New York City FC 3-2 Columbus Crew 2025 MLS Regular Season - Matchday 34 Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | Kickoff: 7:40pm ET Location: Yankee Stadium | The Bronx, NY Attendance: 17,413
New York City FC recorded a dramatic 3-2 win against Columbus Crew on a thrilling night in the Bronx. After trading goals from Dániel Gazdag and Hannes Wolf in the first half, Abou Ali restored Columbus’s lead on the hour mark before Wolf struck again. Late substitutes Agustín Ojeda and Julián Fernández then combined for a stoppage-time winner, sealing Pascal Jansen’s side a dramatic victory to boost their playoff push.
UP NEXT: The ‘Boys in Blue’ are back in The Bronx, NY at Yankee Stadium to face Charlotte FC on Saturday, September 20, at 12:00pm ET. | Apple TV: MLS Season Pass | Radio (English/Spanish) newyorkcityfc.com/radio
After the result this evening, New York City FC achieved the Club's 15th win of the season. The team now has six seasons with at least 15 wins since 2016, which is the most in the league over that period of time.
The highest number of wins in a single season that the Club ended with is 18, which was accomplished during the 2019 MLS Regular Season. The second most the team ended with is 16 wins, which occurred in 2022, 2018, and 2017.
Currently, New York City FC is tied for the second most victories in the league overall this season.
Only FC Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego FC, and Philadelphia have more, with 17 each.
With a win tonight, New York City has recorded their seventh comeback victory. They overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits throughout the match.
Thus far, seven of their 15 wins have been comeback wins.
In six of these matches, New York City conceded first and came back to win.
They did this twice against Chicago Fire FC this season. A 3-1 win against Chicago Fire FC at Yankee Stadium on May 25, 2025, and a 3-1 against Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on September 13, 2025.
The other matches include: a 2-1 win against the New England Revolution at Yankee Stadium on March 8, 2025, a 2-1 win against Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium on July 16, 2025, a 2-1 win against Nashville SC at Yankee Stadium on August 17, 2025, and against the Columbus Crew 3-2 at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2025.
Their other comeback victory was a 4-3 win against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on July 25, 2025, which saw them overcome 2-1 and 3-2 deficits.
New York City was down 3-2 at the half and scored two second half goals to win.
With Forward Hannes Wolf’s brace tonight:
Now sits fourth all-time in multi-goal MLS Regular Season games for the Club with four.
Now becomes the fourth-ever New York City FC player to score at least four braces in a single MLS Regular Season.
New York City FC has an all-time record of 8-10-7 (W-L-D) against the Crew, with the team having scored 44 goals and conceded 42.
At home, the team has a record of 7-3-2 against the Crew.
24 goals have been scored, with 22 assists recorded.
The Club’s overall home record now stands at 10-4-0.
At Yankee Stadium, the team is 7-4-0, while at Citi Field it is 3-0-0.
New York City FC is one of only five teams in the league (all in the Eastern Conference) to record at least 10 wins at home so far this season (the others being the Philadelphia Union, Charlotte FC, Nashville SC, and the New York Red Bulls).
With Hannes Wolf’s brace tonight:
Now sits fourth all-time in multi-goal MLS Regular Season games for the Club with four.
Now becomes the fourth-ever New York City FC player to score at least four braces in a single MLS Regular Season.
With his two goals in this match, Wolf reached 11 for the 2025 MLS Regular Season, becoming the second New York City FC player to reach double digits in scoring this year, joining forward Alonso Martínez (15).
This marks the fifth time in Club history that two or more players have scored 10 or more goals in the same season.
Wolf is also the 10th player in Club history to reach the 10-goal milestone, joining an elite list that includes: Forward David Villa 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; Midfielder Frank Lampard 2016; Midfielder Jack Harrison 2017; Forward Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 2018; Forward Héber 2019; Midfielder Alexandru Mitriță 2019; Forward Valentín Castellanos 2019, 2021, 2022; Forward Alonso Martínez 2024, 2025; and Midfielder Santiago Rodríguez 2024.
This evening marked Forward Julián Fernández scoring his third goal of the season, and seventh overall goal contribution in 2025.
Forward Agustín Ojeda recorded his fourth and fifth assists of the regular season.
Ojeda has also assisted in two straight matches in a row (3A in 2GP) after assisting this evening against Columbus and on Matchday 33 against Chicago Fire FC.
Defender Aiden O’Neill recorded his fourth assist of 2025, and his second in his four most recent starts, dating back to August 23 against FC Cincinnati.
NEW YORK CITY FC HEAD COACH PASCAL JANSEN
On the significance of the win this evening... “I mentioned it a couple of games back already — I believe [once you enter] the final stage of the season with around eight games to go, that's where you either win or lose what you're after during the league. We were competitive throughout the season, had our ups and downs, [and] a few moments. Going into this stretch with everything still possible, as tight as it is in our league at the moment [every match is like] eight finals. That loss against D.C. [United] was a big one to swallow because we were way better than that team that night, but they punished us for some minor mistakes, and that's what it is at this level. We had to bounce back, and we did with a good game against Chicago [Fire FC] away. Now it was also time to set things straight against a direct opponent again in our own house. The way they [the players] did it was very impressive and keeps us going towards the end of the season.”
Thoughts on Forward Julián Fernández’s goal... “Well, like I said about Hannes [Wolf] just now, Julián [Fernández] is in a different space, but similar to Hannes [Wolf]. Juli [Julián Fernández] is in a tough spot at the moment because he's not [the] first choice. If you see him every day at our training ground, [it’s] so impressive. This doesn't surprise me. He stays very professional, very dedicated to what he does during the day. Finishing is one of the topics, as you mentioned. Throughout the season, we've discussed it many times: ‘When do you shoot with force? When do you bend it? What kind of technique do you use in certain situations?’ If you look at this moment, you see that he tells Seymour [Reid] to stay away because he's already made up his mind and taken the picture of where he wants this ball to finish and determined his technique as well. So, to bend it in like he did tonight, that's really impressive. I can only hope he continues [to perform at this level].”
