The Union’s next playoff game will narrowly dodge Eagles-Cowboys

The date and time for the Union’s Eastern Conference semifinal playoff game against New York City FC are finally set: Sunday, Nov. 23 at 7:55 p.m.

The good news is that the game will have a traditional TV broadcast on FS1 and Fox Deportes, starting at 7:30 p.m., along with Apple TV’s usual coverage. But a lot of people will care more about the bad news.

A Sunday night kickoff at Subaru Park won’t thrill many of the families with children who make up a big part of the Union’s customer base. Nor will the potential for it to be pretty cold out — although that’s something fans will have to get used to as MLS plans to flip its schedule to a winter-centric one in the next few years.

The biggest complaint could be how close the kickoff comes to the Eagles-Cowboys game that will start at 4:25 p.m. that day. A 7:55 start should be just a few minutes after the football action ends in Texas.

At least that game is on the road, so there won’t be traffic issues for the crowd heading to Subaru Park.

Ticket sales have already been quite strong. The cheapest seats left on offer start at $71, and are in the River End where the Union’s supporters’ clubs gather. Tickets on the opposite end line are $85, corner seats are $98, and sideline seats start at $119.

» READ MORE: Behind a complete ‘body of work,’ Union manager Bradley Carnell wins MLS Coach of the Year

This will be the third time in five seasons that the Union meet NYCFC in the playoffs: They clashed in back-to-back Eastern Conference finals in 2021 and 2022. In this year’s regular-season games, New York won, 1-0, at Citi Field in April, and the Union won, 1-0, in early October in the game that clinched the Supporters’ Shield.

New York won its first-round playoff series over Charlotte FC by two games to one, while the Union swept the Chicago Fire. When this game kicks off, it will have been 22 days since the Union last took the field.

The winner will face either Lionel Messi’s Miami or Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference final on Thanksgiving weekend. Those teams also play Sunday, at 5:30.

In the West, the big game will be Saturday: the first meeting of superstars Thomas Müller and Son Heung-Min since they signed for Vancouver and Los Angeles FC, respectively, in the summer. More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the game at Vancouver’s BC Place.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes earn spots on MLS’s team of the season

San Diego will play Minnesota in the other Western Conference game, on Monday night.

All of the playoff rounds from here on are one-game knockouts. The best-of-three format used in the first round is only used in that round.

9:30 p.m.: W2. Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. W3. Los Angeles FC (Apple TV)

5 p.m.: E2. FC Cincinnati vs. E3. Inter Miami (Apple TV)

7:55 p.m.: E1. Union vs. E5. New York City FC (FS1 starting at 7:30, Fox Deportes, Apple TV)

10 p.m.: W1. San Diego FC vs. W4. Minnesota United (Apple TV)