8Dec/140
Landon Donovan’s Performance in MLS Cup Final Proves He Is Retiring Just in Time
Landon Donovan carried the LA Galaxy to tremendous heights in his time with the club. In his last game in their strip, though, Donovan was a passenger. Fans and media love storybook endings for star athletes, though for different reasons. For instance, New York Yankees fans ate up Derek Jeter's final at-bat at Yankee Stadium, a walk-off single. The media loved it, too, but not because it won the Yankees a game or put the final touch on Jeter's legend in the Bronx. The media loved it because it made for an easy story. Donovan actually gave his fans and the media a storybook ending, of sorts. He just provided it about a month early. Going into the Galaxy's Nov. 9 playoff match with Real Salt Lake, the second leg of Major League Soccer's Western Conference semi-final, Donovan had scored one goal in eight MLS games over the previous two months. To continue their quest for another MLS Cup, the Galaxy had to get out of the first playoff round. Donovan took care of that. His hat trick against Real Salt Lake propelled the Galaxy into the Western Conference final with the Seattle Sounders. The moment was not lost on Galaxy supporters. "He extended his own ...8Dec/140
MLS Team of the 2014 Season
Now that the 2014 Major League Soccer season has concluded, it is time to give out our end-of-the-season awards to the league's best players. Over the next two weeks, we will take a look who the best players were at each position, and we will release our list of the top 50 players in the league. Before we get to the positional breakdown, we will reveal our best XI from the 2014 season. Continue reading on to see which 11 players were placed into our MLS Team of the 2014 season. Begin Slideshow8Dec/140
New England Revolution Is Still the Beast of the East in MLS Despite Final Loss
The LA Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution, 2-1, after extra time to win MLS Cup on Sunday. Even though the Revolution lost their record-breaking fifth final in franchise history, they're still the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference. New England had just two wins after their first seven games of the 2014 regular season. The Revs improved in April and May, but then lost eight matches in a row from the end of May and into the final week of July. The Revolution's chances of making the playoffs were grim. Around a month later, Jermaine Jones was signed as a designated player. New England won 10 of their last 12 games with the American international on the roster. The Revs subsequently qualified for the playoffs as the second seed in the East. MVP finalist Lee Nguyen was also integral to the Revolution's success in the second half of the season. The American midfielder scored nine of his 18 goals after Jones arrived at the club. Nguyen was also extremely difficult to contain with Kelyn Rowe, Chris Tierney and Teal Bunbury alongside him. Players such as Nguyen, Rowe, Tierney, Bunbury, Jones, Scott Caldwell and Charlie Davies make up the core of the Revolution. Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth ...8Dec/140
Landon Donovan Retires a Champion as MLS Must Begin New Chapter Without Its Face
Landon Donovan is taking his ball, and his trophy, and going home. Forever. In the 111th minute of a sloppy, grind-it-out MLS Cup final, MLS MVP Robbie Keane slotted home the cup-winning goal for the LA Galaxy, who defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time, earning the Los Angeles franchise its record fifth league title. A jubilant home crowd unfurled its banners and tributes, celebrating another title with the class franchise in MLS, with the class player of a generation. "Party at Donovan's," one banner read. I have a feeling the Galaxy will bring the cups. Keane's extra-time goal did more than just win another cup for the Galaxy and send Donovan off into the sunset a six-time champion. The goal—and the win, the cup and all the celebration that comes with winning another title—signified the end of an MLS era. "This is incredible. When you look around and you see this it's amazing," Donovan told Monica Gonzalez of ESPN. "There is lots of excitement around this league. I'm glad to have been a part of it. This is just the end of the playing part. I'll still be around." The timing seems more than coincidental that MLS will begin its 20th season—the first without ...8Dec/140
