The Houston Dynamo have done the job and will head to RFK Stadium next weekend with a two-goal advantage after a 3-1 victory over DC United.
Enjoy some instant, in-depth tactical analysis...
KINNEAR: You're trying to trick me into giving away something. It won't work.
OLSEN: IT HAS WORKED! YOU'VE GIVEN EVERYTHING AWAY! I KNOW WHERE THE POISON IS!
KINNEAR: Then make your choice.
OLSEN: I will, and I choose - What in the world can that be?
[Olsen gestures up and away from the table. Kinnear looks. Olsen swaps the goblets]
KINNEAR: What? Where? I don't see anything.
OLSEN: Well, I- I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. First, let's drink. Me from my glass, and you from yours.
[Olsen and Kinnear drink]
KINNEAR: You guessed wrong.
OLSEN: You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Hairy-chested man when an MLS Cup Final spot is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...
[Olsen stops suddenly, his smile frozen on his face and falls to the ground dead].
Alright, that's overly dramatic, but let's be honest here. Ben Olsen won the battle in the first half, but Dominic Kinnear won the war. After nothing went right in the first half and Adam Moffat left leaving the spine of our 4-4-2 midfield gone, he switched back to a 4-3-3 and let Boniek and Giles Barnes cut loose. It worked and the Dynamo are 90 minutes from another trip to the MLS Cup final.
On to RFK stadium.