The New York Red Bulls knocked reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus out of the playoffs on Sunday, beating the Crew 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a match that ended in a 2-2 draw.
New York won their best-of-three first-round playoff series 2-0 and will next face either Cincinnati or New York City FC.
Columbus, who fell 1-0 at home in game one, seized the lead in the 55th minute through Max Arfsten, but the Red Bulls equalized nine minutes later with a goal from Dante Vanzeir and took the lead when Emil Forsberg converted a penalty in the 80th.
Columbus' Christian Ramirez, with a brilliant header from a corner kick, tied it at 2-2 in stoppage time to force the shootout, in which Red Bulls keeper Carlos Coronel saved three straight penalties before Daniel Edelman converted the winner for the seventh-seeded Red Bulls.
For coach Wilfried Nancy's Crew, seeded second in the Eastern Conference behind Lionel Messi's Inter Miami, it was an abrupt end to a season that included a Leagues Cup title and a runner-up finish in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
