Maxi Moralez scored in the 27th minute and visiting No. 5 seed New York City FC defeated the top seed and Supporters' Shield champion Philadelphia Union 1-0 in Sunday night's second Eastern Conference semifinal.

Matt Freese made five saves to keep his third clean sheet of the MLS Cup Playoffs and send the Cityzens to their third conference final in five seasons.

This one comes after losing team-leading regular-season goal scorer Alonso Martinez to a reported torn ACL injury suffered during the November international window, and midfielder Andres Perea to a leg fracture suffered in the finale of NYCFC's round one series against Charlotte FC.

NYCFC will visit Lionel Messi and No. 3 Inter Miami in the East final on Saturday after the Herons defeated FC Cincinnati 4-0 earlier on Sunday.

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