SEATTLE — Clint Dempsey had a goal and assist in the first half to give Seattle the lead, but Juninho’s tiebreaking road goal early in the second half sent the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MLS Cup final for the ninth time in franchise history after their Western Conference final with the Seattle Sounders ended 2-2 on aggregate.
Road goals were used as a tiebreaker in the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time this season and Los Angeles used it to the full advantage following a 1-0 win in the first-leg of the conference finals last weekend. After surrendering goals to Brad Evans and Dempsey’s in the first 32 minutes, Juninho’s goal was the difference. The Galaxy will go for their fifth MLS championship and kept the career of Landon Donovan going for one more game.
Los Angeles will host Eastern Conference champion the New England Revolution in the final next Sunday.
It was a crushing result for Seattle, which was attempting to become the first team in league history to win the MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup in the same season.
After a disjointed first 25 minutes, Evans’ goal immediately opened up the field for Seattle. Dempsey scored but was flagged for being offside. Martins airmailed an open attempt in the box and Lamar Neagle’s left-footed shot for the far post was pushed aside by Penedo.
Seattle finally got the lead and Dempsey was the instigator. He kept the play alive by getting a pass off to DeAndre Yedlin while on the ground, then was in the right spot when Yedlin’s cross was deflected to the top of the penalty area. Dempsey’s shot fooled Penedo and appeared to take a slight deflection off Gonzalez. Dempsey raced to the Seattle bench and jumped into the arms of his teammates, putting the Sounders ahead on aggregate after just 32 minutes.
Photo via Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press
