The Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew are the Western and Eastern Conference Champions respectively and that has earned them a ticket to the 2015 MLS Cup final that will be hosted by Columbus next Sunday. Both teams knocked out sides that finished the regular season ranked higher than them.
Portland's Way In
Portland Timbers were off to a better than dreamed start to their series against FC Dallas. A 3-1 lead after the first leg gave them a lot of hope that they would be able to defeat Oscar Pareja and his team despite their differences during the regular season.
Coming into FC Dallas territory would not be an easy task. The team that plays at Toyota Stadium had not lost at home since August 13 and had averaged 1.9 goals per game in their turf throughout the season. They needed two goals without Portland messing with the scoreboard to get into the next round.
That did not happen and in the 54th minute Fanendo Adi gave the visitors a lead that seemed hard to respond to. At that moment, something clicked in the minds of Pareja's players as the team came back and turned things around with a goal from Ryan Hollingshead and another one from Blas Perez who came off the bench.
The last 20 minutes were close to a nightmare for the visisting team who had to hold off Dallas' severeal attempts on goal. If that pressure was not enough, the referee added five minutes of stoppage time, and just when the Toros were pushing really hard, Lucas Melano scored for the last minute game-equalizer.
A brilliant goal that killed any hopes for FC Dallas
Now THAT's how you seal a Western Conference Championship, Lucas Melano. #DALvPOR https://t.co/AeuYWJIP3a
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 30, 2015
With the 2-2, FC Dallas continues its undefeated streak but was knocked out of the tournament in a dramatic finish to the Western Conference final. Now Portland will travel to Columbus at MAPFRE Stadium to face the Crew in their first MLS Cup final ever.
Portland's players could not hide their excitement
Make way. #RCTID #MLSCupPlayoffs #OnwardRoseCity pic.twitter.com/T7FbC3y78r
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) November 30, 2015
Columbus' Way In
Columbus Crew will travel down a path they have been before and also suffered a bit to get here. It was their 2-0 lead in the first leg that saved the series for them as the Shield Cup winners, New York Red Bulls, were not able to fully recover at Red Bull Arena this Sunday.
The Bulls knew they had a chance as they had scored two or more goals while playing at home in 12 of their 17 home games during the regular season. They knew that on paper they were a better team and the best one of all in the regular season, but also learned how good Columbus Crew was.
Just like in the Western Conference Final, this game went into halftime without a single goal. Time was running out and New York needed two goals in order to advance having been the highest seed in this series. This time, the second 45 minutes of the game went by and nothing happened.
New York's goal came in the 93rd minute of the game via Anatole Bertrand. The defender had come into the game in the second half and did what players like Bradley-Wright Phillips could not do, score. Then the last the last two minutes of stoppage time, the Red Bulls still created two more chances but none of them went in.
This goal gave New York a small hope of creating a miracle
.@NewYorkRedBulls went out with Abang in the closing minutes of #NYvCLB, but it wouldn't be enough. #MLSCupPlayoffs https://t.co/dewziQUiD0
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 30, 2015
With the final whistle, NYRB was knocked out of the competition at their own ground. Despite having won the game 1-0, the aggregate score favored Columbus 1-2 and that meant that they were the team that will move on to the last game of the 2015 Major League Soccer Season, making it this far for a second time in franchise history. The last time they made it was in 2008 and they would come out as the MLS Champions.
It's a good day to be a Columbus Crew fan
Your 2015 Eastern Conference Champions!!! #CrewSC #ForColumbus pic.twitter.com/mf0B9sIkkA
— Columbus Crew SC (@ColumbusCrewSC) November 30, 2015