LA Galaxy Celebrate Winning MLS Cup with ‘Slip ‘N Slide’ Fun
The Los Angeles Galaxy won the 2014 MLS Cup by pulling out a 2-1 extra-time victory over the New England Revolution on Sunday, so after the game, their celebration needed to be worthy of a championship. It was.The players celebrated the franchise's fifth MLS Cup by turning the locker room into a Slip 'N Slide room. To make it even better, it looks like they used champagne to soak the floor.[MLS]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com8Dec/140
Flawed New England Defense Gifts Robbie Keane and LA Galaxy MLS Cup
For the fifth time in MLS Cup history, the New England Revolution were forced to watch a celebration they dreamed of participating in. This time around, the defeat was a bit more agonizing to swallow. When Chris Tierney's 79th-minute strike found the back of the net, it looked like the Revolution would find a way to score a second goal and lift their first MLS Cup. The visiting supporters at the StubHub Center, and the rest of the fans watching back home across New England, were inches away from letting out all of their past failures into one exuberant celebration in the 85th minute. But their celebration was halted when Teal Bunbury's shot from the left wing hit the inside of the top post. Even after Bunbury's attempt off the crossbar, New England showed no let up in its attacking impetus. With all of the momentum behind them, Jay Heaps' side were poised to break the franchise's final curse. Despite all of their offensive efforts, the Revolution could not cover up the one area in which they were exposed all match. On Robbie Keane's game-winning goal in the 111th minute, the back four was disorganized and allowed the Irish forward to remain onside. The main ...7Dec/140
LA Galaxy vs. New England Revolution: Winners and Losers from MLS Cup Final
The LA Galaxy became the first Major League Soccer side to lift the MLS Cup five times, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time on Sunday. Gyasi Zardes juggled the ball at the back post before slotting home from an angle to open the scoring, but the Revs pegged LA back via Chris Tierney. Robbie Keane scored the settler in extra time, sliding a nice finish home after a beautiful through ball from Marcelo Sarvas. Here, Bleacher Report picks its winners and losers.Begin Slideshow7Dec/140
LA Galaxy vs. New England Revolution: Score, Grades, Reaction from MLS Cup Final
LA Galaxy 2-1 New England Revolution (after extra time) Landon Donovan's swansong with the LA Galaxy ended in triumph, as fellow veteran Robbie Keane scored the winning goal to beat the New England Revolution at the StubHub Center in California and claim the MLS Cup. This was the last professional game for Donovan, a former United States international, and he clearly wanted to end to his glittering career on a winning note. Local boy Gyasi Zardes appeared to have helped him achieve that goal with his 52nd-minute opener. But New England Revolution refused to read the script, and Chris Tierney sent the final into extra time with a 79th-minute equaliser. Keane had not enjoyed the best of matches for the Galaxy, but with nine minutes remaining in extra time, he found space in the area to fire past Bobby Shuttleworth and win the title for Donovan and his team-mates. Donovan's final match nearly began with a dream start, as Robbie Rogers almost broke the deadlock within the opening 80 seconds of the game. The left-back pushed forward before playing a neat one-two with Donovan to open up space in the New England area. But the Revolution defence got back in numbers, and Scott Caldwell cleared. The Galaxy settled ...7Dec/140
Gyasi Zardes, Chris Tierney, Robbie Keane Score in the 2014 MLS Cup Final
Gyasi Zardes scored early in the second half as LA Galaxy took a 1-0 lead over New England Revolution in the MLS Cup final.Zardes juggled the ball at the far post before drilling a shot into the corner of the net. But with 10 minutes to go, Chris Tierney levelled the game: Video | Gol de Tierney https://t.co/HDLUd6NW7u— Pared Virtual (@ParedVirtual) December 7, 2014 When the game went into extra time it looked as if penalties were looming, but Robbie Keane struck late to restore the Galaxy's lead: Robbie Keane's goal that won the MLS Cup for the LA Galaxy https://t.co/2vfr8gPdrT— ❤️=⚽️ (@Total_Futbol_) December 7, 2014 [Vine, @Wijors]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com7Dec/140