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November 9, 2008
MLS ROUNDUP
No three-peat for Houston
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Dane Richards had a goal and an assist as the New York Red Bulls stunned Houston 3-0 to advance to the Western Conference championship game.
Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images |
HOUSTON—A long drought ended for the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, as they won their first-ever MLS playoff series with a 3-0 upset of the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium.
The wild card Red Bulls won the two-game Western Conference semifinal by a 4-1 aggregate score, and will face Real Salt Lake on November 15 for a berth in the MLS Cup Final.
Dane Richards put the Red Bulls through with a breakaway goal in the 25th minute, roofing a shot over helpless netminder Pat Onstad. Richards also assisted as John Wolyniec put the final nail in Houston’s playoff coffin, also on a counterattack, in the 81st minute. It was the ten-year veteran’s first-ever playoff goal. In between, Juan Pablo Angel converted a penalty kick after Houston midfielder Ricardo Clark handled Richards’s cross into the box in the 35th minute.
Rookie goalkeeper Danny Cepero, making only his third career start, also came up big for the Red Bulls. Cepero finished with five saves, including a spectacular kick-save on Stuart Holden’s 79th-minute shot. Cepero also robbed Eddie Robinson of the Dynamo’s best scoring chance of the game, a close-in header in the 59th minute.
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