HOUSTON -- When nobody else gave them a chance, the New York Red Bulls believed.
They believed they could beat the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium when the two-time defending champions had never lost a playoff game here. They believed they could win on the road even though they had only done so once this season.
When it was over, and the Red Bulls had stunned a throng of orange-clad Dynamo fans, advancing in the MLS Cup Playoffs for only the second time in club history thanks to a 3-0 victory Sunday afternoon in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series, the Red Bulls weren't boisterous inside their locker room.
"It's not over," Juan Pablo Angel said. "We know that we're on the doorstep of the big party of the year. We would like to get it right, but we have a very difficult challenge ahead."
It was the greatest victory in the club's 13-year history and one of the biggest upsets in the history of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Few gave the Red Bulls a chance in the series and former president/general manager Alexi Lalas said, "New York is done," on ESPN's MLS Primetime Thursday at halftime of the Chicago-New England game.
"The locker room was really enthused for this game," Dane Richards said. "We knew we just needed to stay disciplined and we got a shut out. That's amazing in the playoffs. That was a big motivation. (The critics) said our season would end today and we need better players. We proved to ourselves and our fans that we do it for them."
Richards was massive for the Red Bulls, playing a part in all three goals. Before the semifinal series started, the Jamaican winger said he would "run that left back into the ground," referring to Wade Barrett. And while Richards caught heat for his incendiary comments, he backed them up on Sunday.
"He was great. He was a threat from the very first minute," Angel said. "When you have Dane on one of those days, you have to make the most of him. ... I would take Dane every day when he's performing like that."
After the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium last Saturday, Richards gave the Red Bulls the lead when he took a pass from Sinisa Ubiparipovic, raced past Barrett and scored from 12 yards out in the 25th minute.
Ten minutes later, his cross deflected off the hand of Ricardo Clark, leading to Angel's penalty kick that gave the Red Bulls a two-goal cushion heading into halftime.
"Credit to Dane, he played with controlled aggression," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "I think he's doing a lot better work now. You can see he comes inside and looks for the pass, now his combination play is better and we always know he is a threat in behind and I'm very pleased with his performance today."
Richards also iced the game in the 81st minute with a remarkable 65-yard run to the end line, forcing Pat Onstad to stay on the near post. Richards then slipped a pass to an unmarked John Wolyniec, who tapped home his first career MLS playoff goal and first tally of the season.
"It's funny because I think Barrett got in his head a little bit in the first 10 minutes and then I think Dane just took it upon himself to say this guy's not going to beat me," Wolyniec said. "He got behind him a bunch of times early and really made the difference on the first two goals, obviously and on the third. He was the key cog in all three goals."
If Richards wasn't the first star, it was Danny Cepero. The rookie goalkeeper was only credited with five saves, but each were of the spectacular variety. Perhaps his biggest was a left-footed kick save off a Stuart Holden attempt from 12 yards out in the 78th minute.
"There were some times when I kind of laughed to myself when Danny made some of those saves because those are the ones that keep us in the games, especially big games," Andrew Boyens said. "He was quality tonight. Hopefully he can keep on doing that for us."
Now the Cinderella Red Bulls head to Rio Tinto Stadium to take on Real Salt Lake Saturday night in the Western Conference Championship. For only the second time in club history, they find themselves 90 minutes from the MLS Cup Final.
"We had guys who were willing to execute the game plan, willing to battle for 180-plus minutes and that was the difference," Chris Leitch said. "It was unbelievable effort by every single guy, which is why it feels so rewarding right now. If we can continue doing this, who knows?"
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