Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid praised Kansas City after his team's playoff victory. He said: "I take my hat off to K.C. because I think they played really well tonight. I thought they were sharp and aggressive. They went after us and made it difficult to play, but I think we scored two timely goals. We were able to exploit the space behind the defense, which is what we tried to do, and we did it on both goals, so that is something I was pleased with."

Obviously happy with reaching the Eastern Conference final and only two wins away from the championship, Schmid continued: "It always helps when you score early. It makes it a little easier. People say the worst lead in soccer is 2-0, but I would rather be ahead 2-0 then be behind 2-0. From that standpoint, it was good and we've also been a tough team when we jump onto the lead. That is something we talked about before this game."

Columbus Crew meet Chicago Fire in the Eastern final this weekend.

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