NYCFC in good shape, Fire far behind as season resumes

New York City FC spent the last weeks attempting to win the Leagues Cup. After falling short, their attention turns to pushing for the best seed possible in the MLS playoffs.

NYCFC will resume the MLS regular season Saturday night when they host the Chicago Fire at Citi Field.

With nine matches remaining, NYCFC (11-9-5, 38 points) enter the weekend fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the fourth-place New York Red Bulls and one point ahead of Charlotte FC. Before the break, NYCFC settled for three straight draws and went winless in their final four matches (0-1-3).

In the Leagues Cup, NYCFC's run ended in the quarterfinals Aug. 17, when it could not get a second goal and dropped a decision to the Columbus Crew 4-3 on penalty kicks in their fourth straight match on the road. Santiago Rodriguez saw his potential clinching kick sail over the crossbar, and Maxi Moralez also missed after Alonso Martinez scored 12 seconds into the contest.

"It's down to us," NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. "The one thing I won't have questioned is the heart, and the fight, and the commitment, and the belief that this team can come to a really difficult place and get a result."

Chicago (6-12-7, 25 points) saw an early exit in group play during the Leagues Cup. Although the Fire have the second-fewest points in the East, they are three points behind ninth-place Atlanta for the last playoff spot and are attempting to inch closer.

Before getting eliminated in group play, Chicago went 2-2-1 in its final five matches before the break, including a 0-0 draw at home against NYCFC on July 13. The Fire went into the break with a 2-1 loss to Inter Miami and will be without midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, whose contract was terminated during the break.

The Fire also added veteran winger Ariel Lassiter in a trade from Montreal, and he is expected to be in the lineup Saturday.

"Going into the final stretch of the regular season, we wanted to add a versatile player with MLS experience to strengthen our playoff push," Fire sporting director Georg Heitz said in a release. "Ariel will bring more competition and flexibility to the team, as he can play multiple positions."

--Field Level Media