LA Galaxy win 1-0 to claim their third MLS Cup title

By Money Mike

After choking in the MLS Cup playoffs the last two years, the Los Angeles Galaxy have finally won an MLS Cup title in the Beckham era. The Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in what could be David Beckham's final game with the LA Galaxy. 30,281 filled up the Home Depot Center. Most of which were hoping that Beckham would end his LA Galaxy career with an MLS Championship (if this were to be his last game with LA), and a couple weeks ago, I said that if this were to be his final match and the Galaxy didn't win the Cup, this would've been an epic fail following the Cup final defeat here in Seattle against Real Salt Lake in 2009 and a 3-0 beating they got from FC Dallas in the 2010 Western Conference final. But after the final was all said and done, the Galaxy came out on top and lift the Trophy for the third time in their history.

LA nearly opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Adam Cristman, who made 11 appearances and scored only one goal, was found unmarked off a David Beckham corner kick, but he couldn't get his header on target, missing wide of the right post. Cristman was getting the start in place of Chad Barrett after Barrett dislocated his ankle earlier this week during practice.

Cristman had another chance in minute 27. David Beckham sent another dangerous ball into the penalty area. Cristman got up and again headed the ball off the mark before colliding with goalkeeper Tally Hall.

Houston struggled to test LA goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who had been filling in for Donovan Ricketts in the 2nd half of the season since Ricketts suffered a broken hand back on July 2nd against the San Jose Earthquakes. The best chance they had came in the 43rd minute. Calen Carr sent a very good ball out wide to the right for Danny Cruz. Cruz then cut to his left foot and ripped a low drive, but it was right at Saunders. Again, that was just about the best chance the Dynamo had in this match.

A minute later, the Galaxy had another chance to break the tie. Robbie Keane found Mike Magee in the box, but the opportunity came to waste as Magee's left footed shot flew well over the bar.

In the 49th minute, Robbie Keane had a golden opportunity to put LA on top. Keane ran onto a loose ball that caromed off Luiz Camargo's head, but he trickled a shot wide of the far post.

In the 72nd minute, the LA Galaxy finally got their goal. Robbie Keane picked out Landon Donovan with a beautiful through ball in the box. Donovan lifted the ball over Tally Hall and into the far corner. Geoff Cameron tried to clear the ball of the line, but he wasn't fast enough and you knew that there was no way back for the Dynamo with the lack of chances they had in the game. The Galaxy were knocking on the door and with over 18 minutes to go, they get the goal that turned out to be the winner.

For Landon Donovan, that was his 20th career postseason goal and his forth all-time in the MLS Cup as he continues to add to his amazing career. Donovan is the all-time leading goalscorer in LA Galaxy history, he's the all time greatest goalscorer in U.S. national team history and he has now won four MLS Cup titles in his career and there is still more milestones to reach in years to come for the 29-year old.

Scoring summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Landon Donovan (Robbie Keane, David Beckham)

Misconduct summary:

Houston Dynamo - Bobby Boswell (caution; Handball)

Los Angeles Galaxy - Adam Cristman (caution; Reckless tackle)

Houston Dynamo - Andre Hainault (caution; Reckless foul)

Los Angeles Galaxy - David Beckham (caution; Tactical foul)

Los Angeles Galaxy - Landon Donovan (caution; Delaying a restart)

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Jermaine Taylor; Danny Cruz (Colin Clark 78'), Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Corey Ashe (Je-Vaughn Watson 84'); Brian Ching, Calen Carr (Carlo Costly 66')

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant; Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Juninho, Mike Magee; Adam Cristman (Chris Birchall 57'), Robbie Keane

MLS Cup semifinal recap

By Money Mike

Well the Sounders may be out, but that doesn't keep me from recapping the MLS Cup playoffs. Today we found out who will be playing for the MLS Cup title two weeks from now and who will be packing their bags and heading home one game away from the MLS Cup final. The playoff system has turned into a land of confusion because of the wild card positions where an Eastern Conference team would end up in the western conference bracket or a Western Conference team possibly ending up in the eastern bracket. The fact that Seattle was knocked out the playoffs was because the Quarterfinal was a two game home-and-home series where whoever scores the most goals in the series moves on and if the series ended all square after 90 minutes in the 2nd leg, there would be two 15-minute overtime periods and if still tied, the series would be decided by penalties (There's no Golden Goal). After that, the semifinals and the championship is single elimination. This round was the semifinal where the winner heads to the final.

