A little less than 15 minutes into Sunday’s Eastern Conference Semifinal against CF Montréal, New York City FC interim head coach Nick Cushing was given a Quickfire Challenge: His team had already jumped to a one-goal lead, but an injury to center back Maxime Chanot meant he had to abandon the back three system that is the foundatio of New York City’s current dominating run of form.
Cushing looked at the lineup card and made a peculiar choice, bringing in Keaton Parks. Seemingly the idea was to ask Keaton to absorb the Montréal attack and move the ball through the middle, then reposition the wingbacks to play more defensive roles.