Morales, Freese help NYCFC beat No. 1 seed Union 1-0, advance to conference finals

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CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Maxi Moralez opened the scoring in the 27th minute and New York City FC beat the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Sunday night to win the Eastern Conference semifinals.

New York City's Matt Freese had five saves. including a stop of a first-touch shot by Frankie Westfield, off an arcing entry played by Milan Iloski, from point-blank range in the 74th minute.

Philadelphia, which won the 2025 Supporters Shield, lost at Subaru Park for just the second time this season.

No. 5 seed NYCFC plays at third-seeded Miami, which beat Cincinnati 4-0 in the other conference semifinal, on Saturday. The winner advances to the MLS Cup on Dec. 6.

On the counter-attack, Moralez perfectly timed his run onto a ball played ahead by Nicolás Fernández and beat goalkeeper Andre Blake with a rolling shot from the center of the area the slipped inside the left post.

Blake had two saves, which included a diving stop of a shot by Fernández from beyond midfield in the 55th minute. Blake appeared to have injured his hamsting on the play and was replaced by Andrew Rick — finished with a save — in the 60th.

The Union outshot NYCFC 9-3 in the first half and 20-6 overall.

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