Football
Associated Press 8y

MLS Playoffs: Dempsey leads Seattle rally, Red Bulls beat D.C. United

Clint Dempsey broke hit the winner on a free kick in the 86th minute in the Seattle Sounders' 2-1 comeback victory over FC Dallas on Sunday in the first leg of the two teams' Western Conference semifinal.

Dempsey drove a shot from 25 yards into the upper right side of the net. He also scored Wednesday night in a 3-2 knockout-round victory over the LA Galaxy.

Andreas Ivanschitz tied it for fourth-seeded Sounders with an unassisted goal in the 67th minute. Fabian Castillo opened the scoring for top-seeded Dallas in the 18th minute.

The second leg of the series is next Sunday in Frisco, Texas. The Sounders would advance to the West final with a win or a tie.

Dax McCarty scored in the 72nd minute and the New York Red Bulls beat D.C. United 1-0 on Sunday in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The away goal gives New York the upper hand in the two-game playoff, with the second leg next Sunday in Harrison, New Jersey.

After a foul by United's Taylor Kemp, Sacha Kljestan's long free kick found McCarty, who had slipped behind the defense, three yards out and McCarty's header eluded goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

New York's defense was stifling, limiting United to nine shots, and none on target.

The Red Bulls' Mike Grella had a point-blank opportunity inside the 6-yard box in the 33rd minute, but Grella's shot deflected off Hamid's face and away safely.

United was awarded a free kick from 24 yards out in the 68th minute after a controversial hard tackle by Ronald Zubar, but Fabian Espindola's wide service was knocked away easily by Red Bulls' keeper Luis Robles.

United center-back Bobby Boswell sat this one out due to suspension for an incident in Wednesday's knockout game against New England.

Substitute Johan Venegas broke a tie in the 77th minute to help the Montreal Impact beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 in the opening leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

Only four minutes after Venegas replaced Patrice Bernier, the Costa Rican won a battle for the ball with Michael Parkhurst and went in on a two-on-one with Montreal star Didier Drogba. Venegas elected to shoot and picked the far corner for the winner.

The second leg of the two-game, total-goals series is next Sunday in Columbus.

Bernier also scored for Montreal, coming off a 3-0 home victory over Toronto FC in a knockout game Thursday night.

Federico Higuain opened the scoring for the Crew in the 33rd minute. Bernier tied it in the 37th on a header off Marco Donadel's corner kick.

David Ousted had six saves and the Vancouver Whitecaps held off the charging Portland Timbers for a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Ousted, who led Major League Soccer with 13 shutouts during the regular season, deflected Diego Valeri's dangerous free kick in the 71st minute to help preserve the tie.

The two-legged, aggregate-goal series moves to Vancouver's BC Place next Sunday.

The Timbers were without starting goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey, who sat because of a flu-like illness. He was replaced by Jake Gleeson, who played with the Timbers' reserve team, the USL's Timbers 2.

Gleeson, who hadn't played in an MLS match since 2011, had three saves.

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