And then there were four! The 2023 Major League Soccer playoffs have whittled us down to the four teams doing battle in the Conference finals: Columbus Crew will face “Hell is Real” rivals FC Cincinnati in the East, while LAFC will do battle with the Houston Dynamo in the West to determine who advances to MLS Cup on Dec. 9.
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ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura recap the wild moments and main takeaways after a fun weekend of MLS playoff action.
Eastern Conference: FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew advance to take derby to new heights
“Hell is Real” is the operative phrase in the Eastern Conference half of the MLS Cup playoffs.
This Saturday the two combatants in the “Hell is Real” Derby, FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew, will square off with not just a trip to the MLS Cup final on the line, but hosting honors as well. This after the Crew triumphed 2-0 in extra time at Orlando City, while Yerson Mosquera‘s stoppage-time strike lifted FCC to a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union.
The rivalry got its name from a billboard on I-71, which links the two cities. Alas for the Union, “Hell is Real” doubles as its postseason epitaph the past three campaigns. In 2021, the soccer gods and positive tests for COVID-19 conspired to render 11 players unavailable for their Eastern Conference final against New York City FC, resulting in a 2-1 defeat. Last year in the MLS Cup final, LAFC‘s Gareth Bale rose up to nod home a stoppage-time equalizer, setting up a crushing defeat in the resulting penalty shootout.
This year’s playoff ouster was less traumatic, but it still cuts deep. FCC defender Ian Murphy looked to be just offside when Álvaro Barreal delivered the ball into the box, which should have wiped out Murphy’s header to Mosquera and his subsequent finish. But after a VAR check, the goal was allowed to stand and it is FCC moving on, while the Union is heading home.
