Red Bulls to face DC United in playoffs

Chicago Fire 1, D.C. United 1

Lionard Pajoy scored in the 50th minute, and Bill Hamid made eight saves to help D.C. United rally for a 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

The draw gave D.C. second place in the Eastern Conference.

United (17-10-7) went 5-0-2 in its last seven matches to finish with 58 points, one more than New York and Chicago (17-11-6). New York finished third, ahead of fourth-place Chicago, on a tiebreaker.

With New York beating Philadelphia earlier in the day, the Fire needed to beat D.C. to avoid playing in the first-round one-game elimination round.

Instead, Chicago will host fifth-place Houston in that game. It will be played either Wednesday or Thursday. The winner plays Eastern Conference champion Kansas City in the second round.

Pajoy beat Sean Johnson with a diving header in the 50th minute.

Pajoy's eighth goal of the season, and third since joining United from Philadelphia, was one of D.C.'s few good chances. United was held to two shots on goal in the first half and five for the game, including a carom by Pajoy in the 70th minute that Johnson cleared off the line.

Chicago took nine shots on goal, but only forward Patrick Nyarko beat Hamid. He right-footed a 24-yard shot low to Hamid's left side in the 16th minute for his fourth goal of the year.

Every opportunity after that, the Fire either misfired or squandered. In the last 25 minutes, Dominic Oduro, Serjill MacDonald and Jalil Anibama all had close-in opportunities that were either saved by Hamid, hit the post, flew over the crossbar, or, in the case of Oduro's last shot, were blocked by midfielder Nick DeLeon. Hamid's eight saves matched his season high.

New York Red Bulls 3, Philadelphia Union 0

Kenny Cooper scored twice, and Thierry Henry added a goal to lift the New York Red Bulls over the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on Saturday.

The Red Bulls (16-9-9) reached the playoffs for the third straight year, and the ninth time in 10 seasons. New York won all three matches this season against the Union (10-18-6), who lost their final three games and will miss the postseason for the second time in three years.

Cooper scored on a penalty kick in the 13th minute after Tim Cahill was taken down by defender Carlos Valdes in the box a minute earlier. Henry scored his 15th goal to make it 2-0 in the 35th minute.

Cooper added his team-leading 18th goal - and fifth against Philadelphia this season - in the 66th minute.

The Union played without defender Sheanon Williams (left ankle), defender Gabriel Farfan (right ankle) and midfielder Freddy Adu (coach's decision).

Montreal Impact 0, New England Revolution 1

A.J. Soares scored in the 89th minute to give the New England Revolution a 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact in the MLS regular season finale for both teams.

Soares was inside the box to head Chris Tierney's free kick past the reach of goalkeeper Troy Perkins for an unsatisfying end to a game the Impact mostly dominated.

The Revolution (9-17-8) ended a 13-game winless run in road matches and won for the first time on Canadian soil, having previously gone 0-5-3 in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

The Impact (12-16-6) ended the campaign with a loss like many they sustained this season - on a late goal off a set piece.