Alejandro Bedoya scored his first goal of the season at Subaru Park on Wednesday night, guiding the Philadelphia Union to a 1-0 triumph against New York City FC in a possible Eastern Conference playoff preview.

In the first half, NYCFC appeared to be the more active team, with six shots to the Union's three and approximately five-eighths of possession. In the first half, Santiago Rodrguez had several good chances to put the visitors ahead, including a 23rd-minute attempt that went just wide. In the first half, Jesus Medina was also involved, albeit his involvement included a yellow card.

Union, on the other hand, retreated. In the 21st minute, Kai Wagner showed some All-Star flex with a fantastic free-kick that came close to connecting with a teammate for the game's first goal. And Wagner came out firing soon after halftime, hoping to use his fullback position as a catalyst.

Before the hour mark, though, NYCFC had two chances to score, with Malte Amundsen driving a good free-kick toward the goal and Valentin Castellanos attempting to get on his bike in front of goal in the 60th minute. Wagner sent in a wonderful cross that Bedoya got his head on for the long-awaited opening in the 67th minute.

After that, NYCFC tried their hand at subs, first replacing two players in the immediate aftermath of the goal, then opting for a more risky triple sub in the 78th minute to exhaust the visitors' personnel choices. But it was Andre Jasson's foul on Bedoya in a dangerous free-kick area that had the most favorable influence on the game.

With the win, Philadelphia drew level on points with NYCFC at 31, putting Jim Curtin's side within striking distance of third place in the Eastern Conference rankings. While a 1-0 defeat to a competitor on the road isn't the worst loss a club can have, NYCFC had several early chances to grab the lead and might have walked away with at least a point from Subaru Park. The Cityzens' six-game winning streak has come to an end.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Trey Madara]