The New York Red Bulls took the lead in Eastern Conference Semifinals with a 2-0 victory against D.C. United in the first leg at Red Bull Arena.
With New York heading to RFK Stadium for the second leg on Saturday, there are a number of possible score lines which lead to different outcomes. Luckily for the Red Bulls, they scored twice and did not allow any away goals, the new tiebreaker in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Here is a brief guide to specific scores and their outcomes.
Red Bulls Advance with:
- A win on Saturday.
- A draw of any kind on Saturday.
- A one goal loss. Since they have scored two goals in the first leg, New York will advance if D.C. can only score one goal (2-1 New York on aggregate).
- A two goal loss, if the Red Bulls score at least one away goal at RFK Stadium. This means if the Red Bulls lose by two, but get a goal (ie. 1-3, 2-4, 3-5, etc.), they will advance because of the away goal tiebreaker.
Advancing scorlines with a Red Bulls loss
- New York 1 - 2 DC United
- New York 2 - 3 DC United
- New York 3 - 4 DC United
- New York 1 - 3 DC United
- New York 2 - 4 DC United
- New York 3 - 5 DC United
D.C. United forces Extra Time with:
A 2-0 lead after 90 minutes. Since a 2-0 score for D.C. would mean both teams are tied on aggregate goals at 2-2 (two home goals per team), the match will go into extra time to find a winner. If D.C. still leads 2-0 at the end of extra time, the match will be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
D.C. United Advance with:
- A win by three or more goals (ie. 3-0, 4-1, 5-2, etc.).
- Saturday’s second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. will be held at 2:30 p.m. ET (TV: NBC Sports).
