Sunday saw the two newest teams in Major League Soccer, New York City FC and Orlando City SC, square off in an exciting expansion team duel. This is the second time these two teams have faced each other, the first being at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. That game ended in a 1-1 draw. Tonight the teams met in Yankee Stadium, home of New York City FC. This time, however, one team ended up on top.

The match saw a fairly uneventful start. It remained nil-nil almost the entire first half, until David Villa struck first blood in the 45th minute. David Villa received an amazing long pass from Angelino, and then slotted the ball into the near post for the goal.

5 minutes into the second half, Orlando City’s Cyle Larin strikes back. He fights for a position with a New York City defender as they chase after the ball. He slid it in just between the post and Goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

This didn’t keep New York down though. Two minutes later, Thomas McNamara sprung the next attack. He crossed ball in, where an unmarked Javier Calle taps it in. New York was up 2-1.

The 56th minute of this match saw the MLS debut of legendary Italian Andrea Pirlo for New York City FC. He entered the field, and high fived his opponent, Kaka.

Cyle Larin wasn’t done scoring yet. 61st minute, he taps in a cross almost identical to Calle’s goal. Rivas provided the pass for Larin’s second goal of the night. The game was level again.

That is, until the 67th minute. Andrea Pirlo provided the beginning of this play. He passed it to Poku, who slid it to David Villa. Villa’s kicked, his shot deflecting off a defender and going in.

In the 70th minute, another Pirlo-Poku combination led to a goal. This time, McNamara finishes the run, scoring another easy goal.

Then just at the 85th minute mark, Orlando is able to pull one more back. And it’s none other than Cyle Larin. He rocketed one into goal to seal his hat trick. It wouldn’t be enough to stop New York City.

In the third minute of stoppage time, the New York City FC offense rushed in. Villa made a swift pass to Poku, who made just as swift a pass to Mix Diskerud, slotted that one past goalkeeper Tally Hall.  

This win puts New York in Seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and Orlando City in Eighth. They are tied for points and games played, but after this game, New York has a better goal differential.

New York City FC’s next game is on Saturday August 1st against the Montreal Impact. It’s a home game for New York, and win would put them past Montreal in the standings, taking the final playoff spot.

Orlando City SC’s next match is also on Saturday, and is against Columbus Crew SC. They also have a home game, and need this win against the Crew to get closer to playoffs.