2026 US Open Cup Round of 16: Blue no more, New York City FC finally beats Red Bulls to advance

It only took 12 seasons.

New York City FC slayed the dragon and beat rival Red Bull New York, 3-1, on Wednesday evening in the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Round of 16. A near history-making performance from midfielder Maxi Moralez gave NYCFC its first-ever win over RBNY in any knockout competition, including US Open Cup, Leagues Cup, and the MLS Cup Playoffs.

In total, 9,000 fans witnessed the match live at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. Including a sold out away section of 500 NYCFC fans, plus those around the stadium, who saw their team score a first-ever goal (plus two more) in a knockout game against their Hudson River Derby rivals. At this, the boisterous blue fans were louder than the majority home crowd and NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen made sure to acknowledge them.

“I experienced a similar moment last season as well in an away game, and I knew going into this match that a lot of people who support us, who’d rather not come to this stadium but did come,” Jansen told the media after the match. “We are very well aware of the position we take in their lives also, and it’s something I addressed going into this game, making sure that we realize what this means for our fans, but also the phase that we’re in, because every time we were close, the coin fell the other way. It was good to see that the coin fell our way today, and that the energy and chemistry with the fans in an away stadium like this was there. That was a very good thing to see.”

NYCFC is into the Quarterfinals for the 3^rd time in team history and are now one win away from reaching the club’s first Semifinal appearance.

Both teams entered the match with mostly MLS starting caliber lineups, with a few exceptions. Red Bull had backup John McCarthy in goal and sometimes starting winger Cade Cowell returning for a second straight after playing the previous weekend. NYCFC saw the young Nico Cavallo start at leftback for Kevin O’Toole while forward Malaki Jones made his first post-injury start since June 2024 over regular Talles Magno.

While both teams’ defensive struggles were known, RBNY’s was at the forefront early and often. Two corner kicks in the first ten minutes set up the game’s first goal, when Maxi Moralez sent a ball into the box and found the head of Kai Trewin who put the ball into the far side of the net past a diving McCarthy in the 9th minute. The goal marked Trewin’s first-ever USOC goal and NYCFC’s first goal against RBNY across all knockout competitions.

The home side was quick to counter back and found the equalizer in the 14th minute. A quick run of passes from their own end began with midfielder Ronald Donkor playing a wide ball to winger Cade Cowell on the right side. Cowell sent a superb pass to Julian Hall in the middle, past two defenders and an approaching Matt Freese, who got a shot off down the middle of the goal for an equalizer. The goal was Hall’s third in the USOC this year and his ninth across all competitions.

RBNY kept on the attack, with solid attempts from Jorge Ruvalcaba saved or forcing dives from Freese in goal. On the other side a 23^rd minute pass into the box by Jones was re-directed on target by Nicolás Fernández Mercau, forcing McCarthy into a diving save of his own. In the interim, NYCFC kept getting corner kicks.

Those set-pieces led to the second goal by City in the 39th minute. Another Moralez corner into the box was headed in by defender Raul Gustavo to give NYCFC a 2-1 lead. Gustavo’s first-ever USOC goal was nearly identical to his team’s first, with the ball redirected into the opposite side netting as the corner kick.

The Red Bull did suffer a potential no-call in the 29th minute, when a foul against Dylan Nealis in the box went unanswered as shouts for a penalty kick rang out. Nealis had been tripped in the box while the referee made a delayed call on a previous alleged penalty. No pool reporter and no VAR means no further information on this play will be available.

After the break, NYCFC brought on Talles Magno to replace Jones and City began to take full control of the match. The visitors looked more flexible and quick on their feet in attacks. More chances from open play tested the Red Bull backline, which has lacked a consistent center back presence all season.

Red Bull only had one shot in the second half, coming in injury time, while NYCFC had six. Only one was on target but that was the one that clinched the result.

A third Moralez corner kick in the 57th minute was headed in by NYCFC captain Thiago Martins to make it 3-1. Moralez becomes the seventh player since 1995 to earn three assists in a single USOC match, only one short of tying the record of four set in 2005.

Nico Cavallo nearly scored from open play just after the 60th minute and another Moralez corner kick was flicked on in the 70th but went wide right. Not even mentioning a near Olympico by Moralez a few minutes into the half that McCarthy kept out by the near post.

A complete performance by NYCFC got them the win, breaking RBNY’s six-game home unbeaten streak in USOC.

“I was a little concerned when (Red Bull) equalized at that moment because that was a particular moment which was also part of the story in the previous games (in MLS),” Jansan said, “But to see how we stood our ground in a tough away game against a good opponent, with a lot of movement in their team, and playing as solid as we did in the majority of the phases in possession, was good to see.”

The loud away contingent serenaded their boys in blue, taunting the Red Bull faithful but bringing a smile to the face of players like Malachi Jones.

“To all you guys watching this, thank you. The support was unbelievable. I heard you guys more than the Red Bull fans when I was on the bench, and that just shows how committed you are to us and how committed we are to you. So thank you.”