A goal late in the first half forced Charlotte FC to play more aggressively in the second, and New York City FC took advantage.

Charlotte had its hands full with New York in this opening-round matchup. After losing at home in Game 1, the Eastern Conference squad had to rally on the road this past Saturday. CFC and NYCFC played a tight contest at Yankee Stadium, needing penalties to find a winner. It was Charlotte who was able to stay alive, coming away with the victory.

Nicolas Fernandez scored two goals and Alonso Martinez added another to power New York City over Charlotte FC 3-1 on Friday and into the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the MLS Cup playoffs. Costa Rican striker Martinez,

Charlotte FC faces a decisive playoff match at Bank of America Stadium on Friday night, where a win will propel them to the next round, while a loss will end their season.

A convincing 3-1 win before 34,473 fans at Charlotte FC moved NYCFC into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia Union.

Philadelphia Union learned on Friday night that the club will host rivals New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Subaru Park.

FC Cincinnati is advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday in TQL Stadium.

In the case of New York City FC, that notion is best amended to: As go Alonso Martínez and Hannes Wolf, so goes the club. Martínez and Wolf accounted for 28 of NYCFC’s 56 total goals in the

Columbus Crew return to Cincinnati with their season on the line in the final game of their Hell is Real playoff series.

As a kid, Tisch Blodgett spent Sundays at New York Giants’ NFL games with her grandfather, Bob Tisch, the co-founder of Loews Corporation, who became co-owner in 1991. Her weekend started on Saturday, when she baked a Giant-themed cake.