NYCFC: Deep in a Playoff Dream

David Villa & Andrea Pirlo (IMAGE, NYCFC.COM)

How nice would it be for New York soccer fans to have both NYCFC and the Red Bulls in the playoffs? It would be a great story for NYCFC if they were able to make the playoffs in their first season in the MLS. All the fans that make NYCFC one of the more exciting teams to watch in the league would get to see their team have a chance to be the first expansion team since the 2009 Seattle Sounders and the 1998 Chicago Fire to make the playoffs. The only problem is that the boys in powder blue are going to need a lot of help getting there.

As of today, NYCFC sits in 8^th place in the Eastern Conference, with three crucial games left in their schedule. After tomorrow’s game against DC United, they are going to have to wait almost two weeks until their next game against Orlando City. At this point the members of the Third Rail and the rest of the NYCFC faithful will be glued to their screens watching the 6^th place Montreal Impact and the 7^th place, hoping they lose enough games to give NYCFC the playoff push they need. It took some time for NYCFC to get used to the arrivals of both Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. Now that they are both adjusted, the team is starting to come together at a crucial time. As said by Lampard during a training session for tomorrow’s game, “I think we’ve been playing better. As I see it, we’re training well, and now it’s just the case of keeping it going. The minute you relax, you can kinda slip back into a mode that can make you lose momentum. So as they say, the only thing now is for each and every one of us to focus and keep on winning”.

Although it seems like a long shot, there is a chance that this can become a reality. If NYCFC carries the momentum they have from their three game winning streak, they can end the regular season on a high note. It would be great for the MLS and New York City to have them make the playoffs. They would have the New York City market watching, which could lead to higher TV ratings, and it would also demonstrate how far Claudio Reyna, Jason Kreiss, and the rest of the team has come since becoming and official part of the MLS in 2013. A season that started out with much excitement and promise will hopefully not end in disappointment.