Leading Seeds Philadelphia and San Diego Claim Victories in MLS Playoff Debuts

The top ranked Philadelphia Union overcame a major fright to begin their Major League Soccer playoff effort with a tense triumph against Chicago Fire on Sunday.

Philadelphia, who claimed the Supporters Shield for topping the regular season standings, resorted to a penalty shootout to overcome Chicago in the initial fixture of their three match series.

The Union appeared set for an easy success versus the eighth placed Chicago following strikes in the second half by Indiana Vassilev and Milan Iloski, which put them ahead 2-0 with quarter of an hour left.

However Chicago created an anxious conclusion when their left sided player Jonathan Bamba netted in the 84th minute.

Chicagos ex Union defender Jack Elliott then hushed the local supporters in the third minute of added time, unleashing a powerful low effort from beyond the box that buried into the bottom corner.

Chicago faced further setback shortly after, dropping to ten players when replacement Sergio Oregel received a straight red for his involvement in a scuffle with Philadelphias Kai Wagner, yet the Fire managed to force extra time leading to penalties.

Philadelphia kept composure during the shootout, with Jesus Bueno converting the decisive spot kick after Chicagos Joel Waterman struck the bar with his attempt.

Over in the Western Conference, the leading seeds San Diego kicked off their playoff push with a 2-1 success against eighth placed Portland.

In Vancouver, the second seeds Whitecaps comfortably dispatched seventh seeds FC Dallas 3-0 to grab a 1-0 advantage in their matchup.

The Whitecaps went in front via a Daniel Rios header during the opening period before ex Germany and Bayern Munich standout Thomas Muller converted from the penalty in the 60th minute to make it two. Kenji Cabrera sealed the 3-0 scoreline with seven minutes remaining.