HOUSTON - For nearly an hour, Chivas USA had protected their slim lead gained a week earlier in the first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series against Houston Dynamo.
But Juan Francisco Palencia was sent off, soon after Brad Davis converted a penalty kick, and then Brian Ching scored in stoppage time to end the first-ever playoff run for the second-year club.
"We felt that at halftime we had a good understanding of the job," said Chivas head coach Bob Bradley. "A couple of plays turned the game in the second half. It's very difficult to give up the second goal late in the game."
Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch was hit hard by his team's loss.
"I would say that's the toughest loss I've ever been dealt," Marsch said. "We put a lot into the season. We have a bunch of guys around here that have worked nine months to put us into a position to do something special, and you just feel cheated. That's the part that sickens me a little bit."
The chief talking point in the Chivas locker room was the red card issued to Palencia for fighting in the second half.
"I deserved the red card, because I pushed (Dynamo midfielder Ricardo) Clark," Palencia said. "But he pushed me in the face, too, and that's the thing [the referee] didn't see. I deserved the red card, but [Clark] deserved one, too."
When asked about the officiating, Bradley simply said that he "didn't think the referees handled the situation very well."
Palencia was disappointed with himself for losing his head, and apologized to his teammates.
"I'm frustrated right now, because I got a red card," Palencia said. "I left my team with 10 players, and that's not fair. I apologize for that."
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
