A trophy will be lifted and a ticket punched to MLS Cup 2021 on Sunday afternoon as Philadelphia Union hosts New York City FC in the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals. Kick off from Subaru Park is set for 3 p.m. ET with the contest broadcast on ABC and ESPN Deportes.
The Union are in their first Eastern Conference Final after going the distance in each of their first two postseason matches. The Boys in Blue earned the No. 2 seed after a 2021 season that saw the club finish 14-8-12 in the regular season to claim a home field advantage in the first two contests of the playoffs and it paid off in both rounds. In Round One the Union advanced after a thrilling 1-0 extra time victory over rivals New York Red Bulls courtesy of the latest goal in MLS history scored by Jakob Glesnes in the 123rd minute. The Union secured their spot in the Conference Final with a gritty comeback against Nashville SC via a Daniel Gazdag first-half stoppage time goal and then penalty shootout heroics from Andre Blake who made a pair of saves to add another chapter the his Union legacy.
New York City FC comes to Subaru Park after knocking off the 2021 Supporters' Shield Winners, New England Revolution, in a penalty shootout on Tuesday night. Santiago Rodriguez opened the scoring just three minutes into the contest but the Revs answered back just six minutes later. In extra time it MLS Golden Boot Winner Valentin Castellanos giving NYCFC the lead in the 109th minute before being sent off with a second yellow. The extra man advantage proved crucial for New England as Tajon Buchanan smashed home a far post cross in the 118th. In the shootout, NYCFC kept their calm with a 5-3 result that saw goalkeeper Sean Johnson make a key save in the second round to advance.
Philadelphia Union and New York City FC squared off three times which was capped off with a Decision Day clash that saw the Union secure the No. 2 seed in the East with a 1-1 draw at Yankee Stadium. The first matchup between the two sides took place in May at Subaru Park with NYCFC taking a 2-0 win against a 10-man Union squad after Brujo Martinez was sent off in the first half. In August the rivalry intensity continued with the Union taking a 1-0 win courtesy of an Alejandro Bedoya finish in the second half and the Union defense standing strong to shutout their Eastern Conference rivals.
