Landon Donovan had maybe the best year of his career this year, he was named MVP and led his team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, to the MLS championship game. Then in that game he made a perfect service that set up the Galaxy’s only goal.
But when it came down to penalty kicks with the title on the line, Donovan sent his high over the net. Combine that with Los Angeles’ Edson Buddle putting his seventh-round penalty kick shot in the chest of former UCLA goalkeeper Nick Rimando, now of Real Salt Lake, and the result was Real Salt Lake upsetting the Galaxy 5-4 to take the MLS crown. The same Real Salt Lake that had a sub-.500 record on the season and qualified for the playoffs on the last day of the season.
Those penalty kicks came at the end of 120 minutes of soccer — regulation play plus 30 minutes of overtime — on a cold night in Seattle. The kind of temperature that felt like England in the winter, so David Beckham should have felt at home.
And Beckham and his Galaxy teammates looked at home early. After 25 minutes of the two teams playing even and feeling each other out, the Galaxy took control The first real chance came in the 28th minute on a beautiful corner kick from David Beckham, and that started a run of better chances for the Galaxy, with Donovan being more of a playmaker in the center of the pitch.
The Galaxy finally struck in the 41st minute. Beckham fed the ball to Donovan on the right wing, who crossed it beautifully to Mike Magee on the back post, who knocked it home to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.
The second half seemed like a different game, though — Real Salt Lake controlled the midfield, controlled the possession and attacked with ferocity. They had a chance five minutes in when Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley intercepted a sloppy pass back to the defense by the Galaxy. Findley streaked in alone on goal from the right wing, forcing Galaxy goalie Donovan Ricketts to come out to cut down the angle. Ricketts slid at the feet of Findley, colliding with the Real Salt Lake player. He knocked the ball away, but he also hurt his right hand, and would eventually leave the game. Josh Saunders replaced him (and eventually faced the penalty kicks).
In the 64th minute, a shot by Real Salt Lake's Yura Movsisyan was deflected by a defender and landed at Findley's feet. Movsisyan's shot had the Galaxy goalie diving right, leaving Findlay with a near-open goal to put the ball in. Findley buried the shot and tied the game at 1.
Both teams had a few chances after that, but it came down to penalty kicks. And the one that sailed high.
