NYCFC and the Red Bulls have faced each other 29 times during their decade-long rivalry.
But never like this.
Saturday night’s edition of the Hudson River Derby marks the first-ever playoff match between New York’s two MLS clubs.
They are set to meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for a single-elimination showdown at Citi Field, where — due to sky-high demand — additional seating will be opened to accommodate a crowd expected to exceed 25,000 people.
And neither is taking it lightly.
“We’re aware it’s a Hudson River Derby in the playoffs,” NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing said Thursday. “Ultimately for both teams, we got professional players here that if you can’t get yourself up for a semifinal against your rivals with a chance to progress, you are playing the wrong sport.”
The Red Bulls enter Saturday with an all-time record of 15-10-4 against NYCFC, though the latter won both meetings this season, including a 5-1 victory at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., in late September.
NYCFC finished the regular season with a better record of 14-8-12 — compared to the Red Bulls’ 11-14-9 — to earn the higher seed and the right to host Saturday’s postseason match.
“We know the results,” Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz said Thursday. “We know how they played against us. How we played, especially the last game in our stadium, was tough, to the days after the game was tough, but now it’s new competition.”
The cross-river rivalry dates back to 2015, when NYCFC joined the MLS. The Red Bulls swept the clubs’ three matches that year, then won the first meeting in 2016 before NYCFC finally defeated their local foe.
But the stakes have never been higher than Saturday’s match.
The sixth-seeded NYCFC advanced to the semifinal by beating No. 2 FC Cincinnati in the opening round, while the seventh-seeded Red Bulls made it by upsetting the No. 2 Columbus Crew, the reigning MLS champions.
“These are the types of games growing up, especially the two teams from New York, that you kind of dream of playing,” NYCFC midfielder Justin Haak said. “Now it’s a playoff game, so it adds a little something else to it, but everybody’s just really excited. I don’t feel like anybody’s too tense about the moment. We’re all just kind of enjoying it.”
NYCFC seeks its first championship since 2021, when it won the MLS Cup in its lone appearance in the final. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, still seek the first championship in the history of a franchise that debuted in 1994. Their only appearance in the final came in 2008.
Both clubs are three wins away from a title, starting with Saturday’s match.
They are fairly evenly matched, with NYCFC scoring 54 goals and allowing 49 this season, compared to the Red Bulls scoring 53 and allowing 50.
“We know it’s going be a very good, physical game. We have to be prepared for that,” Red Bulls defender Andres Reyes said. “Don’t give chances for them to score. I think we have to be 100% focused.”
Since its inception, NYCFC has mostly played its home games at Yankee Stadium, though it added Citi Field as a secondary venue in 2022. When both ballparks are booked, NYCFC has scheduled games at Red Bull Arena.
That’s set to change in 2027, when NYCFC is scheduled to open a $780 million stadium — which, the club revealed Thursday, will be named Etihad Park — across the street from Citi Field.
Until then, NYCFC hopes to capitalize on calling Citi Field home.
“It’s a real special place under the lights,” Cushing said.
“I’m sure we’re probably going to have 25,000 fans behind us that, hopefully if we can get on the front foot, we can make that 25,000 sound like 45,000. I’ve said before when we have our people behind us, it gives us such an energy and such a lift.”