NEW YORK -- Sebastian Giovinco had the fourth hat trick in MLS
playoff history and Toronto FC routed New York City FC 5-0 on Sunday
night to reach the Eastern Conference finals.
With a 7-0 aggregate
victory, Toronto set an MLS record for the largest margin of victory in
a two-legged series since the league started using the playoff format
in 2003.
Toronto will face the Montreal Impact in the conference
finals, with Game 1 set for Montreal on Tuesday, Nov. 22. They are the
first Canadian teams in league history to reach the conference finals.
Giovinco
scored twice in the first 20 minutes, and Jozy Altidore added another
first-half goal. In the sixth minute, Giovinco settled Altidore's pass,
spun his defender and sent it past a late diving Eirik Johansen.
Giovinco had a penalty-kick goal 14 minutes later.
In the 30th,
Altidore was the first to Eriq Zavaleta's chipped pass over the defense
and he blasted it past Johansen. Jonathan Osor scored in the 50th, and
Giovinco capped the scoring in the 91st with his seventh goal in his
last six games.
Ignacio Piatti scored two goals and the Montreal Impact advanced to
the MLS Eastern Conference finals after beating the New York Red Bulls
2-1, and 3-1 on aggregate in their two-legged series.
The Impact
held a 1-0 advantage over the Red Bulls after the first leg in Montreal,
leaving the Eastern Conference regular-season winners to chase the tie.
And
the hosts had what looked to be a dream chance to pull level from the
penalty spot after Evan Bush hauled Gonzalo Veron down in the area.
However, Bush made amends by parrying away Sacha Kljestan's 21st-minute
effort from the spot to preserve his team's advantage.
The Red
Bulls and league goals leader Bradley Wright-Phillips had the better of
the chances throughout the first 45 minutes, despite playing a man down
after Kljestan was forced to the sidelines with an injury, but they
couldn't break through in front of the home crowd in Harrison, New
Jersey.
Impact talisman Piatti turned things in the visitors'
favor in the 51st minute, cutting to his left in the penalty area and
blasting a shot through the outstretched arms of Luis Robles to give
Montreal a 1-0 lead in the match.
Desperate for three goals to
overcome the Impact's away goal advantage, New York poured forward and
saw several quality chances go begging.
Wright-Phillips finally
scored his team's first goal of the conference semis, settling a Daniel
Royer cross at the top of the six-yard box, turning and firing past Bush
to cut into Montreal's lead.
But Montreal put things out of reach
in the 85th minute when substitute Didier Drogba found Piatti on the
counter for the Argentine to score his second goal and book passage to
the conference finals.
Montreal will face the winner of Toronto FC and New York City FC, with the Reds holding a 2-0 advantage after the first leg.
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