The Major League Soccer playoffs are in full swing, and this weekend we saw a variety of high intensity games. The first leg of the conference semi finals are complete, leading up to the second leg later on this week. The first game of the weekend was Sporting Kansas City against New England Revolution. Kansas City has been one of the best teams in the league for the past couple of seasons, but they faced a tough test on the road against the Revolution. The Revs only had possession for 40 percent of the game and only had 3 shots on goal, but they ended up winning the game 2-1.
The second game of the weekend was the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers. For the Timbers, it was their very first playoff game in franchise history. Facing their arch rivals, the Timbers won 2-1, with goals from Ryan Johnson and Darlington Nagbe.
The third game of the weekend was a thriller between the Houston Dynamo and the New York Red Bulls. New York had a 2-0 lead going into halftime with goals from Tim Cahill and Eric Alexander. The turning point in the game was when Red Bulls defender Jamison Olave received a straight red card for his vicious tackle in the 65th minute. The Red Bulls had to play the remainder of the game with 10 men, and the game finished as a tie after Omar Cummings scored a goal in stoppage time for the Dynamo.
Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake played Sunday night, and the back to back champions LA Galaxy did not disappoint. A long shot from Sean Franklin in the 47th minute was the only goal of the game, as LA beat Salt Lake 1-0. Later this week, these teams will match up again for a chance to play in the conference finals.