Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders: Live Blog

Oct 19, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan (10) in action during the Galaxy

Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy and Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders are set to do battle today at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. in the first leg of the 2014 MLS Western Conference Championship. The Galaxy routed Jeff Cassar’s Real Salt Lake on aggregate 5-0, while the Sounders prevailed over Oscar Pareja’s FC Dallas on away goals after a 1-1 draw. The winner of this series will host the 2014 MLS Cup Final.

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Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN. Adrian Healey, Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas will have the call. The Live Blog, hosted by Jo-Ryan Salazar, will begin at approximately 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET. Keep it right here on the MLS Multiplex, part of the FanSided Network, for continuing coverage of the 2014 Major League Soccer season and the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Refresh the screen for updates!

T-120: Welcome to another Live Blog here on the MLS Multiplex. This is the Live Blog of the first leg of the 2014 MLS Western Conference Championship between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders. This is the final before the final, and my name is Jo-Ryan Salazar, editor of the MLS Multiplex alongside Sean Maslin. Glad you can join us.

There is no question that the winner of this series may have the best chance of lifting the coveted Phillip F. Anchutz Trophy. The Galaxy have reached the pinnacle of American professional soccer four times in their history, but the Sounders are hoping to complete the first treble in American club soccer history. So either way, this is a historic series that will make for wonderful watching.

We have a little preview from our mates at MLSSoccer.com. Have a look.

REFEREE: Kevin Stott.
AR1 (bench): Adam Wienckowski; AR2 (opposite): Greg Barkey;
4th: Ricardo Salazar

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS (suspended next yellow card): LA: Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Rogers … SEA: Leo Gonzalez

"It was almost preordained: The two best teams in MLS, superstar-laden squads who fought down to the wire for the Supporters’ Shield, square off for a chance to play in the MLS Cup final. The Seattle Sounders took the Shield on the last day of the season, but they’ve made it clear their biggest target is the Cup. To accomplish that, they always knew they’d have to go through their nemeses, the LA Galaxy, who will host the first battle between these two powerhouses in this year’s MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T."

Season Goal Leaders

Season Stats

T-101: New York and New England are tied in their first leg of the MLS Eastern Conference Championship, 1-1.

T-66: The New England Revolution have defeated the New York Red Bulls in the first leg of the 2014 Eastern Conference Championship, 2-1.

T-65: So that leaves us with today’s first leg of the Western Conference Championshi here at StubHub. If you have any comments, questions, etc. on the contest, sound off in the comments section below.

T-60: An hour to go to kickoff here at StubHub. Crowd is beginning to file in. Some had to take parking shuttles from the nearby South Bay Pavilion to get to Victoria Street. It will be a sellout.

T-58: Lalas Hill is open for what could either be the last time this year, or the next-to-last time, depending on what happens in this series.

T-49: Emerald City Supporters have arrived and are in full throat.

T-45: Both teams begin warmups after the field gets a bit of watering.

T-44: Lineups.

Lineup

Bench

Officials

T-41: It’s important to play the same way that we played in the last game,” said Galaxy captain Robbie Keane to LAGalaxy.com’s Adam Serrano. “I’m sure that it’ll be a similar style as two weeks ago where they might play more defensive. We just have to be clever and do what we did to Salt Lake.”

T-40: “I think if we play a complete 180 minutes we have a very good chance,” said Landon Donovan to LAGalaxy.com’s Larry Morgan, referring to the rematch next Sunday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. “The good thing for us is we know how we play at home, and we’re going to play in a way that allows us to create a lot of chances and hopefully score a lot of goals.“But the beauty of it is if it doesn’t happen, if we don’t win by a lot of goals, if we tie or if we lose, we know Seattle is a place we can get results and get big results. Our focus is on 180 minutes.”

T-38: Unfortunately, Lamar Neagle will not be available for this match, along with Osvaldo Alonso. From the Sounders front office…

"Lamar Neagle has been given leave by Sounders FC to deal with a serious personal matter and he has the full support of the club. Our thoughts are with Lamar and we look forward to having him back with us in Seattle next week."

