Red Bulls eliminate defending champion Crew

MLS PLAYOFFS

New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel stops a penalty shot against Columbus Crew midfielder Alexandru Matan during Game 2 on Sunday in Harrison, N.J. EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ — ASSOCIATED PRESS

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HARRISON, N.J. >> Daniel Edelman scored the decisive goal in a shootout after three straight saves by Carlos Coronel and the New York Red Bulls outscored Columbus 7-6 following a 2-2 draw on Sunday, eliminating the defending champion Crew with a first-round sweep in the best-of-three series.

New York, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, took a 2-1 lead late when Emil Forsberg followed his first career assist in the postseason with his first postseason goal — on a penalty kick in the 80th minute.

No. 2 seed Columbus came up with the equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Christian Ramírez used an assist from Alexandru Matan to score his fourth goal in eight playoff appearances. Matan’s assist was his second in eight postseason appearances.

The Crew were successful on their first four PK attempts, but Coronel thwarted shots by Yevhen Cheberko, Max Arfsten and Matan in order to send the Red Bulls to the second round.

Neither team found the net until Arfsten used assists from Juan “Cucho” Hernández and Dylan Chambost in the 55th minute to score his second postseason goal. Arsten scored once in his only playoff appearance last season. Hernández picked up his first assist this postseason after collecting two last year. Arfsten subbed into the match one minute prior to scoring. Chambost notched his first playoff assist in his first season in the league.

The Red Bulls pulled even in the 64th minute when Dante Vanzeir took passes from Lewis Morgan and Forsberg and scored his first postseason goal in his second appearance. It was the second assist of the series and career for Morgan.

Vancouver 3, LAFC 0 >> Vancouver got an early goal from a red-hot Ryan Gauld and two own goals from Western Conference top seed LAFC, Yohei Takaoka posted his third clean sheet in five postseason starts, and the Whitecaps breezed to a victory to even their best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup.

Vancouver, the eighth seed in the West, jumped out to a 2-0 lead 13 minutes into the match and carried it into halftime on a goal by Gauld and an own goal by LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead.

Houston 1, Seattle 1 >> Obed Vargas scored the decisive shootout goal after a 1-1 tie in regulation and Stefan Frei made a save on a shot by Tate Schmitt in the seventh round, leading the Seattle Sounders to a 7-6 victory and a first-round sweep over the Houston Dynamo in the best-of-three series for the MLS Cup.