Goals from the fullbacks get New York City FC a win to open Leagues Cup

New York City FC opened its 2026 Leagues Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Club Santos Laguna at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Thursday night, its fourth-ever win over a Liga MX side.

NYCFC struggled in the first half while playing with a rotated, new-look lineup, but found their footing in the second. A pair of fullbacks, Tayvon Gray and Nico Cavallo, found the back of the net for their third and first ever goals for the club, respectively.

Matt Freese also had one of his best performances of the year in goal, making six saves, and five of them in the second half, to earn his fourth clean sheet of this 2026 season across all competitions.

Gray's match-winning strike was a stunner, a blast that rattled off the underside of the crossbar and then down into the net. Cavallo sealed the win after a smooth combination of passes that ended with Andrés Perea playing Cavallo in on goal, with Perea picking up his second assist in his last three appearances.

New York City will next play Cruz Azul in Harrison on Sunday in what is expected to be a hostile environment against one of the top teams in Liga MX.

Rotated lineup delivers

With Thiago Martins missing the match due to a minor strain, head coach Pascal Jansen gave center-back Max Murray his first-ever start for the club against Santos Laguna.

Murray, who was drafted in the 2025 SuperDraft with the 17th overall pick, had made just one appearance for NYCFC prior to Thursday, coming off the bench in the club's 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the 2025 US Open Cup.

It was a smart move to start the 6-foot-5 Murray, as Santos Laguna has conceded two goals from set pieces this season and allowed seven in the Clausura season, the third-most in the league.

Despite the height advantage, Murray was quiet on set pieces. He still had a solid night, completing 56 of his 60 attempted passes and playing 14 passes into the final third. He also played seven accurate long balls and won all of his ground duels.

In the 63rd minute, Murray was replaced by debutant Joāo Loiola, New York's new defender loaned in from Fluminense in Brazil. The 21-year-old has already made 10 appearances for NYCFC II and even scored against Red Bull New York II, but joined the first team on a short-term loan for this match.

Thursday also marked the return of Kevin O'Toole, who made his first appearance for the club since April 25 after needing surgery on his groin and abdomen. With Cavallo playing left-back, O'Toole started in the midfield alongside Jonathan Shore.

It was the first time O'Toole played in the midfield since NYCFC's 1-0 win over Philadelphia Union in the 2025 playoffs, when he filled in for the injured Perea and coincidentally also played next to Shore.

O'Toole played four passes into the final third and had his only shot blocked before being taken off at halftime, likely easing back in to playing after the lengthy injury layoff.

Second-half surge

After a dull first half where New York City had just two shots, Jansen brought on Luighi, Hannes Wolf, and Nico Fernández Mercau, replacing Bénie Traore, Malachi Jones, and O'Toole.

It marked the debut of Luighi, a 20-year-old forward who joined the club on loan for the remainder of the 2026 season from SE Palmeiras. The Brazilian made an immediate impact off the bench, hitting the post before he was called offside.

Luighi off the post 😩 pic.twitter.com/UouclLYaZB

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 7, 2026

Despite all the attacking substitutions, it was Gray who put NYCFC in front two minutes after Luighi's near miss. It was a great team goal that involved Luighi — he laid the ball off to Andrés Perea, who played a pass across the face of goal that reached Agustín Ojeda, but his shot was blocked by Emmanuel Echeverría.

The rebound fell to Gray, who blasted the ball first-time off the crossbar and into the back of the net for his third-ever goal for the club. Gray's first goal was also scored at Sports Illustrated Stadium back in September 2024 when New York beat Red Bull New York 5-1.

You don't save those 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8zkrqlN1tY

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 7, 2026

NYCFC's second-half dominance from its fullbacks continued, as Cavallo got on the scoresheet in the 66th minute.

It was another goal created from solid build-up play that started with Cavallo and the other Nico, Fernández Mercau, playing a few passes to each other along the left sideline. Eventually a pass came to Luighi, who was fouled, but play went on as Perea found Cavallo running into space behind the Santos Laguna defense. With a good first touch, Cavallo hit it over Carlos Acevedo with his left foot.

An incredible team move from the boys 🤝 pic.twitter.com/hSkopANWCh

— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 7, 2026

The goal was Cavallo's first-ever in his MLS career, and it's well deserved: He was drafted in the third and final round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and had to wait for his chance, but he's now started the last 11 matches in all competitions after filling in for the injured O'Toole.