United will begin playoffs in Big Apple

Five Stripes are set to play NYCFC in Eastern Conference semifinals.

Atlanta United will face New York City FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS playoffs.

The first game will be Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The return game will be Nov. 11 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The time for Sunday’s game will be announced by this morning after the knockout round games.

Atlanta United is the second seed in the East after tying for the second-most points (69) in MLS history. NYCFC is the third seed. It defeated sixthseeded Philadelphia 3-1 on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in a knockout round game.

Atlanta United went 0-0-2 against NYCFC during the regular season, drawing 2-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 15. Greg Garza’s and Chris McCann’s goals were offset by David Villa’s and Alexander Ring’s. The teams drew 1-1 at Yankee Stadium on June 9. Josef Martinez and Alexander Callens scored.

In the other Eastern Conference semifinal, the topseeded New York Red Bulls will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between fourth-seeded D.C. United and fifth-seeded Columbus.

The Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals will be Nov. 25 and 29. The MLS Cup will be Dec. 8.

Boot from a buddy: Josef Martinez smiled when he saw the Golden Boot, the trophy earned by finishing as the leading scorer in MLS with a league-record 31 goals.

His smile grew even more bright when he saw the courier: Braves outfielder, and Martinez’s friend and fellow Venezuelan, Ender Inciarte.

“Special delivery, baby,” Inciarte said as he walked around a corner toward Martinez.

“He surprised me, I thought he was on vacation,” Martinez said.

“I was supposed to be on vacation but came here for Josef,” Inciarte said.

With Martinez holding the trophy, literally a golden soccer shoe, the two spoke in Spanish for a few seconds before Martinez described what Inciarte giving him the award meant to him.

“It’s a big surprise,” Martinez said. “I’m really happy that he’s here because he’s a great friend. I’ve always been a big lover of baseball, so this means a lot that he’s the person giving it to me.”

The friendship started on social media before Inciarte joined the Braves in 2016 from the Diamondbacks. Martinez threw out the first pitch before a Braves game this year. Inciarte, a soccer fan, said Martinez is a much better baseball player than he is a soccer player.

Inciarte said many people in Venezuela follow what Martinez and Atlanta United are doing.

“He’s from my country and representing us so well,” Inciarte said. “I’m just happy to be giving this award to him. He deserves it and the whole country is proud of him representing us here in the U.S. He’s been doing a great job on and off the field. We are proud of what he’s accomplishing.”