Sporting Kansas City vs Houston Dynamo (Houston wins 2-0):

Well after missing out on the playoffs last season, the Houston Dynamo are moving on to the MLS Cup for the third time in franchise history. The previous two times they were in the final in 2006 and 2007, they won the MLS Cup. They move on to the Championship after defeating Sporting Kansas City 2-0. Andre Hainault opened the scoring in the 53rd minute after Adam Moffat whipped a cross to the back post. The ball bounced around and fell to Hainault who tapped it in to make it 1-0 Dynamo. In the 87th minute, Sporting Kansas City were caught on a counter and beat on a counter. Luiz Camargo split a through ball which sent Carlo Costly behind the defense and through on goal, and the Honduran international made no mistake, banging a shot off the post and in to put the Eastern Conference final beyond reach.

I got to tell you, keeping track of the MLS teams all season long and tracking what Sporting Kansas City has accomplished since moving to their new home ground back in June after all they went through in their first eight games of the season, all on the road of course, winning the Eastern Conference regular season title and then getting knocked out of the playoffs one game away from a trip to LA is just a major disappointment and Teal Bunbury knows it. It's been an up and down year for Bunbury, struggling through injury which left him off the U.S. squad for the Gold Cup. Despite his struggles, the 21-year old did manage to finish the year with 9 goals and 5 assists in 29 matches and will start to get better in years to come. But that picture says it all, a missed opportunity at reaching the final and qualifying for the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League is just tough to swallow and Teal Bunbury and the rest of the Sporting Kansas City players will be feeling the pain for a few days.

Scoring summary:

Houston Dynamo - Andre Hainault (unassisted) 53'

Houston Dynamo - Carlo Costly (Luiz Camargo) 87'

Misconduct summary:

Houston Dynamo - Calen Carr (caution; Reckless tackle) 17'

Sporting Kansas City - Julio Cesar (caution; Reckless foul) 30'

Houston Dynamo - Luiz Camargo (caution; Reckless tackle) 55'

Sporting Kansas City - Roger Espinoza (caution; Dissent) 74'

Houston Dynamo - Carlo Costly (caution; Shirt removal) 87'

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe; Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Brad Davis (Jermaine Taylor 39'); Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 78'), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 68')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, Julio Cesar (Jeferson 82'), Seth Sinovic (Omar Bravo 85'); Chance Myers, Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza (Davy Arnaud 75'); C.J. Sapong, Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake (Los Angeles wins 3-1):

With the Los Angeles Galaxy advancing to the MLS Cup final and the fact that Los Angeles was chosen to host the 2011 MLS Cup final, you would expect LA to win the final. The Galaxy earned a spot in the final after defeating Real Salt Lake by a score of 3-1. LA got on the board first in the 23rd minute. Omar Gonzalez was pushed to the ground from behind in the RSL penalty area and referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the penalty spot. Landon Donovan stepped up for the LA Galaxy and put the spot kick away with ease. RSL answered back two minutes later. Off a Javier Morales corner, Jamison Olave headed the ball back across goal for Alvaro Saborio who flicked it in to the goal to level things up. In the 58th minute, LA re-took the lead. David Beckham again doing what he does best. Curling in a trademark cross to the far post for Mike Magee who headed it goalwards from point blank range and in off the hands of Nick Rimando to put LA up 2-1. 10 minutes later, LA puts the icing on the cake in the Western Conference. RSL started to push numbers forward and LA made them pay on a counter attack when Landon Donovan fed Robbie Keane who started to slow down as he was approaching the penalty area, the Irish international made a nice cut to full Jamison Olave and ripped a shot low and into the far corner to seal the win and a place in the MLS Cup final.

