MLS Playoffs: The Galaxy, Red Bulls, Minnesota, and Seattle advance

Round one of the MLS playoffs continued with game twos over the weekend, starting on Friday with Charlotte drawing 0-0 at home with Orlando. Charlotte won 3-1 on penalties, tying the series. Charlotte went three for three from the spot while Orlando failed to convert in rounds one, two, and four.

The Galaxy advanced with a 4-1 win at Colorado, taking the series in two games. Gabriel Pec put the Galaxy up in the 8th minute with the Rapids equalizing in the 19th. The Galaxy retook the lead from a Joseph Paintsil goal three minutes into first-half stoppage time. Ricard Puig added goals in the first and third minutes of stoppage time.

“It feels really good because I’ve been working for this moment for a while now, and me having these kinds of moments and having this kind of goal means a lot to me,” Painstil said. “Also, to the team, in the later part of the first half, but kudos to everyone who just did our best in this win that we had today in a tough away game. But I feel really happy and glad that I had this goal added to my numbers.”

NYCFC beat FC Cincinnati 3-1 at home to tie their series. Adrina Martinez put NYCFC up in the 22nd and Thiago Martins doubled the lead in the 40th. FC Cincinnati’s Luca Orellano pulled a goal back in the 65th, but NYCFC’s Santiago Rodriguez converted a penalty seven minutes into stoppage time.

“We know that to play (at Cincinnati) is hard,” Martins said. “But at the same time, if we play like we did today, especially during the first half, we have an opportunity to score goals and put them under pressure. We had an opportunity, and we scored today.”

Atlanta beat Inter Miami 2-1 at home to tie that series after falling behind to a Hector Martinez goal in the 40th. Derrick Williams equalized for United in the 58th and Xande Silva scored four minutes into stoppage time.

“We go step-by-step,” Silva said. “I’m not going to talk now, so we’re just going to do our job. We’re going to keep training every day.”

Minnesota drew 1-1 at home with Real Salt Lake, advancing 3-1 on penalties. Joseph Rosales opened the scoring for Minnesota in regulation and Emeka Eneli equalized for RSL in the 75th minute. With the game moving to penalties, Minnesota failed to convert in round three and Real Salt Lake didn’t convert in rounds two, three, and four.

The Red Bulls drew 2-2 at home with Columbus, advancing 5-4 on penalties. Maximilian Arfsten put the Crew up in the 55th. The Red Bulls equalized from a Dante Vanzeir goal in the 64th and Emil Forsberg converted a penalty in the 80th. Christian Ramirez equalized for the Crew six minutes into stoppage time. New York didn’t convert in the first and sixth round of penalties with Columbus not converting in rounds five, six, and seven.

Seattle drew 1-1 at Houston, advancing 7-6 on penalties. Houston played down a man from the 66th when Hector Herrera saw red. Cristian Roldan put the Sounders up in the 87th. An own-goal leveled the score three minutes into stoppage time.
With the game going to penalties, the Dynamo failed to convert in the seventh round.

“It’s a brutal way to end the season, with two penalty shootout losses,” Houston defender Griffin Dorsey said. “We’ve made some humungous strides over the years that I’ve been here, but we still have a long way to go. I want to lift the MLS Cup here, and I know that we have players, coaches and management that want the same thing. It’s about figuring out how to work harder and smarter to get more results, while being resilient, so we can achieve something, not just as a team, but as a city.”

Vancouver beat LAFC 3-0 at home, taking the lead from a Ryan Gauld goal in the 10th. LAFC gave up own-goals in the 13th and 68th minutes. “We’ve definitely put a focus on being closer together in the final third, and not being so stretched – making sure we’ve got bodies forward,” Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld said. “It was nice to see that, especially in the first-half. Managing to get into halftime two-nil up was a nice feeling, and something we feel we deserved from the game.”

Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.