D.C. United eliminates New England from playoffs with Rolfe's late goal
D.C. United defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 on a rainy night at RFK Stadium, advancing in the MLS playoff Eastern Conference knockout stage to secure a spot in the semifinals.
A goal scored by Chris Rolfe in the 84th minute was enough to secure the win, making New England the first team eliminated from the 2015 MLS postseason.
Revolution forward Juan Agudelo opened the scoring with a stunning bicycle kick, but D.C. fought back well afterward. Chris Pontius scored a header off a free kick delivered by Fabian Espindola at the stroke of halftime to restore the deadlock.
Rolfe had a chance to secure the win in the 75th minute from the penalty spot, but hit the post. He made up for that error 10 minutes later, though, walking in on an open goal after Espindola carved apart the Revs' defensive line and slipped a pass into the middle for Rolfe to tap home.
A beautiful sequence from @dcunited propels them into the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs. https://t.co/fZ5lIocCo9
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 29, 2015
Jermaine Jones picked up a red card as tensions boiled, with the U.S. midfielder livid after referee Mark Geiger did not give a penalty for a clear handball in the box by Sean Franklin.
The whole handball / Jones / Geiger incident. #MLSCupPlayoffs #DCvNE pic.twitter.com/X58C012xla
— Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) October 29, 2015
Head coach Ben Olsen's men will now look forward to its next round fixture against either the New York Red Bulls or the Columbus Crew, depending on the results from Thursday's 401 Derby match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact.
If Montreal wins, D.C. takes on the Red Bulls, but if Toronto wins, D.C. will be drawn against the Crew.