MLS Major League Soccer

Late Goals Create Intrigue - This Week in MLS

November 4, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


Late- game heroics over the weekend have set the stage for thrilling conclusions to the MLS Cup Playoff Conference Semifinals this week. Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders FC and the Houston Dynamo all put late goals on the board to keep the two-game aggregate battles extremely tight. By Thursday night, we will know just how big those goals were.

Houston, who overcame a two-goal deficit to tie the New York Red Bulls, 2-2, and Seattle, who lost 2-1 to the Portland Timbers, will have to win on the road to advance to the Conference Championships. New England, 2-1 winners over Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy, 1-0 winners over Real Salt Lake, can both move on with road draws.

In the 42 all-time two-leg series in MLS history, the teams that have hosted the second leg have advanced 22 times. And the home team has gone 25-7-10 all-time. However, a year ago all six teams who hosted the second leg failed to advance. Teams winning the first leg have won 19 series, while teams losing the first leg have advanced 11 times.

2013 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule (Nov. 6- Nov. 10)

Conference Semifinals - Leg 2

Wednesday, November 6

New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo, 8:00 p.m. ET (MSG; RDS2; Univision Deportes Network; Local TV)

Sporting Kansas City vs. New England Revolution, 9:00 p.m. ET (KSMO; CSN-NE)

Thursday, November 7

Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2 / ESPN Deportes; TSN2)

Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC, 11:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN; TSN2; Univision Deportes Network)

Conference Championships - Leg 1

Saturday, November 9

Eastern Conference Championship, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC; UDN; RDS2)

Sunday, November 10

Western Conference Championship, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN; ESPN Deportes)

Quotables

"It's going to be a great series. They're a great team. We've had fantastic games against each other. It's definitely not going to be a boring match...they have a great offense, so do we. They have a great defense, so do we. So I think we match up good against each other."

Real Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando on playoff match against the LA Galaxy

"Guys like Eddie, Clint, Brad, they're all very proud, good athletes, good soccer players, good leaders...and you see them carrying themselves a little bit differently, which translates into some of the younger guys. It helps the younger guys manage those difficult moments in games, and how the young guys react is just as important as how the big players act in those big moments."

Seattle Sounders FC Assistant coach Brian Schmetzer on the team's leadership

"History has shown in the playoffs that a team that is playing well at the end of the season usually does well, and New England fits that mold...the second half of the year, they've been one of the best teams in MLS so we will have to be ready to play."

Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler on the New England Revolution

"We've been pretty consistent all year and we're not going to change that...our guys try to play full throttle every game. They don't need to rely on what's at stake, but I do think that gives you more buzz when you know you're playing for something."

Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter on the MLS Cup Playoffs

Sweet Tweets

- @AlexiLalas - November 4 - Alexi Lalas, ESPN Analyst

A 30-yard first time bomb from Sean Franklin was probably not a scenario that Kreis contemplated. Nor should he have. #LAvRSL

- @NickDeLeon7 - November 4 - Nick DeLeon, D.C. United

My dad and I. His first time back at RFK since playing with the generals. pic.twitter.com/RERqAVBt5L

@tallyhallGK - November 4 - Tally Hall, Houston Dynamo

Is it safe to say RSL has the most hair in the league?

- @brianching - November 3 - Brian Ching, Houston Dynamo

Great effort by the guys tonight. Never give up attitude defines @HoustonDynamo #playoffs . On to New York.

- @JoeCannonGK1 - November 2 - Joe Cannon, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Before this game begins, I think @NERevolution head coach Jay Heaps deserves a lot of credit for assembling a strong & young side.

- @DaxMcCarty11 - October 30 - Dax McCarty, New York Red Bulls

There are 3 certainties in life: Death, taxes, and @DaxStache returning for #movember .

MLS Cup Playoffs: Conference Semifinals Previews

Eastern Conference Semifinals - Second Legs

New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo - Wed., Nov. 6, 8 p.m. ET (UDN; RDS2; MSG; CSN-Hou)

With the late draw, the Red Bulls saw their MLS Cup Playoffs winless streak extended to five games. They last won a playoff match in the Knockout Round in 2011, a 2-0 defeat of FC Dallas. The teams met once this season at Red Bull Arena. Fabian Espindola and Jonny Steele scored second-half goals to lead the Red Bulls to a 2-0 win on June 30. The Red Bulls have still last lost a match on Aug. 25, finishing the regular season with an eight-game undefeated run (6-0-2). After making just 11 league appearances - just one as a starter - in an injury-plagued season, Omar Cummings scored his first goal of the campaign to level the series heading back to New Jersey. Cumming had one career playoff goal in seven matches, with the Colorado Rapids.

Sporting Kansas City vs. New England Revolution - Wed., Nov. 6, 8 p.m. CT (KSMO; CSN-NE)

When Andy Dorman scored the opening goal in the Revolution's 2-1 first leg victory, it was the first goal New England had scored against Sporting KC in any match since 2011. Sporting came into the series riding a streak of five consecutive shutouts in league matches; the Dorman goal ended a streak of 556 minutes without a goal for New England. Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis has still not been on the losing end of a decision this season. Reis became the first goalkeeper in MLS history to go without a defeat in 10 or more starts when he posted a 7-0-4 record during the regular season. The Revolution won a game in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009, since a 2-1 win against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The teams met once this season in league play at Sporting Park. Kei Kamara scored a pair of goals and Benny Feilhaber added another as SKC eased to a 3-0 win on Aug. 10.

Western Conference Semifinals - Second Legs

Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy - Thurs., Nov. 7, 7 p.m. MT (ESPN2/Deportes, TSN2)

The Galaxy have won their last six conference semifinal series in the MLS Cup Playoffs. After losing in the first year the two-leg format was adopted (2003, to San Jose), the Galaxy have reached at least the conference championship in each year they have made the postseason since (2004-05, 2009-12). Since a 3-0 win vs. Seattle in the first leg of their 2011 Western Conference Semifinal Series, Real have gone winless in their last five postseason matches. They have not scored a goal in their 335 minutes of play in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Sean Franklin scored his first goal in 17 career playoff matches to give the Galaxy the first leg victory. Franklin has five goals in his career in regular season games, scoring one goal in 2013. The teams met once during the regular season at Rio Tinto Stadium. Olmes Garcia scored twice and Khari Stephenson added a third in an RSL 3-1 win on June 8. Landon Donovan scored the lone LA goal.

Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC - Thurs., Nov. 7, 8 p.m. PT (NBC SN; TSN2; UDN)

The Timbers win in the first leg was the club's first ever in a match at CenturyLink Field - and when the Timbers took the first-half lead, it was the first time they had ever led in Seattle in an MLS match. Sounders FC are winless in six first legs all-time, in their five playoff appearances, with an 0-4-2 mark. Sounders FC have never overturned a first-leg deficit in an MLS Cup Playoffs series. Ryan Johnson had last started a game for the Timbers on Aug. 30, coming off the substitutes' bench for four of the final eight regular season games. But inserted into the starting lineup in the first leg, he scored his first career goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The teams met once this season at Jeld-Wen Field in league play, near the end of the season. Kalif Alhassan scored the game's only goal just before the stroke of halftime for a Timbers victory on Oct. 13.

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