Adam Larsen Kwarasey
Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey was in inspired form as his American top-flight side Portland Timbers emerged champions of the Western Conference with a 2-2 draw at Dallas on Sunday night.
The Ghana international made a series of saves to give Timbers the solid footing to progress on a 5-3 aggregate scoreline.
Portland Timbers had secured a 3-1 win in the first leg a week ago.
Kwarasey’s most glorious moment came in the 32nd minute where he saved off a goal-bound header to keep the scores at 0-0 at halftime.
Fanendo Adi opened the scoring nine minutes into the restart to strengthen the advantage of Portland Timbers.
But goals from Ryan Hollingshead and Parez Ortega in the 68th and 73rd minute respectively turned the game on its head as Dallas jumped into a 2-1 lead.
With just over 15 minutes to play, Dallas needed just a goal to at least even the aggregate scores and force the game into extra time.
They threw men forward in search of that all-important but elusive goals as they benefited from five minutes of time added on.
But Lucas Melano who had come on to replace Rodney Wallace in the 90+3rd minute struck two minutes later to seal the Western Conference title for Portland Timbers.
Caleb Porter’s side awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference being sought after by Columbus Crew and New York Red Bulls to know their opponents for the grand finale of the 2015 MLS Cup.
