ORLANDO, Fla. – Saba Lobjanidze and Jamal Thiaré each scored a goal Saturday night, Brad Guzan had nine saves and Atlanta United beat Orlando City 2-1 in the regular season finale for both team to clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
No. 9 seed Atlanta (10-14-10) plays No. 8 seed CF Montreal in a single-elimination game and the winner will advance to play No. 1 seed Inter Miami in the best-of-three first round.
Fourth-seeded Orlando City (15-12-7) takes on No. 5 seed Charlotte FC in the first round.
After Guzan made a diving left-hand save in the opening minutes, Lobjanidze rolled a one-touch shot inside the far post to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
Thiaré poked in a putback from point-blank range to make it 2-0 in the 12th.
Martin Ojeda flicked a header off an entry played by Rafael Santos inside the back post to trim Orlando City’s deficit to 2-1 in the 42nd minute.
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