T-36: “Our home field has been a real plus for us this year,” said Arena this past week. “We’ve lost the opening game of the season and none since then, so we’re expecting to perform well.”

T-33: “It’s very important that we take care of business at home. We want to make sure that we score goals and we’re very capable of scoring goals as we’ve seen this year, but so are they,” said Omar Gonzalez. “If we can go to Seattle like we did up three goals then you can bet your money that we’re going to get the win. “

T-31: A list of finalists.

2014 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists

(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)

Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists
Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)
Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders FC)
Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution)

AT&T Rookie of the Year Finalists
Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas)
Steven Birnbaum (D.C. United)
Harrison Shipp (Chicago Fire

Defender of the Year Finalists
Bobby Boswell (D.C. United)
Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC)

Coach of the Year Finalists
Gregg Berhalter (Columbus Crew SC)
Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders FC

)Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Charlie Davies (New England Revolution)
Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders FC)
Rodney Wallace (Portland Timbers)

Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Steve Clark (Columbus Crew SC)
Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Newcomer of the Year Finalists
Stefan Ishizaki (LA Galaxy)
Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution)
Pedro Morales (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year Finalists
Diego Chara (Portland Timbers)
AJ DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy)
Zach Loyd (FC Dallas)

Xbox Individual Fair Play Finalists*
Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers)
Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew SC)
Harrison Shipp (Chicago Fire)

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fouls committed, cards received, games & minutes played, as well as subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.

Xbox Team Fair Play Finalists*
LA Galaxy
Philadelphia Union
Real Salt Lake

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fewest fouls committed, cards received and on subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.

Referee of the Year Finalists
Mark Geiger
Jair Marrufo
Alan Kelly

Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists
Peter Manikowski
Paul Scott
Adam Wienckowski

T-30: A half hour to go.

Awards Announcements Schedule:
Schedule subject to change

November 24: AT&T Rookie of the Year, Xbox Fair Play Individual and Team of the Year
November 25: MLS Defender of the Year, MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year, and Referee/Assistant Referee of the Year
December 2: MLS Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and MLS Best XI
December 3: Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Volkswagen MLS MVP
December 4: AT&T Goal of the Year, MLS Save of the Year

T-20: 20 minutes to go here at StubHub.

T-12: “We need to do our duty defensively in terms of being sharp and when we get our chances in front of their goal,” Gonzalez said of the Galaxy’s need for defensive consistency. “We need to punish them because every goal matters. It’s very important that we go into their house with a lead. We just have to say focused and no matter how late it gets, we just have to get the result.”

T-10: Both teams conclude warmups.

T-0: Following the team introductions, both teams reenter the pitch to the strains of the MLS Anthem by Audiobrain.National anthem by Will Champlin.

FIRST HALF START: 2:10 P.M. PT/5:10 P.M. ET

1′ – The first half of the first leg begins. Gyasi Zardes will need to step his game up in this series.

2′ – Chad Marshall retrieves that, and on the transition, Obafemi Martins wins the first corner of the match. Taken short. Too many touches from Robbie Keane.  DeAndre Yedlin taking his lumps.

3′ – The infamous “Come On Seattle! Fight And Win!” call-and-response chant from ya boyz at ECS.

Yellow card 17 DeAndre Yedlin
Seattle Sounders

4′ – A courageous overhead attempt from Omar Gonzalez.

5′ – Stefan Ishizaki, a candidate for MLS Newcomer of the Year, with a poor touch. A long pass for Donovan is covered.

6′ – Clint Dempsey with world-class agility. Can he be the catalyst that gives Seattle the MLS Cup Final?

7′ – Gyasi Zardes with his first shot. Saved by Stefan Frei. Corner, Stefan Ishizaki.8′ – Corner missed Omar Gonzalez. Goal kick, Frei.

Yellow card 20 A.J. DeLaGarza
Los Angeles Galaxy

Easy card here. Kevin Stott is calling a tight match early.

9′ – Marshall swoops to deny Robbie Keane.

10′ – Another harsh challenge, this time on Zardes, but no card. That will draw the boo birds.

