New York Red Bulls Clinch Final MLS Playoff Spot with 1-0 Win over Philadelphia

Harrison, NJ—Playing their final regular season match of the 2011 MLS season, the New York Red Bulls clinched the final MLS playoff spot when they defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 in front of a sold out audience at Red Bull Arena on Thursday night. 

Playing without leading scorer Thierry Henry who was serving a suspension, the Red Bulls only goal was contributed by Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who's own goal in the eighth minute gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.

In a sequence of plays Dax McCarty advanced the ball to Jan Gunnar Solli who then crossed to the center of the box where Dane Richards headed it.

Initially, it appeared that Richards had successfully scored a goal but instant replay revealed that the ball had indeed bounced off the back of Mondragon and into the net. 

With the score remaining the same, the Red Bulls finished the regular season at 10-7-16. As a result, they are tied with the Colorado Rapids and the Houston Dynamo with 46 points. Based on goal differential, the Red Bulls currently hold the ninth spot over Houston, who has one more match remaining. 

Depending on this weekend's outcome of MLS matches, New York will enter the postseason as either the ninth or tenth seed. In addition, they will play a Wild Card match on the road either on Wednesday, Oct. 26 or Thursday, Oct. 27.

Should the Red Bulls win on the road, then they will compete in a home-and-home two-leg Conference Final series. 

For the Union, they finish their season at 11-8-15 and currently are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 48 points. With their hopes of winning the Eastern Conference officially crushed, the Union may lose their Top 3 spot in the Eastern Conference depending on how Houston and Columbus preform this weekend. 

On Thursday night, the Union brought busloads of their supporters, the Sons of Ben, to Red Bull Arena in hopes of seeing the Union take first place in the Eastern Conference. Living up to their reputation, the Sons of Ben brought their kind of noise and passion that makes them unique. While they cheered their team on, the Union tried their best to tie the match. 

While Mondragon's own goal put the Union in a difficult position, the team overall held their composure and matched up to the Red Bulls. For the match, Mondragon made four saves while the rest of his teammates matched the Red Bulls in shots taken with 11 each as well as three corner kicks. 

In the 67th minute, it appeared as though Philadelphia had tied the match when Carlos Valdes headed in a free kick. However, the goal was waved off as Valdes was called for offsides. Following that play, the Red Bulls defense was able to prevent Philadelphia from tying the match. For Red Bulls goalkeeper Frank Rost, this was his fifth shutout of the season. 

With the regular season officially over for the Red Bulls, the South Ward will now have to wait to see if the Red Bulls are able to win on the road next week. Regardless of the outcome, they are the true MVP of the 2011 Red Bulls MLS season. 

With a season marked with high expectations which concluded with an underachieving campaign where the Red Bulls barely qualified for the postseason, the South Ward Supporters section of the Viking Army, the Garden State Supporters, and the Empire Supporters Club were a pleasure to watch this season. 

As a writer, it was an honor when members of the Viking Army sent me an email inviting me to a pregame and post-match party at their designated sports bar Catas. Without hesitation, I accepted their offer and it's a decision I don't regret. 

Knowing that they read my articles and appreciate my commitment to following the Red Bulls as well as Major League Soccer means a lot because they're the audience who I'm writing for and hope to connect with. While the Red Bulls making it to the postseason is the huge story, the important story to me was fraternizing with the Club's most loyal supporters. 

Regardless of the Red Bulls playoff outcome, I'm already looking forward to seeing the South Ward during the MLS 2012 season. 

MLS Playoff Standings as of Saturday, Oct. 22. 

Western Conference Top 3: ss- LA Galaxy, x- Seattle Sounders, x- Real Salt Lake

Eastern Conference Top 3: x- Sporting KC, x- Philadelphia Union, x- Columbus Crew

Wild Card Race: x- FC Dallas, x- Colorado Rapids, x- New York Red Bulls, x- Houston Dynamo

ss- clinched Supporters' Shield 

x - clinched playoff spot

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at  [e-mail] and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.