Connor Lade and the Red Bulls had little success finding a way through Jeff Larentowicz and Atlanta United. Elsa/Getty Images
HARRISON, N.J. — The Red Bulls — so solid in winning Major League Soccer’s regular-season title this year — went out of the playoffs with barely a whimper Thursday night, failing this year to offer their steadfast, shivering fans so much as the usual playoff tease.
A narrow victory in the second leg against Atlanta United meant the Red Bulls, playing at home, lost the Eastern Conference final series, 3-1, on aggregate. Beaten comprehensively in Atlanta on Sunday in the first leg, 3-0, the Red Bulls failed to muster any real challenge in the second, scoring only at the game’s end.