Ever since David Beckham has arrived to MLS in 2007, the league has started to become one of the top leagues in the world and that American soccer is starting to grow. Now remember, I listed him at no. 1 when I gave you guys my Top 5 worst Designated Players in MLS history, but I may over look that if LA were to win the MLS Cup on November 20th. It's just disappointing to have guys like David Beckham and Landon Donovan on your team and not win a league title with both of them on your team. In 09' the LA Galaxy reached the final as we all know, this one was in Seattle. The match went to penalties and the Galaxy ended up losing to Real Salt Lake. Last season, the Galaxy were knocked out of the playoffs in the semifinals, losing 3-0 at home to FC Dallas. Now this year, in what could be David Beckham's final season in Major League Soccer, will Beckham finally win an MLS Cup title?

Scoring summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Landon Donovan (penalty kick) 23'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Jamison Olave, Javier Morales) 25'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Mike Magee (David Beckham, Robbie Keane) 58'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Robbie Keane (Landon Donovan) 68'

Misconduct summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Juninho (caution; Reckless foul) 56'

Real Salt Lake - Javier Morales (caution; Reckless tackle) 70'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Sean Franklin (caution; Delaying a restart) 93'+

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell (Ned Grabavoy 70'), Jamison Olave (Tony Beltran 82'), Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert; Andy Williams (Luis Gil 75'), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant; Landon Donovan, David Beckham (Michael Stephens 89'), Juninho, Mike Magee; Chad Barrett (Chris Birchall 63'), Robbie Keane

Sounders unbeaten run ends at 9 games, lose 3-1.

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders saw their 9 game unbeaten streak in MLS disappear in front of their eyes and what a cruel way to end your run. The Houston Dynamo came away victorious with a 3-1 win. Former Gonzaga Bulldog Brian Ching scored two of the three goals for the Dynamo who are now 2-1-2 in their last 5 games. With the loss, the Sounders are now 10-5-8 on the year and remain in third place in the Western Conference.

OK, first of all, do me a favor boys and girls and add Niko Bratsis to the list of douchebag referees in Major League Soccer. I mean all match long he fucked up real good. There we're so many fouls that he did not call. So many, that I lost count, that's how bad he was. This was unbelievable, in the 73rd minute (I don't know), Colin Clark shoved Alvaro Fernandez to the ground in front of the linesman, he should've been booked for that and the referee didn't go to his pocket. And I mean damnit, what the fuck. He pushed Fernandez to the ground and got away with it. You got to be shittin me. There was a handball on Corey Ashe that he did not call, the third goal that Houston scored, Colin Clark was well offside and there were so many fouls that he did not call. I mean this fucker did an absolutely pathetic job refereeing the game. Not only did he get the majority of his calls wrong, he didn't keep the fuckin Houston Dynamo players under control like he was supposed to and instead lets them get away with pushing the Sounder players to the ground. Fuck the ref and fuck the Dynamo!!

Houston got on the board early on in the seventh minute. A missed clearance by Jeff Parke allows Colin Clark to control the ball with one touch and then slot it home for his third goal of the season. Houston would tack on another goal, a terrific bending ball to the middle of the area by Geoff Cameron found for a headed goal Brian Ching from point blank range and Seattle found themselves down by 2 goals to nil.

The Sounders would pull one back in the 36th minute. Fredy Montero drew a foul in the penalty box after he beat Corey Ashe to the ball. Scrambling back, Ashe went to ground and caught Montero from behind and referee Niko Bratsis pointed to the penalty spot (Amazing he got a call right). Alvaro Fernandez stepped up to take the PK and he calmly place it into the far post, sending goalkeeper Tally Hall the wrong way.

In the 71st minute, Houston put the game to bed. Colin Clark was found off a through ball from Hunter Freeman and he quickly squared it across to Brian Ching for his second goal of the game. Of course this was another blown decision by the officials. Colin Clark was offside.

