The playoff series between the DC United and the New York Red Bulls had a little of everything. The twists and turns made it one of the most competitive playoff series this season--and the most dramatic.
It had a change of venue for the first game, a postponement for snow before the second game, and of course, the penalty kick.
Following a late goal from Nick DeLeon, the United beat the Red Bulls 1-0 to make it to the Eastern finals in the MLS playoffs. The team advanced after winning 2-1 on aggregate after playing to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
"It's been a great journey," DeLeon said to the Washington Post. "It's not over yet."
DeLeon scored in the 88th minute, giving the United a 1-0 lead and a 2-1 goal advantage in the series.
The biggest turn of the game came in the 69th minute when it appeared that the Red Bulls scored a goal to take a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick. The officials awarded the penalty kick after DC United goalie Bill Hamid was given a red card.
Backup goalie Joe Willis stopped the initial penalty kick from Kenny Cooper, but missed on the deflection. Following the goal, the referees called off the score citing that the Red Bulls entered the penalty area.
On the following penalty kick, Willis was able to deflect the ball back after outsmarting Cooper and diving to the left side of the goal.
"The first one, I went the wrong way, but, hey, they didn't count that one," said Willis to the Associated Press. "After it went in, I tried to clear my head. It's a different kind of PK when they call the first one back. It's even more of a mental game. There is always more pressure on the kicker."
The penalty was called after Thierry Henry passed to Dax McCarty to set up Cooper on a breakaway. Hamid tried to challenge the ball, but Cooper was able to push it past him, so he tripped Cooper to stop him from scoring.
"It was a leap," Hamid said. "I watched the replay and (Cooper) made a leap over me. He wasn't touched."
The United are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, while the Red Bulls were contending for a title for the third time since 2009. The win gave the United 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.
"We deserved to win the most and we didn't," Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry said. "You have to give D.C. credit. We missed so many chances. They scored and we didn't. I don't know how many chances we had, but we didn't score."
Henry had a chance late in the game to set up a play it in stoppage time on a free kick, but instead allowed defender Roy Miller take it.
"Well, it's a left-footed play," Henry said through a team spokesman, according to ESPN.com. "The angle is different for me on that side. We talked about it or so with Roy and we wanted to surprise the goalkeeper, make him think that I was going to take it and then Roy take it. Also on that side, it's better for a left-footed player to take it. It didn't work, but the game did not come down to the free kick at the end of the game. If you analyze the game well, we should have scored several times before that."
The series was close the entire time and the margin for error was razor thin for both sides. The wild finish of the game only added to the dramatic feel of the series.
"Mostly when it's New York as the opponent," D.C. United coach Ben Olsen said when asked if he had been involved in such a game. "It's an absolute zoo these games."
Even though the United were down a starting goalie, the Red Bulls couldn't put another goal past Willis after the failed penalty kick.
"I told him to make a save and he made a save," Olsen joked. "I'm a genius. He hasn't played a game in a long time. He only plays when Bill (Hamid) gets red cards. He's a big boy and we have a lot of faith in him."
During the penalty kick, Cooper made a hop step, which may have been the reason the rest of his teammates entered the penalty area early.
"He scored on the first one," said Red Bulls coach Hans Backe. "He has no problem with taking penalty kicks. He's a calm, cool, guy. Mentally, he has no problem with it."
In the first game the two teams played to a 1-1 tie, leaving Thursday's 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 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.
The United will play in the Eastern conference finals to face the Houston Dynamo, who advanced after beating Sporting Kansas City on aggregate Wednesday.
