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HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — The Columbus Crew's post-game celebrations were subdued. There was no champagne, loud music or boisterous boasts.
The Crew had just advanced to the MLS Cup final for only the second time in the 20-year history of Major League Soccer and their first since 2008 with a 2-1 aggregate over the New York Red Bulls.
But it came with a 1-0 loss Sunday night on a goal in the 93rd minute and another ball that hit the post less than two minutes later spoiling a near perfect defensive effort.
"And to see it potentially all fall apart," Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter said. "We let them hang in there. And then they get the goal in the 93rd minute, hit the post in the 95th minute, and that's soccer."
Yet the suppressed festivities, Berhalter said, had more to do unfinished tasks.
"We have bigger fish to fry," he said. "I wanted them to enjoy it on the (postgame) podium, enjoy (the Eastern Conference championship) the trophy. But I told them they're going to be remembered for the trophy they win next week, not the one they win this week."
Columbus will host the championship game at Mapfre Stadium on Dec. 6 against the Portland Timbers, who completed a 5-3 aggregate victory earlier Sunday with a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas.
The Crew will look to win their second MLS championship. They beat New York in Carson, California, seven years ago.
Getting past the Red Bulls looked relatively easy, until the last few minutes. After winning 2-0 last week on a goal nine seconds after the opening kickoff and throttling New York for better than 90 minutes Sunday, the last few moments were more uncomfortable than the Crew would have liked.
Anatole Abang scored 3 minutes into second-half injury time and Bradley Wright-Phillips hit the post with a header 1 1/2 minutes later for the Red Bulls.
Abang, who replaced defender Kemar Lawrence in the 72nd minute, headed in from a goalmouth scramble, and Wright-Phillips nearly had a second when his header skipped off the base of the right post.
"I was thinking 'Thank God,'" defender Michael Parkhurst confessed when seeing Wright-Phillips' shot bound off the upright. "I'm thinking...he's offside; I'm thinking 'Please go wide.' Once that doesn't go in I'm thinking, 'Man, where's the final whistle.'"
Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark rarely was tested by a New York team that scored a league-best 62 goals during the regular season.
New York had the majority of possession throughout but generated little from it in the first half. It was more active in the second half, but still only generated sporadic chances.
Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch credited Columbus for making the game a stalemate, negating his side's attempts to use its speed and pressure tactics.
"They did a good job of clogging the middle and not allowing us to get our rhythm of play going," he said. "We showed a little bit of impatience early but then as the first half went on I thought that we grew into the game. Credit to Columbus. They did make it hard on us and It wasn't easy to find chances. We made a really good push at the end of the game. It's almost. ... It's painfully unbelievable how that game ends."
The loss marked the second straight season that New York, which finished with the best regular-season record for the second time in three years, was stopped one step short of the championship game.
"In every way this has been a magical season and you know it was an inch, 2 inches, I don't know," Marsch said. "You tell me how far it was away from having a real chance to be something even more special."
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