RBNY sweep reigning champion Columbus in 1st round of MLS playoffs

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.