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.