New York Red Bulls midfielder Dave van den Bergh celebrates after scoring against Real Salt Lake. (Steve C. Wilson/Associated Press)Dave van den Bergh scored in the 28th minute and the New York Red Bulls defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 in Major League Soccer's Western Conference Finals on Saturday night in Utah to reach the MLS Cup for the first time in the club's history.
John Wolyniec sent a low cross in front of the goal, which was deflected from the goal by Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando. The attempted clearance went directly to van den Bergh, who scored in the empty net.
New York will take on the Columbus Crew, also playing for the MLS Cup for the first time, next Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 3 p.m. ET).
Real Salt Lake, which was also hoping to reach the MLS Cup for the first time in its short four-year history, nearly tied the game on several occasions in the second half.
Midfielder Javier Morales hit the post in stoppage time, just seconds before the official blew the final whistle.
Will Johnson's sliding shot also hit the post in the 81st minute and in the 66th minute, Jamison Olave's shot sailed over the goal.
New York, one of the original teams that started with MLS in 1996, also benefited from goalkeeper Danny Cepero's seven saves.
The Red Bulls earned the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference via a wild-card spot, and beat the No. 1 seed Houston Dynamo 4-1 during a two-game aggregate goal series to reach the conference finals against No. 3 seed Real Salt Lake.
