D.C. UNITED v NEW YORK RED BULLS
Sun., Nov. 1, RFK Stadium (3 pm ET; ESPN / ESPN Deportes)
Long-time rivals -- from the very first MLS Cup Playoffs series in league history -- D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls renew their acquaintainces when the clubs meet in the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. The clubs have met five teams in the postseason -- including last year, when the Red Bulls advanced in the conference semis. United advanced after a late goal gave them a 2-1 win in the Knockout Round against the New England Revolution at midweek at RFK Stadium. The Red Bulls begin their march toward MLS Cup after winning the Supporters' Shield with the best overall record in the league this season, entering the postseason with a two-game winning streak.
REFEREE: Fotis Bazakos.
AR1 (bench): C.J. Morgante; AR2 (opposite): Kevin Klinger;
4th: Jorge Gonzalez
SUSPENDED: DC: Bobby Boswell (through Nov. 1)
WARNINGS (suspended next yellow card): DC: Markus Halsti
LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD: DC 33 wins (1 SO), 122 goals ... NYR 24 wins (1 SO), 99 goals ... Ties 10
2015 HEAD-TO-HEAD: DC 0 wins, 2 goals ... NYR 2 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 1
AT RFK STADIUM:
4/11: DC 2, NYR 2 (Kitchen 26, 66 -- Perrinelle 68; Sam 90)
MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: DC 7 wins, 15 GF ... NYR 2 wins, 8 GF ... Ties 2.
D.C. UNITED
- United rebounded from the heaviest defeat in club history in their league finale to win the Knockout Round match vs. New England. "I think any time you have a loss like we did everybody has to evaluate themselves. More times than not, you get a response from that and usually it is a positive response. You see more anger, more of a chip after a loss like that because it hurts and you want to prove that's not who we are," said United head coach Ben Olsen. "I'm proud of the guys once again for dealing with some of that adversity."
- United are undefeated in their last five home playoff games. The last loss -- the 2006 Eastern Conference Championship defeat by New England. "It was like an old-fashioned New England/D.C. dogfight. It brought me back a little bit to the 2004 game. So yeah, a great night for us. A lot going on in that game. I don't know if I've processed all of it. But certainly a gutsy performance from us, and a gutsy performance from them, too," said Olsen.
- Chris Rolfe scored the game-winning goal -- his fifth in 18 career postseason matches -- after earlier missing a penalty kick, the first PK missed in a playoff game since 2012. "He's been our best player this year. To miss that and not redeem yourself, I know that would be painful for him. He put his head down and kept working. I'm happy he found the winner, I thought it was a great play," said Olsen.
- Steve Birnbaum came into the back four, playing the full 90 minutes in central defense, after not being in the starting lineup over the last three league matches. "I just decided that Birnbaum and Bobby [Boswell] have had a lot more games together. The line seems to be a little bit sharper, just again out of pure experience with those two. But physically I thought Steve handled one of the tougher guys in the league," said Olsen.
- Chris Pontius started the match in a wide midfield role, scoring the first MLS Cup Playoffs goal in his career just before halftime. But he was forced off early in the second half. "He said it cramped up, and it felt like it was going to go so we got him out. Maybe we got him out in time, maybe not. WeÃll just have to wait," Olsen said. Said Rolfe: "I think we wouldÃve been confident coming into the locker room at the half without scoring, but with that goal, obviously, we said 'it's for the taking.' We're a great second half team and we know that, so we had a lot of confidence."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
- The Red Bulls come into the postseason having clinched the Supporters' Shield in the season finale, their second overall title in three seasons. The Red Bulls won their final two games of the season, and four of their final five games.
- "I think that this group deserves the Supporters' Shield. I think that in a lot of ways they were the best team throughout the season, they showed that I think, game in and game out. ... And actually what it may mean is, we have an even bigger target on our backs," said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch. Said Dax McCarty: "It's special for different reasons obviously than the first one, for sure. No one expecting much from us this year. A lot of people wrote us off in the beginning. A lot of people gave us no chance to be part of the postseason, now we are here."
- Bradley Wright-Phillips netted his 17th goal of the season in the season finale, his second consecutive game with a goal, and his third in the last five matches. Wright-Phillips has scored 44 goals over the last two seasons, after his record-tying 27-goal performance in 2014; the 44 goals are tied for most over a two-year span in MLS history (Stern John; 26 in 1998, 18 in 1999).
- "Last season I obviously scored a bag full of goals but I wasn't happy with my all-around play. It's something I wanted to work on. But during the offseason I wanted to bring to my game, I wanted more assists. I don't know what I have this season but I still feel like it wasn't enough," Wright-Phillips said.
- Sacha Kljestan scored a goal and added an assist, his second consecutive game with an assist. Kljestan finished the season with 14 assists, fourth-most in MLS, and a single-season career-high for him in the league (he had 13 with Chivas USA in 2007). Kljestan also has eight goals, also a single-season high.
- Matt Miazga returned to the lineup for the season finale, his first league game since Sept. 25, coming into central defense and playing the full 90 minutes.
- Said McCarty: "You have to be ready for whatever. I think I've learned in the playoffs just to expect the unexpected. Literally anything can happen in the playoffs. I think the team that is mentally ready for that, the teams that are mentally strong, and they teams that have each other's back usually come out on top in the playoffs."
