FC Cincinnati was 16 minutes away from losing the first playoff match in its history, but a late rally helped keep the Orange and Blue alive while also dooming the New York Red Bulls to their latest home playoff disappointment.
Brandon Vazquez’s 86th-minute winner completed a late FC Cincinnati rally, and the visitors weathered 12 minutes of stoppage time on the way to a 2-1 victory over the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.
Luciano Acosta converted a 74th-minute penalty for the equalizer before Sergio Santos found Vazquez in stride with a perfect long pass and Vazquez did the rest, beating Aaron Long and finishing past Carlos Coronel for the winner, securing a place in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the Lions in their first playoff appearance.
FC Cincinnati will now face the Philadelphia Union on Thursday at Subaru Park in the East semifinals.
The Red Bulls and FC Cincy played a goal-less first half before Lewis Morgan delivered a stunning opening goal in the 48th minute.
FC Cincinnati appeared to snatch an equalizer in the 61st minute when Junior Moreno pounced on a rebound and blasted it home, but a VAR review determined Geoff Cameron was offside on the playoff, wiping out the goal.
The Red Bulls let the visitors back in the match just 10 minutes later when Andres Reyes fouled Alvaro Barreal in the penalty area. Luciano Acosta converted the penalty kick to swing the momentum of the match.
Vazquez did the rest, racing past Long and latching onto a perfectly-placed pass from Santos before finishing excellently for the winning goal.
FC Cincinnati will now face a Union side that finished first in the Eastern Conference and comes in rested, having had a bye into the East semifinals.
The Red Bulls are done for 2022, enduring another brutal end to a season, failing to win a playoff match for the fourth straight season, and eighth time during their current run of 13 consecutive playoff qualifications.