Crew in driver’s seat to host MLS Cup final
Crew view
Nothing is set, but a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday in the first leg of the Eastern Conference finals has made Crew SC the most likely host for the MLS Cup final in two weeks. A lightning-strike goal by Justin Meram nine seconds after the opening kick and a late dagger thrown by Major League Soccer MVP finalist Kei Kamara gave the Crew a two-goal cushion heading into the final leg. But an unexpected shutout of the league’s top-scoring team was more impressive. Defensive woes? Not an issue, nor were ticket sales. A Crew playoffrecord crowd of 21,617 partied like it was 2008, and it might have only been a warm-up. The Crew and Portland Timbers take two-goal leads into their road legs next week. Barring collapses, those teams will play for the Cup at Mapfre Stadium on Dec. 6.
Fast company
Meram’s goal was the quickest in MLS playoff history and left the Red Bulls red-faced. “It was embarrassing defending, schoolyard stuff,” New York midfielder Dax McCarty said. Meram’s goal was scored 17 seconds faster than one scored by the Crew’s Adrian Paz during a 2-1 playoff win over Tampa Bay on Sept. 28, 1996. It also was by design: The Crew has played long balls off the whistle before, and the play has worked in the past, most notably when Ethan Finlay earned the fastest penalty kick in league history eight seconds into a 3-1 win over Chicago on July 19.
Wahl works well
Veteran Tyson Wahl stepped back into the lineup to replace suspended center back Gaston Sauro and joined captain Michael Parkhurst at the heart of the shutout. New York led MLS with 62 regular-season goals and had not been shut out since May 24, a span of 25 games. Sauro is set to return on Sunday, but Wahl did great work in his first start since Sept. 26. “Not having played in a while, I thought he was fantastic,” Parkhurst said. “I thought he had some key blocks for us.”
Decisions, decisions
Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch considered playing to preserve a 1-0 loss late in the second half of the opener of the totalgoals series, but decided against it because he thought his team was playing well defensively and was “knocking on the door” at the other end. It might have been a costly mistake, as Kamara scored in the 85th minute. “In the end, maybe we should have made a defensive sub, but … I thought it was still there for us to tie it,” Marsch said.
Digital
The Red Bulls’ record in playoff games against the Crew, which beat the former MetroStars 5-3 and 2-1 on penalty kicks in the 1998 Eastern Conference semifinals and 3-1 in the 2008 MLS Cup final.
MLS Cup finals previously played at Mapfre Stadium when the league staged its championship at a neutral site. San Jose beat Los Angeles 2-1 in 2001 in front of 21,626.
Total shots by the Red Bulls.
Shots on goal by the Red Bulls.
League look
Veteran defender Nat Borchers might have scored the most important goal in the history of the Timbers on Sunday. His header in second-half stoppage time gave Portland a commanding 3-1 lead in the West finals and put the Timbers tantalizingly close to playing in their first MLS Cup final. Founded in 1975, the Timbers have never won a championship in any of their four incarnations. The franchise joined MLS as an expansion team in 2011. The Timbers finished the regular season with the same record as the Crew but cannot host the final because the Crew had a better regular-season goal differential, the second tiebreaker in determining home-field advantage.
Shawn Mitchell
Quotable
“Cedrick is the perfect weapon to put in at that time because he’s electric. He has pace.” — Berhalter, on using Cedrick Mabwati as a late sub for a second straight game. Mabwati has set up Kamara for a late goal in both of the Crew’s playoff wins.