The team earned 37 points in their 34 games, putting them two slots away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The team’s home stats were 6-7-4 and 4-10-3 away. They scored 48 goals and received 58 giving them a goal difference of -9. David Villa scored 18 of those goals, making him the fourth top scorer for the 2015 season. He also made 138 shots and 64 shots on goal, putting him in the #2 spot for those categories.
The club’s 2016 season under coach Patrick Vieira went much better. NYCFC finished that season in the #2 spot, right under New York Red Bulls. They earned 54 points in their 34 games, winning 14, losing 9 and tying 11 of them.
David Villa continued to be the standout player, scoring 23 goals, making 166 shots and 68 shots on goal. The team’s 51 goals in favor gave them a difference of 12, which helped them make the playoffs. However, they lost both of their playoff games against Toronto F.C. The away game at BMO Field ended in a 2-0 loss, and the team could not recover and received another 5 goals at Yankee Stadium.
The club finished their 2017 season in second place again, but this time they earned 57 points in their 34 games. They won 16 games, lost 9 and tied 9. Their goal difference improved as well. They scored 56 and received 43, giving them a difference of 13.
David Villa continued to top the charts for goals, shots and shots on goal. However, his contract ended at the end of that season and he did not renew it. The team also lost both of their playoff games again, this time to Columbus Crew. The score was 4-1 in favor of Columbus at the end of their game at Mapfre Stadium and 2-0 at Yankee Stadium.
Dome Torrent was NYCFC’s head coach from June 2018 until earlier this month when he and the team mutually parted ways. Under his command, the team finished in third place in the Eastern Conference and won their first playoff game in 2018. Like their 2017 season, the team earned 56 points in their 34 games. Their record was 16-10-8. Their goal difference was 14 by the end of the season after they scored 59 goals and received 45.
Maximiliano Moralez, who was transferred to NYCFC from Liga MX’s Club León on the 15th of February, 2017, became the key player that the team needed after Villa’s departure and he finished the 2018 season as the player with the fourth most assists.
NYCFC made it to the playoffs again in 2018 and beat Philadelphia Union 3-1, but they lost both games against Atlanta United and the global score at the end was 4-1.
The 2019 season has been the best in the club’s short history. Coach Torrent helped the team finish the season as the Eastern Conference leaders. This time, the team earned 64 points in 34 games and had a record of 18-6-10. They scored 63 goals and received 42 for a difference of 21.
Heber Araujo dos Santos was the fifth highest scoring player in MLS with 15 goals. Maximiliano Moralez became the player with the most assists in the league, helping his teammates score 20 goals while scoring 7 himself.
The team’s trend of not getting far in the playoffs continued and they lost 2-1 to Toronto F.C., who made it to the final. However, they lost 3-1 to Seattle Sounders who became champion for the second time in four years.
Now that coach Torrent has left the team, Giovanni van Bronckhorst is rumoured to be the team’s coach for the 2020 MLS season, according to The Mirror. Whether he takes the job or not, it will be interesting to see if and how the team will continue their trend of improvement in the coming season and beyond.
Written by Tania Pérez
Big Apple Sports 