Dave van der Bergh Sends Red Bulls To Their First MLS Cup Final

At Sandy, Utah:

Dave van der Bergh scored the only goal of the Western Conference final (28') on Saturday night as the New York Red Bulls defeated homestanding Real Salt Lake 1-0 to reach the first MLS Cup final in the franchise's 13-year history.

Next up for the artists formerly known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (they were renamed in 2006) is the MLS Cup final against the Columbus Crew (another original MLS club making their finals debut) next Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

With the Red Bulls and Crew in the final, FC Dallas (renamed in 2005 from the Dallas Burn) becomes the only surviving original MLS club to have yet to reach the championship game.

Eddie Gaven Goal Sends Crew To Their First MLS Cup Final

At Columbus, Ohio:

Second-half goals from Chad Marshall (49') and Eddie Gaven (55') enabled the Columbus Crew to come back from a 1-0 halftime deficit at home Thursday night to defeat the Chicago Fire 2-1 to win the Eastern Conference championship game and reach the Major League Soccer MLS Cup final for the first time in their 13-year history. Brian McBride scored the lone Chicago goal in the 29th minute.

The Crew will face the winner of Saturday's Western Conference final between the New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake at Sandy, Utah.

Regardless of what happens Saturday, the November 23 final at Carson, California's Home Depot Center will be a matchup of two teams making their MLS Cup final debuts. It will be first time that has happened since DC United defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy in the inaugural edition, played at Foxboro, Massachusetts in 1996.

MLS Playoffs: Dynamo Dethroned

The opening round of the Major League Soccer playoffs concluded Sunday.

At Houston:

The New York Red Bulls, with goals from Dane Richards (25'), Juan Pablo Angel (36'), and John Wolyniec (81'), smothered the two-time defending MLS champions Houston Dynamo 3-0 on the road in the second game of their two-match Western Conference semifinal series, enabling them to take the series 4-1 on aggregate.

Next up for the Red Bulls, the Western Conference final next Saturday against Real Salt Lake at Sandy, Utah.

MLS Playoffs: Crew and RSL Advance

The opening round of the Major League Soccer playoffs continued on Saturday.

Eastern Conference:

At Columbus, Ohio:

Goals from Brad Evans (7') and Robbie Rogers (57') lifted the Columbus Crew to a 2-0 home win in game two of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Kansas City Wizards, enabling the Crew to win their two-match set 3-1 on aggregate. Next up for Columbus, the Eastern Conference final, to be played this coming Thursday at home against the Chicago Fire.

Western Conference:

At Carson, California:

A 2-2 road draw was good enough for Real Salt Lake as they took their two-match set with Chivas USA 3-2 on aggregate. Dema Kovalenko (39') and Javier Morales (77') provided the scoring for RSL. Sacha Kljestan (30') and Justin Braun (83') each scored once for the Goats. RSL will face the winner of the New York-Houston series (to be decided Sunday in Houston) in the Western Conference final.

MLS Playoffs: Fire Trample Revs In Game 2 To Reach East Final

The Major League Soccer playoffs continued Thursday.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Goals from Chris Rolfe (45'+2), Wilman Conde (49'), and Gonzalo Segares (74') lifted the Chicago Fire to a 3-0 home win in game two of their two-match set against the New England Revolution, enabling the hosts to dethrone the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions 3-0 on aggregate in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Fire will next play in the one-match conference final against Kansas City or Columbus.

Saturday MLS Playoff Action

Conference semifinal play continued Saturday in Major League Soccer playoff action:

Eastern Conference:

At Kansas City, Kansas:

Steven Lenhart's late equalizer (90'+2) enabled the visiting Columbus Crew to gain a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards in game one of a two-match series between the two teams. Davy Arnaud scored the Wizards' goal at 53 minutes.

Western Conference:

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Kei Kamara's equalizer (86') enabled the Houston Dynamo to secure a 1-1 road deadlock with the New York Red Bulls in game one of the teams' two-match series. Juan Pablo Angel scored the Red Bulls' lone tally early in the second half.

At Sandy, Utah:

Yura Movsisyan scored the only goal of the match in the 90th minute as Real Salt Lake won their playoff debut at home, a game one 1-0 win over Chivas USA.

MLS Playoffs: Fire and Revs Get Things Started To Scoreless Start

The 2008 Major League Soccer playoffs started last night. In the conference semifinal round, there are two-game home-and-away series with no away goals rule.

At Foxboro, Massachusettes:

The visiting Chicago Fire and New England Revolution played the opening game of their two-match Eastern Conference semifinal series to a 0-0 stalemate.