Scoring summary:

Houston Dynamo - Colin Clark 3 (unassisted) 7'

Houston Dynamo - Brian Ching 2 (Geoff Cameron 4, Brad Davis 10) 23'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 6 (penalty kick) 36'

Houston Dynamo - Brian Ching 3 (Colin Clark 2, Hunter Freeman 2) 71'

Misconduct summary:

Houston Dynamo - Cam Weaver (caution; Reckless tackle) 34'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (caution; Tactical foul) 38'

Houston Dynamo - Brad Davis (caution; Reckless tackle) 76'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mike Fucito (caution; Dissent) 87'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Mike Fucito 78'); Fredy Montero (Pat Noonan 68'), Roger Levesque (Nate Jaqua 57')

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Hunter Freeman, Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainault, Corey Ashe; Colin Clark (Alex Dixon 89'), Geoff Cameron, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis; Brian Ching (Jason Garey 87'), Will Bruin (Cam Weaver 31')

Seattle Sounders FC vs Houston Dynamo preview

By Money Mike



The Seattle Sounders after a disappointing 1st leg of the Champions League preliminary round get back to work in MLS as they head to Tornado Alley to take on the Houston Dynamo. The last time these two met back on March 25th, the Sounders had a lot of opportunities to score but were only able to capitalize on only one in the 80th minute via a tap in by Steve Zakuani as the match finished all square at 1-1. The Sounders, coming in with a 9 game unbeaten streak, have yet to win in Houston. Drawing 1-1 in their first visit in 2009 and losing 2-1 last season.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - For Seattle, of course Steve Zakuani is out with a broken leg. Brad Evans had injury problems last year and he's having injury problems again this year. He is listed as doubtful with a hamstring strain. Also listed as doubtful is Jhon Kennedy Hurtado with an MCL Sprain. Backup goalkeeper Terry Boss has a concussion so I don't expect him to be on the squad tomorrow, look for #3 goalkeeper Josh Ford to make the 18-man squad this weekend.

Houston Dynamo - For the other guys, Calen Carr, he has not played at all this season for the Dynamo having dealt with a concussion, he is listed as doubtful. Also Cam Weaver, who of course went to Kentwood High School, is listed as probable with a sprained left ankle.


Suspensions:

Only one player suspended and that would be Je-Vaughn Watson of the Houston Dynamo. Watson picked up a second yellow card in Houston's 3-0 loss to Chivas USA.


Key matchups:

Brad Davis vs James Riley - There's always a key matchup on the wing, especially when you have a playmaker like Brad Davis. He's gonna be everywhere tomorrow. There's no time for any hiccups.

Fredy Montero vs Bobby Boswell - Fredy Montero, he's back to doing what he does best... Scoring goals. Boswell is gonna have a long night defensively.

Zakuani's 80th minute goal ends the Sounders scoring drought in a 1-1 draw with Houston

By Money Mike

After a tough first two games of the season, the Sounders get their first goal and first point of 2011 in a 1-1 draw last night against the Houston Dynamo after an 80th minute goal by Steve Zakuani. It wasn't the result they were looking for, but it's a result they'll take.

Houston could've and should've been reduced to 10 men early in the game when defender Hunter Freeman gave the ball away to Erik Friberg and then pulled him down just outside the penalty area. Freeman was the last man on that play, but rather than sending him off, the referee only showed him a yellow card.

The Sounders continued to pressure the Houston Dynamo backline early in the game. In the 27th minute Erik Friberg's cross found O'Brian White for a header from point-blank range and goalkeeper Tally Hall came up huge for the Dynamo, making an excellent reaction save to stop what would've been the opening goal. Hall came up big again after Kofi Sarkodie's failed clearance sent Steve Zakuani away, but his left foot shot was again denied by the Houston goalkeeper.

Despite being the better side in the first half, the Sounders found themselves down a goal. In the 42nd minute, Lovel Palmer cracked one from 30-yards out which hit the crossbar. The ball fell to Andre Hainalt, who was unable to put a shot on frame, the Sounders failed the clear and the ball fell to Geoff Cameron who unleashed a low drive, which deflected off the foot of Jeff Parke and in the back of the net and Houston headed to their locker room at the break with 1-0 lead.

In the second half, the Sounders continued to throw everybody forward. In the 65th minute, Fredy Montero gave it a go from 36-yards out, but it was easily trapped by Tally Hall. About 8 minutes later, Montero was denied again from 11-yards out. In the 79th minute, Zakuani had another golden opportunity to equalize, but he was dispossesed by his former Akron teammate Kofi Sarkodie. Will that goal ever come for the Sounders? In the 80th minute, it came.

A corner kick from Erik Friberg deflected off the knee of Bobby Boswell to the back post and Steve Zakuani tapped it in to the back of the net to break Seattle's goal-scoring drought. Two minutes later, Seattle had a chance to take the lead but Fredy Montero's shot was again saved by Tally Hall. That was just about the last big chance of the game.

