The Philadelphia Union had to rely on a penalty shoot-out to secure the first of their three-game playoff affair with the Chicago Fire, after the two sides played out a dramatic 2-2 draw. 

A flurry of late goals, first from Philadelphia in the 70th and 75th minutes from Indiana Vassilev Milan Iloski, before the Fire responded in the 84th and 93rd minutes, as Jonathan Bamba and Jack Elliott scored to restore parity and force the game to a penalty decider.

But, before, there was to be more late drama, as the visitors' Sergio Oregel was shown a red card for a push on Kai Wagner in the fourth minute of stoppage time. 

After both sides missed their first penalties, the Union went on to net their next four, while the Fire converted just two. 

Elsewhere, the Vancouver Whitecaps earned a commanding 3-0 victory over Dallas. 

The Whitecaps made their dominance count in the 43rd minute when Daniel Rios broke the deadlock, before a Thomas Muller penalty and a Kenji Cabrera goal secured a vital win in the second half.

Meanwhile, in the tightly contested playoff encounter between San Diego and the Portland Timbers, Mikey Varas' side ran out 2-1 winners. 

First-half goals from Onni Valakari and Anders Dreyer on either side of Kristoffer Velde's 36th minute equaliser ensured San Diego took a 1-0 lead going into game two. 

The Timbers hopes of mounting a second-half comeback were thwarted when Jimer Fory was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card. 

Data Debrief: Muller strikes again in impressive start

The Whitecaps' impressive showing against Dallas secured a 14th clean sheet in their 35 games, no team has done this more in the MLS this season.

New signing Muller continued his ideal start to his MLS career, with his penalty meaning he has now scored in each of his last four games in the league (four goals). The German has also contributed to goals in his last seven games, registering eight goals and three assists. 

Despite falling to defeat on penalties, the Fire have now scored in 31 of their 36 games, with only the San Jose Earthquakes (32) scoring goals in more matches in the MLS this season.