Galaxy falls at Seattle, 2-0
For 84 minutes in the last game of the regular season, the Galaxy and Seattle Sounders played to a scoreless draw with an intensity befitting what was at stake Saturday.
The teams began the game in front of 57,673 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle tied atop Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, and any player with the ball stood a good chance of being pushed to the ground by a defender.
That kept tempers high and sparked shoving matches throughout the last regular-season game for the Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, the MLS all-time leader in scoring and assists who’s retiring after this season.
Seattle’s Marco Pappa, a late substitution, drew goalkeeper Jaime Penedo to the top of the six-yard box in the 85th minute and drilled the ball past Penedo for Seattle’s first goal.
Pappa chipped a shot into an undefended goal in the fifth and final minute of second-half stoppage time to give Seattle a 2-0 victory and the first MLS Supporters’ Shield in club history.
The Shield goes to the team with the best regular-season record. Seattle finished 20-10-4 for 64 points and the Galaxy finished 17-7-10 for 61 points. The Galaxy’s seven losses were the fewest of any MLS team.
The top five teams in each of the two MLS conferences advance to the playoffs, which start Wednesday and Thursday with knockout games between the fourth- and fifth-place clubs in each conference.
The winner of the Western Conference game will advance to play Seattle in a conference semifinal. The Galaxy will play the third-place team in the other semifinal.
The Galaxy’s opponent would be Real Salt Lake or FC Dallas, depending on FC Dallas’ game later Saturday against the Portland Timbers. Real Salt Lake, which has finished the regular season, was in third place, two points ahead of FC Dallas.
The two-game semifinals start Nov. 1-2 and the winners are determined by aggregate goals.
In Seattle on Saturday, the Galaxy was without forward Robbie Keane, its top scorer this season with 19 goals. The Galaxy said Keane sat out because of an unidentified “minor injury” but would be ready in time for the playoffs.
The Galaxy also was without star defender Omar Gonzalez, who was suspended after drawing two fouls when the Galaxy and Seattle played to a 2-2 tie at StubHub Center a week earlier.
Emotions were high Saturday, with the teams combining for 40 fouls and six yellow cards.
A spree of shoving matches reached a climax in the 71st minute when several players began clawing at each other after the Galaxy’s Marcelo Sarvas tangled with Gonzalo Pineda.
Pappa’s second goal came when he stripped the ball from Penedo at the top of the 18-yard box as Penedo was trying to kick the ball away. Once he had possession with Penedo behind him, Pappa easily pushed the ball into the unprotected net.
Peltz reported from Los Angeles
