Did the soccer gods intervene?
Huntsville City FC had to win and rely on external scenarios going exactly their way to extend their season on Decision Day. It all ended up working out, and they'll get a shot to stun defending MLS NEXT Pro Cup champions Red Bull New York II in the Play-In round.Â
Landing in the ninth seed of the Eastern Conference on a 12W-10L-6T (2 SOW) record, head coach Chris O'Neal has led the Boys in Blue to back-to-back postseason appearances.Â
For a while, that fate looked like a long shot. But a late-season surge boasting five wins in their last six regular-season matches makes HCFC a real threat to write a Cinderella story, starting with Sunday's rematch with RBNY II (5 PM ET | MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball).
Season series
On the back of a Player of the Matchweek performance from Zidane Yáñez in a 2-1 win at the very same MSU Soccer Park they'll travel to on Sunday, HCFC bested RBNY II in their only regular-season matchup.
Player spotlight
As noted above, HCFC likely don't end up in the Play-In scenario without Yáñez. Loaned to Huntsville in May and officially signing for parent club Nashville SC in July, Yáñez ended the season on an absolute tear with six goals in his last four matches.Â
Starting or subbing on, 19-year-old wingback Malachi Molina leads the team in production with 9g/3a. Mastering the super-sub role as of late, Molina has posted five goals in his last six matches.Â
In goal, Will Mackay has been excellent this season. Competing with noted commodity Xavier Valdez this season has made for one of the most interesting keeper battles across the MLS ecosystem. Mackay, 18, has earned the lion's share of the workload and posted six clean sheets in 21 starts in the regular season.
Road from here
Sunday's winner will have to wait for Eastern Conference quarterfinal action to play out Oct. 16-18 and will be subject to the highest remaining seed's pick-your-opponent selection.
