Quakes ousted from MLS playoffs
Cristian Techera scored on a stunning free kick as the Vancouver Whitecaps thumped the visiting Earthquakes 5-0 in Major League Soccer’s singleelimination knockout round Wednesday night.
The Earthquakes made the postseason for the first time since 2012, courtesy of Sunday’s dramatic 3-2 stoppage-time victory over Minnesota . Vancouver returned to the MLS Cup playoffs after missing by eight points in 2016.
San Jose had a decent opportunity to equalize while down 1-0 less than a minute into the second half when Whitecaps goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic had to be sharp on Chris Wondolowski’s shot from in tight.
Nicolas Mezquida, with two, Fredy Montero and Kendall Waston had the other goals for Vancouver, which picked up its first-ever playoff victory since joining MLS in 2011.
Mezquida, who subbed in the 68th minute, grabbed back-toback goals in 78th and 80th.
The third-seeded Whitecaps advance to face Seattle, which finished second in the Western Conference, in a home-andaway aggregate semifinal series that starts Sunday in Vancouver.
Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan scored four minutes apart early in the first half, and the New York Red Bulls cruised by host Chicago 4-0 in a knockout-round game. New York advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals against Toronto FC.
West Ham scored three times in 15 minutes to fight back and eliminate Tottenham 3-2, while Chelsea ousted Everton 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals of England’s League Cup . ... Sven Ulreich saved former teammate Timo Werner’s penalty in a shootout to send Bayern Munich through to the third round of the German Cup at Leipzig’s expense, winning 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw through extra time.