NYCFC keeps big picture at forefront of long-shot MLS playoff run hopes

When New York City FC begins its playoff run on Monday against FC Cincinnati, yes, a run at the MLS Cup will be the goal, but head coach Nick Cushing has bigger aspirations for however long his club lasts in the postseason. 

NYCFC finished sixth in the Eastern Conference standings — three points ahead of rival New York Red Bulls — but Cushing’s hope is for his squad to use the lessons from this postseason run to finish near the top of the table next year. 

“My dream is to get an Eastern Conference Final in New York,” Cushing told The Post. 

“This playoff run will be a great stepping stone into next season. We know that we finished sixth, but the reality is we were one game off of finishing fourth,” Cushing continued. “The aim is to be [third], [second] or [first]. Next year is going to be really critical in putting in the next stepping stone to that. … Being able to go through this postseason and play against the teams that were above you, playing against the teams that were fighting for MLS Cup is a really good opportunity for the team.” 

New York City FC is making a return to the postseason after failing to qualify during the 2023 campaign and will have to go through FC Cincinnati, a club they’ve seen quite a bit this season. NYCFC faced Cincy as recently as Oct. 2 and had faced them two previous times — once in the regular season and once in the Leagues Cup. 

Cincy, the third-place finisher during the regular season, poses a tough challenge for NYCFC a year removed from winning the Supporters’ Shield and being one of the better offensive teams in Major League Soccer. 

Part of that stems from the play of Luciano Acosta, who is tied for the MLS assists lead with 19 and who Cushing pointed to as one of the biggest threats for FC Cincinnati. 

“I think it’s about condensing the space, making sure we don’t allow him time to find the offensive players that they’ve got,” Cushing said. “It’s about understanding the good stuff in the performances that we’ve had and about embracing the fact we’re a good team.” 

Cushing reiterated that NYCFC has improved from last season, and that has been particularly true for 26-year-old forward Alonso Martinez. 

The Costa Rican national has been one of the brightest stars on NYCFC this season.

Martinez led the club in goals with 16, which puts him up there behind some of the best goal-scorers in MLS, and he was one of the best strikers in MLS following the Leagues Cup break in the middle of the summer. 

“Since the first game, I played with the team going back to preseason it was just a flip of mentality of how I prepared myself and how I was going to approach the season,” Martinez told The Post. “There was things I needed to improve on and work on and that’s what I’ve been doing throughout the season. It’s more of a mental thing that’s helped me to have good performances in the game.” 

NYCFC opens its series with FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Monday before returning to play the second game of the best-of-three series on Nov. 2 at Citi Field.