FC Cincinnati scored twice in the final 16 minutes by beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 on Saturday.
This away comeback allows Cincy to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. In its first MLS playoff appearance, the club will now face the top seed, Philadelphia, next Thursday.
It’s a surprise for FC Cincinnati, who finished last in the league last season after scoring a total of four wins.
Lewis Morgan had opened the scoring in front of his team after 48 minutes, but captain Luciano Acosta equalized the game with a penalty that beat goalkeeper Carlos Coronel in the 74th minute.
Brandon Vazquez gave the coup de grace 4 minutes into the recovery taking advantage of a beautiful delivery by Sergio Santos, acquired this season by the FCC.
FC Cincinnati initially thought they had drawn the game in the 61st minute, but video assistance to the referee showed that Geoff Cameron was in an offside position when he deflected Junior Moreno’s shot from distance.
Union (19-5-10) won the Eastern Conference championship with a total of 67 points, 18 more than FC Cincinnati (12-9-13). However, one of the Union’s five defeats came in Cincinnati on August 6, 3-1.
In their only other match, on 18 June at Union pitch, the two clubs drew 1-1.
A duel between Los Angeles rivals
Julian Araujo scored his first goal in two years as he led the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-0 victory over Nashville SC.
On Thursday, in their first playoff appearance since 2019, Galaxy will meet rivals Los Angeles FC in the next round.
ContentId (3.1413411): MLS: Nashville SC 0 – Galaxy 1 (Football)
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At 69And minute, Araujo redirected a Samuel Grandsir header for his first goal since the match against Portland on 7 October 2020.
Hany Mukhtar, MLS top scorer of the season with 23, had a chance at 46And minute, but goalkeeper Jonathan Bond intervened on the side of the Galaxy. He finished the game with five saves.
