Galaxy Advance to MLS Cup with 2-0 Extratime Win Over Houston

LA Galaxy 2, Houston Dynamo 0
Friday, November 13, 2009
The Home Depot Center — Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Gregg Berhalter 1 (Unassisted) 103’
LA – Landon Donovan 3 (Penalty Kick) 109’

Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Brian Mullen (Yellow Card) 26’
LA – Dema Kovalenko (Yellow Card) 72’
LA – Landon Donovan (Yellow Card) 89’
HOU – Bobby Boswell (Yellow Card) 111’
HOU – Luis Angel Landin (Yellow Card) 119’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin, Dema Kovalenko, Landon Donovan©, David Beckham, Chris Klein (Jovan Kirovski 63’), Mike Magee (Eddie Lewis 101’), Edson Buddle (Alan Gordon 96’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, Yohance Marshall, Chris Birchall, Bryan Jordan.

Houston Dynamo: Pat Onstad, Wade Barrett, Geoff Cameron, Bobby Boswell, Andrew Hainault, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Eddie Robinson 96’), Stuart Holden, Brian Mullan (Corey Ashe 82’), Bring Ching©, Dominic Oduro (Luis Angel Landin 72’).

Subs Not Used: Tally Hall, Ryan Cochrane, Craig Waibel, Cam Weaver.

Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy advance to MLS Cup 2009, against the winner of tomorrow’s Eastern Conference Championship between the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake. MLS Cup will be played on Sunday, November 22 at 5:30 p.m. (PT) at Qwest Field in Seattle.
• This was the first-ever postseason game between the Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo.
• The two teams met twice in the regular season, with the Galaxy winning 1-0 at home on June 28 behind a first half goal from Todd Dunivant. They met again at Robertson Stadium on October 18, with that game finishing 0-0.
• Bruce Arena made one change to the team that beat Chivas USA 1-0 on Sunday with A.J. DeLaGarza entering the lineup at left back in place of Todd Dunivant who missed the game through illness. Chris Birchall, who had missed Sunday’s game through illness, took DeLaGarza’s spot on the bench for LA.
• In addition to Birchall, the Galaxy were alsowithout Alecko Eskandarian, Stefani Miglioranzi and Julian Valentin, who all missed the game through injury.
• DeLaGarza made his MLS postseason debut in the game. He is the seventh Galaxy player to make his MLS postseason debut in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs.
• Gregg Berhalter’s goal in the 103rd minute was the first goal of his Galaxy career in all competitions.
• Landon Donovan converted a penalty kick in the 109th minute to make the score 2-0. He now has three goals this postseason, scoring in all three of the Galaxy’s playoff games. He is the leading goalscorer in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs.
• The goal was the 17th of his MLS postseason career, making him the league’s all-time leader in playoff goals.
• After earning just three penalty kicks in the regular season, the Galaxy have now earned two in three postseason games, with each coming at the south end of The Home Depot Center.
• Under the current playoff format, Donovan has played the Western Conference Championship three times, scoring four goals in those matches and winning all three.
• Donovan Ricketts made five saves to earn his second consecutive postseason shutout.
• Dema Kovalenko and Landon Donovan were each booked in this game but are eligible to play in MLS Cup 2009. No Galaxy players will be suspended for that game.
• The game entered the half tied at 0-0. It was the Galaxy’s second consecutive postseason game that entered the half 0-0 and the second straight game between these two sides that was 0-0 at halftime.
• After playing 120 minutes tonight without scoring a goal, the Dynamo have now gone 367 consecutive minutes without a goal against the Galaxy. That streak dates back to the 23rd minute of the Dynamo’s 3-0 win over LA on October 18, 2008, a loss that eliminated the Galaxy from postseason contention.
• This was the Galaxy’s first MLS Cup Playoff game to go to extratime since MLS Cup 2005, which they won 1-0 over the New England Revolution thanks to a 105th minute goal from Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez.
• The last time the Galaxy went to extra time in an official competition was the 2007 SuperLiga Final, which was tied 1-1 after 120 minute of regulation and extratime. The Galaxy would eventually lose that game to Pachuca 4-3 on penalties.
• The stadium lights went out at two separate times in the game, first at the 17:55 mark in the first half and then again at the 50:23 mark in the second half. The first delay lasted 18 minutes and 10 seconds while the second also lasted 18 minutes and 10 seconds.
• As a result of the power outages and extratime, the game took a total of three hours and five minutes to complete.
• The attendance for today’s game was 25,373, making it the second biggest crowd to see a non-MLS Cup, postseason game at The Home Depot Center. Only Sunday’s sellout crowd for LA’s 1-0 win over Chivas USA was bigger.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.