The New England Revolution advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night in emphatic fashion, routing the Columbus Crew 7-3 on aggregate. 

After a 4-2 win in the previous leg in Columbus, goals from MLS MVP candidate Lee Nguyen, Teal Bunbury, and captain Jose Goncalves powered the Revs to a 3-1 victory in front of a rowdy crowd at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday night. 

New England entered the second game of a home-and-home against the Crew with the considerable advantage of four road goals, since the MLS made a decision to give away goals more importance in playoff series this year. 

The MLS changed its play-off format at the beginning of the season to use away goals as the first tiebreaker should two teams be tied on aggregate, a move that parallels both the Union of European Football Associations Champions League and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Champions League.

With four away goals on Nov. 1 in Columbus, Ohio, the Revolution needed a 2-0 defeat at worst to qualify for the conference finals.

The squad was not content to let up during their home leg on Sunday and found the back of the net in the 43rd minute to dispel any notion they were going to take it easy.

Bunbury chipped a pass over the Crew’s defense where it found Nguyen, and the recent callup to the United States Men’s National Team blasted the pass home to put the home side ahead just before the halftime break.

Goncalves added a goal in the 55th minute, a bouncing shot from the center of the 18-yard box that was buried  into the bottom corner.

The goal was Goncalves’s second of the season in his first full year with the Revolution after joining the side on loan in 2013.

Bunbury added a 77th minute goal after the Crew got one back by converting a 69th-minute free kick.

Bunbury was found along the left side of the 18-yard box with a through-ball from Daigo Kobayashi and ripped a shot past the goalkeeper for the 3-1 victory.

The Revolution had an up-and-down year, but were one of the hottest teams in the league to close out the season. 

The arrival of USMNT star Jermaine Jones from Turkish team Besiktas in August added to an already potent midfield and added a veteran leader to a confident young Revolution side. 

But while Jones has been a fun storyline to follow with the Revolution this year, the real story has been the emergence of Nguyen. 

Within the space of this season, Nguyen has gone from a little-known journeyman midfielder to an MVP candidate who just earned his first call-up to the national team since 2007. 

Nguyen’s free-wheeling midfield play has set the tone for the Revs and helped turn them into one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the league. 

The second-place Revolution will move on to face the fourth-place New York Red Bulls in another two-legged playoff after the upcoming international break. 

The Red Bulls defeated the Eastern Conference’s top seed, D.C. United, in its semifinal matchup, using a 2-1 victory on the road and enduring a 2-1 defeat at home six days later. 

Even with the loss at home, New York was through on aggregate with a 3-2 score, hosting the first game on Nov. 23.

The Red Bulls and Revolution met twice this year, and the New York side took home both victories, a 2-0 win in Foxborough on June 8 and a 2-1 victory at home on Aug. 2.