Credit: Jeremy Olson - ISIPhotos.com
The MLS round one series that went to game three began on Friday night at Bank of America Stadium. NYCFC beat Charlotte 3-1 on the road to advance, taking the lead from a Nicholas Fernandez goal two minutes into first-half stoppage time. Alonso Martinez made it 2-0 NYCFC in the 50th. Charlotte’s Idan Toklomati scored in the 81st. Fernandez scored again for NYCFC 11 minutes into stoppage time.
The Saturday schedule began with Minnesota drawing 3-3 at home with Seattle. United advanced 7-6 on penalties. Seattle took the quick lead with goals from Albert Rusnak in the 5th and Danny Musovski in the 8th. Joaquin Pereyra pulled a goal back for Minnesota in the 19th. United’s Joseph Rosales saw red in the 41st. Jefferson Diaz equalized for Minnesota in the 62nd and Anthony Marcanich scored in the 71st. Jordan Morries equalized for the Sounders in the 88th to send the game and the series to penalties. Seattle failed to convert in rounds two, seven, eight, and ten. United didn’t score in rounds one, seven, and eight, with goalkeeper Dayne St Clair converting the deciding penalty in round ten.
“Well, it was weird because I still had to go in the net afterwards, so it felt like I was going to have to make a save to win the game with us shooting second,” St Clair said. “I guess it goes down as the game-winning goal, but in the moment that wasn’t what I was thinking. I was thinking about scoring and getting the next save.”
FC Cincinnati came back to beat Columbus 2-1 at home after falling behind to a Jacen Russell-Rowe goal in the 63rd. Brenner equalized for Cincinnati in the 67th and scored again in the 86th minute. “A fun ending to the night,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “It was nice to see the fans enjoy that moment with the players and staff members. It was certainly an important step in our goal to win a trophy. So, really pleased for how everybody is feeling at the moment, and we’ll enjoy it, and then put our heads down and go again.”
Inter Miami shutout Nashville 4-0 at home. Miami took a 2-0 lead, with Lionel Messi scoring in the 10th and 39th. Tadeo Allende added goals in the 73rd and 76th minutes.
San Diego shutout Portland 4-0 on Sunday to advance in the MLS playoffs. Anders Dreyer put San Diego up in the 5th and Amahl Pellegrino added goals in the 17th and 53rd. Dreyer scored again in the 79th. Portland’s Juan Mosquera saw red in the 80th minute.
“A difficult match like tonight, I think we handle everything exactly as we talked about that we hoped for,” San Diego’s Jeppe Tverskov said. “I felt like the away game got a little too wild, and we like the wildness from our fans and the surroundings, but we like the game calm, and in our hand, and possession. So, I felt like from first minute, we kind of did that, and kind of like, follow the game plan, the whole the whole game through. So, it was a very, not perfect game, but close too.”
Conference semifinals
| Home | Away | Date | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | NYCFC | 11/23 | Eastern |
| Cincinnati | Inter Miami | 11/23 | Eastern |
| San Diego | Minnesota | 11/24 | Western |
| Vancouver | LAFC | 11/22 | Western |
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
Photo by Jeremy Olson – ISIPhotos.com
