CINCINNATI — Matt Freese was instrumental for New York City FC as he recorded three saves during a thrilling nine-round penalty shootout, leading the team to a 6-5 victory over FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The match ended in a scoreless draw after regulation time, making it the decisive game in their best-of-three first-round series.

With this win, the sixth-seeded NYCFC eliminated the third-seeded Cincinnati from the playoffs and secured a spot to face their local rivals, the seventh-seeded New York Red Bulls, in the upcoming Eastern Conference semifinal.

Freese’s performance included four crucial saves during the match’s normal time, marking his third start in a postseason environment for NYCFC. He successfully denied penalty attempts from Pavel Bucha, Gerardo Valenzuela, and Teenage Hadebe during the shootout.

On the opposing side, FC Cincinnati’s goalkeeper Roman Celentano managed one save in regulation and stopped attempts from NYCFC’s captain Thiago Martins and Kevin O’Toole when the stakes were highest. However, he ultimately could not prevent Mitja Ilenic from scoring the decisive goal. This match was Celentano’s ninth start in the postseason, all for Cincinnati.

Freese previously made a single playoff appearance when he filled in for Andre Blake of the Philadelphia Union, who was unavailable in 2021 due to COVID-19. Earlier in the series, Cincinnati had achieved a narrow 1-0 victory against NYCFC in the first match at their home ground, only for New York to bounce back and claim a 3-1 win in the second leg.