The missed opportunities will haunt New York City FC the most following their Game 2 loss to Charlotte FC in a penalty-spot shootout that sets up a win-or-go-home Game 3 in their first-round MLS Cup Playoffs series.

After playing to a scoreless draw over 90 minutes Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, NYCFC fell 7-6 in the shootout. Nathan Byrne scored the winning goal, while City’s final attempt — a shot by Agustín Ojeda — was turned away. Game 3 is slated for Friday in Charlotte, N.C.

“It’s a pity [because] we were focusing on getting the job done within two games,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “We had the opportunity, even though we didn’t play as good as I was hoping for, but we had two, three big moments in order to go in front. When it comes down to [kicks from the spot], that’s something that can go either way. … I think overall it shouldn’t have come to that and we should have finished them up in the 90 minutes.”

City has to go back to Charlotte and pull off just the franchise’s second win there in order to advance to the second round.

“Of course, it hurts,” Thiago Martins said following the loss. “We wanted to finish [the series] in front of our fans and in front of our family, but we already knew if we don’t win, we have the third [game]. Now, we have to be ready, prepare ourselves, prepare our body, recover well and be ready for the next one. Simple like that.”

NYCFC’s story for much of the match was repeated missed opportunities. In the first half, they held a 61-39 advantage in possession percentage and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.

In the second half, Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made big stops in minutes 74 — a header by Martins in the penalty area that was stopped — and 77 — an attempt by Nicolás Fernández — while a prime scoring chance off a free kick in the 70th minute by Hannes Wolf flew over the net.

“The biggest moment was with Thiago. That was a well-timed run, the right space, the right delivery and that should have been a goal,” Jansen said.

Matt Freese finished with three saves on the afternoon, two of which came on returning Charlotte star Wilfried Zaha. Kahlina ended the game with five stops for Charlotte.

NYCFC had several chances early, including an Aiden O’Neill shot that went over the net five minutes in, followed by a rebound attempt from Tayvon Gray that soared over the goal. Maxi Moralez added another missed chance through the first 15 minutes of the match.

“It always starts with the delivery and the service of the ball,” Jansen explained about the missed chances off corner kicks. “We have guys like Maxi and Nico [Fernández] that can serve the ball quite well. But then again, you also have to deal with the height and the physical aspect from the opponent, and they have some tall guys also that can defend quite proper.”

Saturday’s match in The Bronx was the first time that New York City FC had played a playoff game at Yankee Stadium since their championship run in 2021.