The Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati will play a decisive third match in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series after Max Arfsten scored and had two assists in the host Crew's 4-0 victory on Sunday.
Kevin Denkey's goal in the 78th minute was enough for host FC Cincinnati to claim a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew in the opener of their Eastern Conference opening-round series on Monday.
On the surface, FC Cincinnati would figure to have little trouble with their road trip Saturday night when they travel to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
New York City FC got on the board first in the 55th minute, when their leading scorer, forward Alonso Martinez, booted in a light shot from the center of the box past FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano, giving New York City a 1-0 lead that would hold up as the final score Saturday night.
All-Star midfielder Evander set an FC Cincinnati record with a goal in his fifth consecutive match in a 3-0 win over visiting Inter Miami Wednesday night.
CINCINNATI -- Sergio Santos picked up his first goal of the season in the 65th minute and Roman Celentano made three saves in goal to lead FC Cincinnati past the visiting New England Revolution, 1-0, Saturday night in an Eastern Conference match.
Roman Celentano made three saves to help FC Cincinnati clinch a playoff spot by tying the visiting Columbus Crew 0-0 on Saturday. Cincinnati (16-8-4, 52 points) maintained its two-point advantage over the third-place Crew in the Eastern Conference.
Luca Orellano scored early in the second half and Roman Celentano stopped two shots as FC Cincinnati did just enough to beat slumping FC Dallas 1-0 on Saturday in Frisco, Texas, in only the teams' second meeting.