Canada absolutely obliterated New York in the MLS Cup Playoffs
The Eastern Conference semifinals were a pair of Canada vs. New York match-ups and it all looked like it was there to set up a New York derby in the conference final. After all, the New York Red Bulls were the top seeded team and New York City FC the second seeded team.
Instead, the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC made it a Canada derby. And they didn't just beat the Red Bulls and NYCFC -- they embarrassed them.
Even heading into the second legs, it didn't look like the ties would turn into maulings. The Impact only won their home leg 1-0, while Toronto FC's 2-0 win was hardly a thumping. Going back to New York for the second legs was supposed to turn the ties. A New York derby was still in play.
Instead, the Impact scored first at Red Bull Arena to not only extend their lead, but take the away goals tiebreaker. Then when New York scored to make things borderline interesting, Montreal scored another. By the time the final whistle blew, the Impact had won 2-1 away for a 3-1 aggregate win. And that was the close tie.
Over at Yankee Stadium, Sebastian Giovinco needed just six minutes to score. By the time the match hit the 30th minute, it was 3-0, but Toronto FC weren't done. They scored two more goals in the second half for a five-goal win and a 7-0 aggregate thumping. That is the biggest margin of victory in a two-legged tie in the history of the league.
In all, Canada went to New York and won by a combined score of 7-1 on Sunday. Over the course of two two-legged ties, Canada beat New York 10-1.
Now we have a Canada derby for a spot in MLS Cup. And it wasn't by luck or even grit. It was complete and total domination in the Big Apple.
