NYCFC advance to Open Cup Round of 16 after beating Rochester NY FC 3-1

By Chris Tsakonas

New York City FC is through to the US Open Cup Round of 16 after defeating Rochester New York FC 3-1 at Belson Stadium in Queens, N.Y. tonight. New York City controlled the run of play, outshooting Rochester 7–3 in shots on goal while holding 65.3 percent of the possession.

NYCFC opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, when Gabriel Pereira lofted a ball into the middle of the box in the direction of Thiago Andrade, who powered it home with a right footed volley into the upper right corner of the goal.

It didn’t take long for New York City FC to double their advantage. In the 31st minute, Rochester goalkeeper Philip Ejimadou botched a clearance, playing it right into the feet of Heber - and he found the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Rochester was able to pull one back in the 3rd minute of first half stoppage time. Jesus Bratiz got on the end of a ball across the six yard box, tapping it in at the back right post.

The pace of the game slowed a bit in the second half, but New York City FC still managed to create scoring chances. Talles Magno had a golden opportunity in the 65th minute, finding himself one on one with the keeper off a nice through ball - but he fired it over the bar.

The third NYCFC goal of the night finally came in the 76th minute. A corner kick from Santi Rodriguez found the head of Maxime Chanot, who powered it home to double New York City’’s lead.

A fourth goal looked to be in the offing in the 90th minute, when Andres Jasson drew a penalty kick - but Gedion Zelalem couldn’t finish the PK, with his shot in the lower right corner being stopped by Ejimadu.

New York City FC found themselves down a man for the final five minutes, when Pereira was issued a second yellow in the 90th minute following an altercation. Rochester had Preston Popp sent off in the 95th minute after he kicked Jasson while he was laying on the ground.

The win sets up a matchup with a to be determined opponent in the Round of 16. A win would earn a spot in the quarterfinals - which would tie New York City FC’s best finish in the Open Cup in club history in 2019.

As for MLS play, it’s just a three day turnaround before New York City FC hosts the Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.