MLS Cup 2014

MLS Cup 2014

Event	MLS Cup
LA Galaxy New England Revolution 2 1
After extra time
Date	December 7, 2014
Venue	StubHub Center, Carson, California, US
Most Valuable Player	Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)
Referee	Mark Geiger
Attendance	27,000
Weather	Cloudy, 73 °F (23 °C)
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MLS Cup 2014 was the 19th edition of the MLS Cup, the match that determined the champion of Major League Soccer's 2014 season. The LA Galaxy of the Western Conference hosted the New England Revolution of the Eastern Conference. The soccer match was held at StubHub Center in Carson, California, as the Galaxy were awarded home advantage by finishing the regular season with more points than the Revolution. The Galaxy won 2–1 after extra time, winning their fifth MLS Cup title and also sending all-time U.S. national team goal scoring leader Landon Donovan into retirement with his sixth MLS Cup crown.^[1]

It was a record sixth time that the MLS Cup was held at the StubHub Center, and the first time in two years that the venue has hosted the MLS Cup. The Galaxy returned to the MLS Cup for the first time since 2012, when they became the third club to win the championship in back-to-back seasons. It was the first time since 2007 that the Revolution reached the MLS Cup final. The two clubs had met twice before in the MLS Cup final: in 2002 and in 2005; the Galaxy defeated New England 1–0 after extra time in both finals. New England Revolution became the first club to lose five MLS Cups.

Going into the match, the Galaxy had earned a berth into the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League regardless of the result; New England could only do so by winning the Cup. Since the Seattle Sounders won both the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters Shield, the Galaxy had secured a berth into the Champions League as the Supporters Shield runner-up. Had New England won the match, they would have entered as the MLS Cup champion representative. Instead, Real Salt Lake went to the Champions League.

The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league in the United States and Canada. The 2014 season was the 19th in MLS history and was contested by 19 teams organized into the Eastern and Western conferences. Each club played 34 matches during the regular season from early March to late October, facing each team in their conference two or three times and those in the other conference once.^[2][3] The playoffs, which ran from October to early December, were contested over four rounds by the top five clubs in each conference. The first round and final were both single-elimination matches; the other two rounds were decided through aggregate score over a two-legged tie with the away goals rule in effect.^[4]

Both the Revolution and the Galaxy are original MLS clubs, beginning play in 1996.^[5] The teams had faced off in MLS Cup 2002 and MLS Cup 2005, with the Galaxy winning both finals in overtime.^[6] The Galaxy had also defeated the Revolution 2–1 in overtime in the final of the 2001 U.S. Open Cup.^[7] The two teams had faced each other once before in the 2014 season, with the Galaxy hosting and defeating the Revolution in a 5–1 game that saw both teams reduced to 10 men.^[8]

The Galaxy convincingly defeated Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference semifinals by an aggregate score of 5–0. They then advanced past Seattle Sounders FC and to MLS Cup 2–2 on aggregate due to the away goals tiebreaker, as the Galaxy had 1 away goal to Seattle's 0.

The Revolution's last MLS cup final was in 2007, where they lost to the Houston Dynamo in their third MLS Cup loss in a row.^{[citation needed]} Since then, the club had hired defender Jay Heaps to manage the club.^[9] The team had missed playoffs in the 2012 season,^{[citation needed]} and suffered a 4–3 defeat on aggregate to Sporting Kansas City in the conference semifinals of the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs.^[10] In advance of the 2014 season, the club acquired José Gonçalves on a permanent deal, after a loan deal which saw him win MLS Defender of the Year. Goalkeeper Matt Reis retired from the team after tearing his quad tendons in the 2013 playoffs.^[11]

New England knocked out the Columbus Crew 7–3 on aggregate after dominating both legs of the Eastern Conference semifinals before narrowly besting the New York 4–3 over the two legs to reach MLS Cup.

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Broadcaster	Language	Commentators[12]		Other staff
		Play-by-play	Color
Television
ESPN, WatchESPN (online)	English	Adrian Healey	Taylor Twellman	Monica Gonzalez, Max Bretos, Alexi Lalas, Kasey Keller
UniMás	Spanish
TSN	English
RDS	French	Claudine Douville	Jean Gounelle	François-Etienne Corbin, Patrick Leduc, Patrice Bernier
Radio
Sirius XM	English	Joe Tolleson	John Harkes	Tony Meola
ESPN Deportes Radio	Spanish	Kenneth Garay	Elmer Polanco	Diego Cora

LA Galaxy

New England Revolution

GK 18 Jaime Penedo RB 20 A. J. DeLaGarza CB 4 Omar Gonzalez CB 22 Leonardo LB 14 Robbie Rogers  82'  91' RM 24 Stefan Ishizaki  91' CM 8 Marcelo Sarvas  113' CM 19 Juninho  96' LM 10 Landon Donovan   45+1' CF 7 Robbie Keane (c)   92' CF 11 Gyasi Zardes Substitutes: GK 12 Brian Rowe DF 2 Todd Dunivant DF 21 Tommy Meyer DF 33 Dan Gargan  91' MF 6 Baggio Husidić  96' MF 34 Kenney Walker FW 9 Alan Gordon  113'  91' Manager: Bruce Arena

GK 22 Bobby Shuttleworth RB 2 Andrew Farrell  62' CB 5 A. J. Soares CB 23 José Gonçalves (c) LB 8 Chris Tierney CM 6 Scott Caldwell  58' CM 13 Jermaine Jones  113' RW 10 Teal Bunbury AM 24 Lee Nguyen  90+1' LW 11 Kelyn Rowe CF 9 Charlie Davies  72' Substitutes: GK 18 Brad Knighton DF 25 Darrius Barnes DF 30 Kevin Alston MF 12 Andy Dorman  90+1' MF 16 Daigo Kobayashi  58' FW 7 Patrick Mullins  72' FW 14 Diego Fagúndez Manager: Jay Heaps