Red Bulls sweep out defending champion Crew to advance in MLS Cup playoffs

HARRISON, N.J. — Daniel Edelman scored the decisive goal in a shootout after three straight saves by Carlos Coronel and the New York RedBulls outscored Columbus 7-6 following a 2-2 draw on Sunday, eliminating the defending champion Crew with a first-round sweep in the best-of-three series.

New York, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, took a 2-1 lead late when Emil Forsberg followed his first career assist in the postseason with his first postseason goal — on a penalty kick in the 80th minute.

No. 2 seed Columbus came up with the equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Christian Ramírez used an assist from Alexandru Matan to score his fourth goal in eight playoff appearances. Matan’s assist was his second in eight postseason appearances.

The Crew were successful on their first four PK attempts, but Coronel thwarted shots by Yevhen Cheberko, Max Arfsten and Matan in order to send the RedBulls to the second round.

Neither team found the net until Arfsten used assists from Juan “Cucho” Hernández and Dylan Chambost in the 55th minute to score his second postseason goal.

Arsten scored once in his only playoff appearance last season. Hernández picked up his first assist this postseason after collecting two last year. Arfsten subbed into the match one minute prior to scoring. Chambost notched his first playoff assist in his first season in the league.

The Red Bulls pulled even in the 64th minute when Dante Vanzeir took passes from Lewis Morgan and Forsberg and scored his first postseason goal in his second appearance. It was the second assist of the series and career for Morgan.

Coronel finished with two saves in regulation for the RedBulls. He matched his career high with eight saves in a 1-0 road victory in the opener, posting his first clean sheet in his sixth postseason start. Coronel had the only save in a scoreless first half.

Patrick Schulte stopped three shots for the Crew in his eighth career postseason start.

The Crew saw their season end after setting club records during the regular season for most goals (72) and points (66).

Columbus leads the all-time series across all competitions 40-37-14. However, the RedBulls are 23-13-7 at home against the Crew, including 3-0-1 in the playoffs with all three wins coming at Red Bull Arena. New York is 4-1-1 in its last five playoff matches at home.