The NY Red Bulls stunned the two-time defending champions Houston Dynamo 3-0 in Houston to win this semi-final contest 4-1 on aggregate. They will now play Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Robertson Stadium for the chance to go to the MLS Cup final.
New York got off to a great start when then Dane Richards put them ahead in the 25th minute. Sinisa Ubiparipovic supplied the pass that set Richards and he beat Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad with a great shot from 20 yards out.
“Everything I try to do, I try to do the best that I can,” Richards said. “Today was just my day. I just wanted to play my game, and I thought I did. We knew we had a chance today. I just kept going on my goal. I knew that if they touched me, it would be a penalty kick.”
Ten minutes later the Red Bulls found themselves two goals up as Houston’s Ricardo Clark was whistled for a hand ball on a cross into the box. NY captain Juan Pablo Angel calmly scored from the penalty spot.
The Houston Dynamo are not two-time defending champions because they give up easily and they continued to attack NY, and outshot NY 16-7.
Houston created several great goal scoring opportunities early in the second half but Red Bulls Danny Cepero made several good saves to keep Houston at bay.
The Red Bulls put the match away in the 80th minute on goal by John Wolyniec. Richards made a remarkable run to the byline, crossing the ball in front to John Wolyniec, who tapped the ball into the empty net to ensure that there will be a new MLS Cup champion as the two-time defending champs were ousted.
“It’s very overwhelming. We battled so hard and had an up-and-down year,” Wolyniec said. “To defeat the defending champs on their home field, it’s a really good feeling. The guys came in and they started thinking about next week. We have a great opportunity.”
This has to go down as one of the greatest upsets in the history of the MLS Cup Playoffs. New York is struggling with injuries and this win is not only their second-ever road playoff victory in club history, it is just their second victory away from home this season
