MLS Playoffs: Drama Ensues in Knockout Rounds
The LA Galaxy went unbeaten at the Dignity Health Sports Park this season. Photo by Griffin Cappiello.
By Griffin Cappiello
As Major League Soccer (MLS) playoff action continues, so does the entertainment.
Following the first round that featured best-of-three series, the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs moved on to single elimination, knockout matches.
In the Western Conference Semifinals, one-seed LAFC hosted the four-seed Seattle Sounders. LAFC had been the thorn in the side of Seattle this season, as LAFC won both of their regular season matchups, as well as both their US Open Cup and Leagues Cup matchups.
LAFC went ahead after a Ryan Hollingshead goal in the 50th minute, but Maxime Chenot scored an own-goal nine minutes later to level the game. In extra time, all signs seemed to suggest that the game would end in a penalty shootout, but a 109th minute goal from Jordan Morris was the game-winner for Seattle.
Across town, the two-seed LA Galaxy hosted six-seed Minnesota United. Minnesota’s defense was thought to be enough to stop the Galaxy, who scored a combined nine goals in their first two playoff matches, but twenty-eight seconds into the match Gabriel Pec found the back of the net to score the fastest goal in Galaxy postseason history.
Minnesota kept the game close in the first half; two Kevin Yeboah goals led to a halftime score of 3-2 in favor of the Galaxy. However, in the second half, the Galaxy didn’t look back. Pec scored a second goal, and after a late Minnesota red card, both Dejan Joveljić and Joseph Paintsil also completed braces, leading to a 6-2 victory for the Galaxy.
In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it was a story of rivalries. Four-seed Orlando City SC hosted nine-seed Atlanta United. Atlanta, having knocked out Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, seemed to be a good test for Orlando, but a Ramiro Enrique goal in the 39th minute was the only goal of the match, sending Orlando through to the Conference Final.
Six-seed NYCFC hosted seven-seed NY Red Bulls in a playoff edition of the Hudson River Derby. The trans previously met three times this season, with the Red Bulls winning in Leagues Cup, but NYCFC taking both regular season matchups, including a dominant 5-1 showing back in September.
However, NYCFC could not replicate that performance, as the Red Bulls scored twice in nine minutes to put them up in the first half. The second half was scoreless, and Red Bulls took the 2-0 victory against their crosstown rivals.
Orlando City SC hosted the NY Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference Final. Andrés Reyes scored for the Red Bulls to start the second half, but the rest of the match was a stalemate. The Red Bulls got the upset on the road to become Eastern Conference Champions.
The LA Galaxy hosted the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference Finals, a rematch of the WCF in 2014, the last time the Galaxy won MLS Cup. In the leadup to the match, the media portrayed Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer as Galaxy coach Greg Vanney’s kryptonite; the two met in three MLS Cups in four years during Vanney’s stint as Toronto FC’s manager, with Schmetzer’s Sounders winning two of the three Cups.
This seemed to be the case during this matchup as well; Seattle left back Nouhou locked up the Galaxy’s usually-dynamic winger Gabriel Pec. All signs pointed to a stalemate, but an 85th minute Dejan Joveljić goal won the game for the Galaxy, setting the team up to play for an MLS Cup for the first time in ten years.
As the Galaxy look to win their record-extending sixth MLS Cup, the Red Bulls are searching for their first; this matchup between two MLS originals certainly looks to be very exciting. On paper, the Galaxy are the stronger team, but with reports that star player Riqui Puig will miss the final due to a torn ACL, the Red Bulls have the perfect opportunity to get the upset and win the cup.
The MLS Cup presented by Audi will take place Saturday, December 7 at 4 PM EST. The LA Galaxy will host the NY Red Bulls at the Dignity Health Sports Park, and the match is available to watch on Fox and Fox Deportes, as well as through the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
