Aiden O’Neill’s first full-90-minute appearance in NYCFC’s blue and white came under the brightest lights of New York soccer. In the heat of a mid-May rivalry weekend, he got a full taste of the Hudson River Derby, a decade in the making. It was a sweltering Saturday afternoon, the city still hungover from the New York Knicks’ Game 6 win that ended the Boston Celtics’ season the night before. The match coincided with the Subway Series across town in The Bronx, and yet, 30,000 strong turned out at Citi Field for the derby. Soccer isn’t the trademark of a heavily saturated New York sports market. But on rivalry weekend, the Hudson River Derby is always a hit, not only for the fans but for the players. These were the matches they looked forward to the most. The first derby of 2025 carried extra meaning: it was the clubs’ first meeting since the Red Bulls’ ousting of City in the Eastern Conference semifinals last November. And O’Neill, the club’s new midfield signing, felt right at hom...