NEW YORK CITY FC MIDFIELDER HANNES WOLF
On growing more comfortable in his role in the team... “Very comfortable. But I have to say it's not just me; the whole team made a big step. You can see the last five, six games. As a player, I feel very comfortable playing in this team right now especially. Today we went down twice and still came back. That's not just me, but all 11, and also the players who came in did great. We keep going.”
NEW YORK CITY FC FORWARD JULIÁN FERNÁNDEZ
Sobre sus sentimientos al marcar el gol de la victoria al final del partido... “Hermoso. Creo que lo que se siente es hermoso. Creo que la sensación, el tiempo, la manera en la que se ganó el gol también creo que fue muy significante. También necesitamos la victoria para seguir ahí arriba peleando en dejar a Nueva York lo más alto posible. Pero es hermoso, la verdad muy lindo y gracias a Dios pude aportar para la victoria.”
On his feelings on scoring the game winner at the end of the match... “Beautiful. I think what you feel is beautiful. I think the sensation, the timing, the way the goal was scored was also very significant. We also needed the victory to keep fighting at the top and to leave New York as high as possible. It’s beautiful, truly very special, and thank God I was able to contribute to the win.”
NEW YORK CITY FC FORWARD AGUSTÍN OJEDA
Sobre la emoción que vivió en la cancha de ganar el New York City... “La verdad, una emoción hermosa. Sabíamos que iba a ser un partido complicado contra un gran rival, pudimos terminar llevándonos una victoria, que eso es lo importante, y seguir peleando para gratificar a los triunfos. Yo creo que eso es bien especial.”
On the emotion he felt on the field after New York City’s win… “The truth is it’s a beautiful emotion. We knew it was going to be a tough match against a great opponent, but we were able to come away with a victory, which is what’s important, and to keep fighting to build on these wins. I think that’s very special.”
Full Match Highlights -
Goal - NYC - 45’+3’ - Hannes Wolf [17] -
Goal - NYC - 73’ - Hannes Wolf [17] -
Goal - NYC - 90+4’ - Julián Fernández [11] -
40’ - CLB - Dániel Gazdag [8]
Scored off a penalty with right footed shot with an xG of 77% to the bottom left corner.
45’+3’ - NYC - Hannes Wolf [17]
Scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box with an xG of 96% to the upper left central zone.
60’ - CLB - Wessam Abou Ali [9]
Scored with a header from the center of the box with an xG of 15% to the middle right zone. Assisted by Max Arfsten [27].
73’ - NYC - Hannes Wolf [17]
Scored with a right footed shot from the center of the box with an xG of 19% to the middle-left zone. Assisted by Agustín Ojeda [26], second assist by Aiden O'Neill [21].
90+4’ - NYC - Julián Fernández [11]
Scored with a left footed shot from the right half-space outside the box with an xG of 4% to the middle-left zone. Assisted by Agustín Ojeda [26].
New York City FC returned to action on Wednesday night, welcoming the Columbus Crew to the Bronx.
Pascal Jansen’s side, fresh off a 3-1 win against Chicago Fire, knew another victory would strengthen their playoff push against Wilfried Nancy’s side.
Jansen made just one change from the weekend, with Raúl Gustavo stepping out for Andrés Perea.
New York City started brightly. After only five minutes, Maxi Moralez clipped a corner kick to the edge of the box, where Aiden O’Neill met it first-time—his strike skimming just wide.
Columbus replied almost immediately, Wessam Abou Ali seeing an effort blocked by Thiago Martins before Dániel Gazdag drew a smart stop from Matt Freese.
The hosts kept pressing. Perea forced Patrick Schulte into a save just before the half-hour, and Alonso Martínez soon tested him again from close range. At the other end, Freese denied Gazdag’s towering header with a sharp reflex save.
Columbus broke the deadlock five minutes before the interval. O’Neill was penalized for a challenge on Abou Ali inside the box, and Gazdag made no mistake from the spot.
Yet City found an answer in first-half stoppage time. O’Neill lofted a pass into the area, Justin Haak squared it across goal, and Hannes Wolf bundled the ball over the line to restore parity.
The second half began at a furious pace. In the 55th minute, Martínez went down under Schulte’s challenge, sparking fierce appeals for a penalty, but the referee did not agree.
Within minutes, the Crew made New York City pay. Abou Ali rose highest on the hour mark, his header glancing off the inside of the post before settling in the net.
Determined to respond, Martínez and O’Neill both tried their luck from distance, but Schulte held firm. Jansen then turned to his bench, withdrawing Martínez and Moralez for Agustín Ojeda and Julián Fernández.
The changes nearly paid off instantly. [First name] Wolf went close again, denied only by César Ruvalcaba’s block. Moments later, however, he would not be stopped. Meeting Ojeda’s curling cross at the back post, the Austrian lashed a left-footed volley beyond Schulte to level the contest once more.
The 82nd minute saw further changes for New York City as O'Neill and Fernández Mercau were replaced by Jonny Shore and Seymour Reid. The young forward went close to scoring minutes after coming on, but saw his header saved by Schulte.
Heading into stoppage time, New York City continued to push the issue and were rewarded late on. The goal was the product of a rapid counterattack instigated by Tayvon Gray. He played it to Ojeda, who drove forward before finding Fernández, who curled a delightful strike past Schulte at the death.
It proved to be the decisive strike and confirmed a dramatic 3-2 win for New York City on the night.
