Seattle escape on penalties; Cincinnati take game one against NYCFC

We’ve got more MLS Cup Playoff action for you as FC Cincinnati knocked off NYCFC in the series opener between the two Eastern Conference foes, while Seattle avoided a scare at home by beating Houston on penalties.

Here is what went down

Seattle Sounders 0-0 Houston Dynamo

The Sounders escaped their home opener in the playoffs with a game one win on penalties against Houston.

With the driving rain in Seattle on the night, flowing attacking play was not at the forefront of the match at Lumen Field, much to the chagrin of the neutrals.

While Seattle looked to find a winner in front of their fans, the match finally swung their way just past the hour mark when Houston talisman Coco Carrasquilla was sent off after violent conduct in a fracas between the two sides.

After Houston held on with 10-men until nearly the 10th minute of stoppage time, the complexion of the game appeared to switch when Seattle were given a penalty for a handball in the box, but after a VAR review, the referee overturned his call and Houston dodged a late bullet.

With the scores level after 90 minutes and then some, the match went to penalties to decide the series opener.

Once in the spot-kicks, a miss from Erik Sviatchenko saw Seattle escape and take game one of the series.

FC Cincinnati 1-0 NYCFC

Cincinnati took their first step towards advancing with a solid 1-0 home win agains the Pigeons in the series opener thanks to a Yamil Asad winner.

Pat Noonan’s side had gone cold coming into the postseason, winning just one of their last five regular season games, but they looked well on their way to rediscovering their 2023 form against the visitors from the Bronx Monday evening.

After creating the bulk of the opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, Cincinnati were rewarded for their efforts after the break when Yamil Asad was picked out by reigning MVP winner Lucho Acosta.

While NYCFC pushed to get back into the match and potentially force penalties, they struggled to get through a solid Cincinnati rearguard, and were perhaps lucky to not get burned the other direction after pouring numbers forward.

After failing to find the equalizer, and even being denied a late penalty in controversial fashion, attention will turn back to the Big Apple, where Nick Cushing’s side will look to find the leveler in the series next week.

To make matters worse for NYCFC, Tayvon Gray was shown a straight red card after throwing an elbow into the face of Lucho Acosta just seconds before the final whistle, meaning he will miss game two of the series, at a minimum.