With New York City's bright lights shining and the rivalry stakes high, Seymour Reid didn’t just rise to the occasion - he took center stage.
The 17-year-old Jamaican forward delivered a dazzling performance, scoring his first professional hat trick to lead NYCFC II to a 5–2 victory over their rivals New York Red Bulls II.
Reid’s three-goal outburst made him the first NYCFC II player to record a hat trick this season.
The performance also vaulted him into a tie for second place in the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot race (7), alongside Tacoma Defiance’s Yu Tsukanome.
“He’s such a young player, but he’s got a lot of qualities,” said head coach Matt Pilkington after the victory. “He’s really working hard. He puts in the effort and earns his goals. Some of those finishes are high level.”
The win kicks off a four-match homestand for NYCFC II and improves their home record to 3–1–1. It also moves them into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 12 points.
NYCFC II’s first half offered flashes of positive play, but Pilkington’s halftime tweaks sparked the team’s best stretch in the second period of play.
“We changed things at halftime to be more direct, to get more runners in the box, get more service, and the boys did that,” Pilkington said. “It was a really good reaction after an okay first half. I thought the second half was excellent.”
Reid shared a similar mindset, emphasizing a killer instinct going forward.
“It’s all about coming out strong, getting the first goal, getting all the energy at the start, and just kill the game,” he said. “Going forward, we just need to do the same thing. Keep up the energy and dominate.”
After their Hudson River Derby win, NYCFC II will now look to carry their momentum into their next matchup, when they host Toronto FC II on May 15 at Belson Stadium.
Catch all the MLS NEXT Pro action live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