Leo Gonzalez booked for diving in the penalty area, did the referee get that right?:

NOT EVEN CLOSE!! Gonzalez and Zakuani combined very well on this play, it was Andre Hainalt with the challenge. The replay shows that Hainalt clipped Gonzalez and braught him down, that should've been a penalty. That was a horrible decision by the referee.

Scoring Summary:

Houston Dynamo - Geoff Cameron (unassisted) 42'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (unassisted) 80'

Misconduct Summary:

Houston Dynamo - Hunter Freeman (caution; Tactical foul) 2'

Houston Dynamo - Lovel Palmer (caution; Reckless foul) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; Reckless foul) 43'

Houston Dynamo - Geoff Cameron (caution; Reckless tackle) 46'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Simulation) 73'

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Kofi Sarkodie, Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainalt, Hunter Freeman; Corey Ashe (Danny Cruz 85'), Lovel Palmer, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis; Will Bruin (Brian Ching 75'), Jason Garey (Cam Weaver 45')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Mauro Rosales 71'), Steve Zakuani; O'Brian White (Nate Jaqua 61'), Fredy Montero

Seattle Sounders FC vs Houston Dynamo preview. Four local boys returning to their hometown.

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get ready for their third match of the season, friday night against the Houston Dynamo. The Sounders are coming off two 1-0 defeats against the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls, and are in need of a big response. Meanwhile, the Dynamo are coming off a season opening loss at home to the Philadelphia Union 1-0 thanks to a 5th minute goal by Danny Califf. It was the first time Houston has lost a home opener in their history dating back to 2006. These two teams split the season series last season with Seattle winning 2-0 at Qwest Field on August 8th, thanks to goals by Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez. Houston returned the favor in the final game of the regular season on October 23rd when James Riley's 11th minute goal was soon picked back by goals from Geoff Cameron and former Seattle U RedHawk and USL Sounder, Cam Weaver and came away with a 2-1 win. These two teams need answers!! Cam Weaver isn't the only one returning home. Goalkeeper, Tally Hall who graduated from Gig Harbor High School, Mike Chabala, a Washington Husky and former Gonzaga Bulldog, Brian Ching who also played for the Sounders in the USL make their return to Seattle.


Injury report:

Houston Dynamo - Well, there's really nothing much to talk about here. Calen Carr, who was aquired from the Chicago Fire yesterday in exchange for Dominic Oduro, has a concussion and he is out. Francisco Navas has a strained right hamstring, he is also out. Colin Clark still hasn't played a match for the Dynamo at all yet since being traded from the Colorado Rapids, and it's a question of whether or not he'll debut in this game. A left knee injury lists him as questionable. And Finally, Brian Ching has a strained right hamstring and is listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the men in rave green, we have new updates and I promise you, they're good ones. Mike Fucito is still out though with a right adductor strain. Nate Jaqua is expected to suit up for tomorrow's match, but we don't know for sure, he is listed as doubtful. Brad Evans is still recovering from a right hamstring strain, he is also doubtful. Mike Seamon is listed as questionable as he is recovering from right leg neuritis. Pat Noonan is listed as probable with a left adductor strain, don't expect him to make the 18-man squad tomorrow. Last, but not least, Steve Zakuani says he's 100% and ready to go, we'll see if Sigi Schmid will put him in the lineup tomorrow, he's listed as probable.


Key matchup:

Steve Zakuani vs Hunter Freeman: Even though we don't know if Zakuani will start, this is the only key matchup I can think of. Believe me this could be the first time Hunter Freeman will face him and if Zakuani takes him on like, 10+ times, he is going to be under a lot of pressure, I don't think he'll be able to contain him.


Areas Seattle needs to improve on:

Play your game. Which is ATTACK!! ATTACK!! ATTACK!! for 90 minutes. They didn't play that game last saturday against the Red Bulls and thats why I think is the reason they lost. New York came at them all game long because they didn't go after the ball like they were supposted to, and nobody commited forward. There is no excuse for that crap, they need to go after the ball at all times and not let the forwards do all the work in the attacking area.