Union hopes to take advantage of NYC's small soccer pitch
Expansion franchise in New York playing on a field said to be smaller than the minimum required by MLS.
THE NEW YANKEE STADIUM is The House That Derek Jeter Built, not David Villa, and though it might be the temporary or permanent home for New York City FC, it might not be best suited for the playing style of the MLS expansion franchise.
Yankee Stadium is an iconic baseball stadium, but for NYC, it actually presents a challenge, because it pushes the limits for a regulation-size soccer pitch, which MLS and FIFA set at a minimum of 110 yards by 70 yards.
"They have a mandate for the exact size," said Union manager Jim Curtin, whose squad will play at 7 o'clock tonight against NYC. "They have minimums and maximums.
"We went into the exact dimensions of the field, which we have at 104-by-68. That's what we have trained on. It's significantly different. People say, 'Oh, 6 to 10 yards, that doesn't make much difference in width.' It does."
Ironically, Curtin said playing on the smaller field might work more to the Union's advantage than playing NYC FC (1-2-2, 5 points) at PPL Park, which they did last Saturday, winning 2-1.
New York is a high-possession team that relies on a smooth passing game. The smaller dimensions could make it tougher for that style of play.
"Any yard that the field shrinks, it becomes tighter," Curtin said. "To be honest, New York was a better passing team on our field. They kept the ball a lot better than us. Their midfield was very dangerous. So in some ways, it could be beneficial for us to have that space shrink and maybe have us counterattack a little better."
The teams are facing off in a rare MLS back-to-back with both looking to vault in the Eastern Conference standings. The Union (1-3-2, 5 points) earned its first win of the season against NYC and is now looking to continue the climb out of a slow start.
"This is the schedule that we have," said Curtin, whose team will host the New England Revolution at PPL on Sunday. "It'll be a quick turnaround and a good test for us on the road.
"It's always hard to get points on the road, and that's going to be our goal."