Written by Joe Messineo at No Coast Bias
For each of the eight teams left in the Major League Soccer playoffs, it’s halftime. The first legs of each Conference Semifinal matchup have been played, and we now know exactly what each team needs to do in order to move onto the Conference Finals. Can they do it? Let’s take a look.
A Reminder About Format
The MLS playoffs start with a single-game knockout round and end with a single-game championship match, but the two rounds in between follow a two-leg, aggregate score format. The lower seed hosts the first leg and the higher seed hosts the second, so that overtime (if necessary) happens on the higher seed’s turf. One crucial element: away goals are a tiebreaker in regulation.
DC United 0 – 1 New York Red Bulls
What New York needs to do: The Red Bulls got a crucial away goal and didn’t allow DC to score any. That means that a draw is as good as a win Harrison this Sunday.
Can they do it? Absolutely. The Red Bulls are the league’s best team, and DC has been an unreliable team lately.
What DC needs to do: DC needs to win, preferably by more than one goal, in Harrison. If they finish regulation with a 1-0 lead, they’ll still have to deal with extra time and, if necessary, a shootout. A higher-scoring win would lock it up, as DC would then take the tiebreaker on away goals.
Can they do it? Unlikely. The Red Bulls are a very tough team. Anything can happen in MLS, but allowing New York a win in the first leg has probably doomed DC United.
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