After a 3-7 inaugural season, the Magic became a contender as a member of W-2, going 9-2 in 1998. New York would settle for third in their second season and would again finish number three in 1999 after an 8-4 campaign.

The club moved up to W-1 in 2001, but a surprising 2-10-2 campaign was quickly forgotten with the tragedy of 9/11, which personally affected team owner Lyndelle Phillips, whose office was in the World Trade Center. The following campaign, however, in the newly re-unified W-League saw a return to the postseason with a record of 9-3-2 after a two-year absence.

The club would again qualify for the playoffs in 2005 and developed a Super Y-League program in 2003.