March 1, 2026; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; New York City FC defender Tayvon Gray (24) shoots at Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake (18) in the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Image New York City FC’s time at Yankee Stadium is coming to an end.
Until NYCFC moves to their new stadium next year, they will hope to continue their strong performance in their home opener on Saturday when they attempt to maintain their unbeaten start when they host Orlando City.
New York City (1-0-1, 4 points) is scheduled to play two more home openers at Yankee Stadium before moving to its own stadium in Queens in the summer of 2027. Since entering MLS as an expansion team, NYCFC is 8-1-2 with six clean sheets in their home opener and will face Orlando for the second straight time in their home opener after winning 2-1 last season.
NYCFC returned home after scoring three goals in their first two games. NYCFC recorded a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday after drawing 1-1 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Hannes Wolf scored late in the first half, and after NYCFC equalized in the 89th minute, Tayvon Gray scored in the 9th minute of extra time in the second half.
“It’s good to start strong,” Gray said. “Forward momentum is important. Now that we’re heading into our first home game, our home opener, it couldn’t be better.”
Orlando (0-2-0) is trying to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time in team history. The Lions lost 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls on Feb. 21, letting go of a two-goal lead after giving up two goals in the first half, and lost 4-2 to Inter Miami on Sunday after giving up two goals to Lionel Messi.
Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda scored six minutes apart, giving Orlando the lead in the 24th minute of the first half. The advantage disappeared in the 57th minute and Orlando allowed two goals in five minutes in the final minute before extra time ended.
“They were a much better version of us (Sunday),” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said. “Obviously not getting the result in front of our fans and not conceding a goal in the second half was painful for us, but overall we were a much better version of our team.”
–Field level media
