After dealing with scheduling issues due to Hurricane Sandy, both the New York Red Bulls and DC United had more weather to deal with as a snowstorm hit the Tri-State area on Wednesday night.
The MLS switched the first game from New York to Washington because of the hurricane and then decided to postpone the second game until Thursday after a tough storm hit the East coast.
"The game deserves a better field," MLS vice president Nelson Rodriguez said to the Associated Press. "Ultimately, the sensation that we could not get ahead of this storm made the decision for us. At halftime, we'd be doing the same thing. The forecast is much better for tomorrow and we'll have the field in tip-top shape tomorrow."
The game was changed from Wednesday night to Thursday at 7:30 PM.
"The snow is coming down faster than we can get it up. We have to put the safety of the athletes first," Rodriguez said.
DC United coach Ben Olsen was looking forward to playing the game, even on Wednesday night.
"It's soccer; you can play it in any weather," Olsen said before the game. "You can play in snow, rain or whatever. We're ready to play. I don't know if there is any advantage in a game like this."
The Red Bulls will be dealing with some injuries on Thursday night, including to starters Rafa Marquez and Tim Cahill, who both have calf injuries.
"No we're not comfortable (playing in these conditions)," said Red Bulls coach Hans Backe before the game was postponed. "It should be postponed. It's a conference semifinal. You can't see the lines and players could be injured. This is not football, it's another kind of sport."
On Saturday the two teams played to a 1-1 tie, leaving Thursday contest as the deciding game of the series. Both teams suffered from own goals in the second half of the game, including one by DC united substitute Roy Miller, who accidentally knocked in a cross from Chris Korb.
The Red Bulls were able to tie the game after a deflection from DC United goalie Bill Hamid into his own net. The team was also able to overcome a penalty shot attempt early in the game when goalie Luis Robles stopped a kick by Chris Pontius in the first half.
New York had the advantage in time of possession in the first game, but DC United had more shots (13) and shots on goal (5) than the Red Bulls. United had a sloppy game, committing four offside penalties, while the Red Bulls received two yellow cards.
"It has to be decent conditions when you play a conference semifinal. It's up to luck under these conditions," said Backe.
The United are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, while the Red Bulls are contending for a title for the third time since 2009. Whoever wins the match on Thursday will have home field advantage for the next round of the playoffs as well as the MLS Cup round.
After other teams were eliminated, the United are the team with the most regular season points left in the playoffs.
The Houston Dynamo advanced to the conference finals after beating Sporting Kansas City on aggregate Wednesday, and awaits the winner of the Red Bulls-United series. On the Western conference side, the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the San Jose Earthquakes to advance to the conference finals.
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