The MLS playoffs pick up on Sunday for the second leg of the conference finals as the New York Red Bulls play the Columbus Crew, while the Portland Timbers match up with FC Dallas. ESPN will have coverage of the Timbers-Dallas match, while the Red Bulls and Crew game will be on Fox Sports 1.
UPDATE: The Portland Timbers have advanced to the MLS Cup.
The first leg matches saw the home teams perform well, as Columbus is up after winning 2-0 against New York, while Portland scored three goals in the victory against Dallas. Now the Red Bulls and FC Dallas will have to overcome first-leg deficits if they want a chance to play for the MLS Cup. The Eastern Conference Championship Leg 2 match will be from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, while the Western Conference Championship Leg 2 match will be from Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The Red Bulls were the top team this season and now they will need a strong performance to advance to the final. Columbus is trying to get to the championship for the first time since 2008 and the team comes in after getting goals from Justin Meram and Kei Kamara in the first leg. The Red Bulls now have to make up some ground at home, but they have played well there this year while going 12-3-2 and they will need to rely on that to get through.
The team has been scoring a lot at home this season, as the stats from MLS.com show that the team has had at least two goals in all but five games at home. Bradley Wright-Phillips led the team with 18 goals this season and he also was one of the league leaders in goals scored at home. The Red Bulls are also trying to get back to the final for the first time since back in 2008. The Red Bulls gave up a goal nine seconds into the first leg game and they will be looking for a better start on Sunday.
The Timbers come into the second leg matchup after winning 3-1 in the first game and that puts Portland in strong position to advance to the MLS Cup. Dairon Asprilla, Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers scored goals for Portland in the match and now Dallas has to find a way to make up those scores if they want to advance. The team comes in not having lost at home since back in August and that could give Dallas the chance to bounce back.
FC Dallas and the Portland Timbers will be playing at Toyota Stadium in Frisco and the match will be on at 5 pm ET with TV coverage from ESPN and WatchESPN. The New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew will be playing from Red Bull Arena in Harrison and the TV coverage is from Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports Go website at 7:30 pm ET.
