🏆 Vancouver thump LAFC to stay alive; Red Bulls knock out Columbus; Sounders move on

We continue with the MLS Cup Playoffs first-round action Sunday evening, with another trio of games from around the league.

Here is what went down.

Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 LAFC

Scorers: Gauld 10′, Hollingshead (OG) 13′, Segura (OG) 68′

The Vancouver Whitecaps made a statement with a thumping 3-0 win against LAFC north of the border to force a game three back in Los Angeles.

The ‘Caps were rampant from the first whistle and they jumped out to a two-goal lead thanks to two strikes in three minutes, the second of which was LAFC’s first of two own-goals on the night.

Ryan Gauld was pulling the strings for the home side throughout the night, and perhaps should have put Vancouver more than two goals ahead at the break.

While the visitors created a flurry of chances to pull one back and change the complexion of the affair, an Eddie Segura own-goal past the hour mark put Vancouver three clear and smoothed their sailing to the third and decisive game of the series.

Houston Dynamo 1-1 Seattle Sounders (Seattle advance on penalties)

Scorers: Roldan 86′ ; Roldan (OG) 90+3′

Seattle Sounders sent Houston crashing out of the MLS Cup Playoffs after winning a second-straight penalty shootout against the Dynamo.

Just like in the first game of the series, quality attacking moves were a rare sight in Houston Sunday evening.

The first bit of drama did not come until past the hour-mark when experienced Houston midfielder Héctor Herrera was sent off for appearing to spit at the referee.

With the numerical advantage, Seattle took control and eventually found what they believed to be a dramatic winner through Cristian Roldan, who fired home from inside the box after a well-worked team move down the left-flank.

But the drama did not stop there. The 10-men Dynamo pushed to find a leveler, and they did so in stoppage time when Cristian Roldan went from high to low, putting the ball into his own net after a dangerous cross. And with that, the match went to penalties.

The two sides were clinical with their spot-kicks and took until round seven in the shootout for Stefan Frei to make a huge save on Tate Schmidt to send Seattle to the next round.

New York Red Bulls 2-2 Columbus Crew (NYRB advance on penalties)

Scorers: Vanzeir 64′, Forsberg 80′ (P) ; Arfsten 55′, Ramirez 90+7′

The Crew looked keen to pull themselves back into the series from the off, and they pushed hard for the opener in the first-half, but luck was not on their side. The reigning champs saw two shots hit the post in the matter of seconds in the dying minutes of the half.

After the break however, super-sub Max Arfsten made a major impact when he scored just minutes after entering the match to give the visitors the lead, but that advantage did not last long as the Red Bulls hit back through Dante Vanzeir less than 10 minutes later.

Red Bull Arena was brought their feet once again in the final 15 minutes when a Red Bull player was brought down in the box by veteran defender Rudy Camacho. Emil Forsberg stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick to give the hosts the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining, putting the champions on the ropes.

The Crew pushed for a leveler deep into stoppage time, and they were rewarded for their efforts when Christian Ramirez stunned the home crowd with a headed goal in the 7th minute of stoppage time to send the game to penalties.

There was more drama in the shootout. Both John Toljin and Yevhen Cheberko saw their efforts saved for their respective sides, but misses from Max Arftsen and Alexandru Mățan deep in the shootout saw the champions crash out.

The Red Bulls’ win represents the first true upset of the MLS Cup Playoffs this season.