11′  – Here’s another corner for the Sounders.

12′ – Taken long and collected by Jaime Penedo. A bad giveaway, but the Galaxy recover

.13′ – Gyasi Zardes with a speculative attempt from a tight angle. Ouch.

14′ – Michael Azira, the pride of Uganda, lays it off for Marshall. Keane will lose that duel. Here is Robbie Rogers. Played back.

15′ – A cross from Ishizaki is collected by Frei.

16′ – Some bad distribution from Penedo. Zardes is offsides on the restart. Keane wins a throw.

17′ – Ishizaki can’t hold on. Goal kick, Frei.

18′ – An easy duel won by Dempsey, but the Galaxy recover. Back to Tommy Meyer, filling in for Leonardo. Another Ishizaki cross. Caught in a bevy of black and green.

19′ – So far, the Galaxy are getting countered by strong organization from Seattle, making for an even game.

20′ – Some chaos in the box, but Seattle are denied by similar composure in the box from the Galaxy

21′ – Free kick for Landon Donovan from about 35 yards out.

22′ – Laid off for Juninho who skies it over the bar. Goal kick, Frei. More hits than misses.

23′ – LA move the ball around, and some pinpoint passing needs to be in order.

24′ – I have this gut feeling that this may not be LA’s day with all the misses on goal.

25′ – Throw-in, Galaxy. No one to retrieve that, so that will be a throw-in to Seattle.

26′  – I am not sure why Rogers decided to take that shot. This Galaxy side is leaning towards a shoot first, pass second type of team. Not smart.

27′ – Rogers wins a corner for LA, in front of the ECS.

28′ – Collected by Frei.

29′ – A bit clumsy there from Rogers. Free kick from about 30 for Marco Pappa. Collected by Penedo.

30′ – Long pass for Donovan is collected by Frei. The goalkeepers are stealing the show here.

31′ – The “Us vs. Them” chant from ECS.  Keane is denied by Frei and he is shaken up. ACB unimpressed, hurling streamers.

32′ – Clint Dempsey wins a free from about the same distance as the last one.

33′ – Over the bar. Goal kick, Penedo.

34′ – A close stalemate so far between the Galaxy and Sounders here at StubHub Center.

35′ – Yellow card 24 Stefan Ishizaki
Los Angeles Galaxy

36′ – Yedlin is on a yellow and he has to be careful here. Free kick from outside the box, 15 out. Low and speculative.

37′ – Omar Gonzalez misses the header. Goal kick, Frei.

38′  – Yellow card 20 Zach Scott
Seattle Sounders

Oh Robbie. Rogers, that is. A really awful volley. Out on the full.

39′ – A.J. DeLaGarza may have hurt himself, and Dan Gargan might be coming in later in this game.

40′ – Almost found Zardes streaking forward.

41′ – The other Gonzalez, Leo Gonzalez, concedes a corner.

42′ – The corner is cleared, but LA continue to press.

43′ – Throw-in, LA. Michael Azira with awareness. What a star.

44′ – Seattle now on the attack. LA counter. And here comes Zardes. Gonzalez nearly got that in.

45′ – Frei concedes another  corner, won by Rogers. Two minutes.

45′ + 1′ – Punched aside. Here’s Obafemi Martins, the MVP candidate from Seattle.

45′ + 2′ – Man down on the pitch for Seattle. It’s Clint Dempsey.

45′ + 3′ – Free kick from 40 out for the Sounders.

What a first half. It’s scoreless.

HALFTIME
Los Angeles Galaxy 0
Seattle Sounders 0

Team Statistics

Goals and Assists

None

Disciplinary

Reason: Foul

8′

A.J. DeLaGarza

Reason: Foul

35′

Stefan Ishizaki

Reason: Foul

37′

Zach Scott

Reason: Foul

One more watering of the pitch, hopefully this isn’t the last watering of the pitch of the season here at the Hub.

SECOND HALF START: 3:13 P.M. PT/6:13 P.M. ET

46′ – The second half begins.

47′ – Clever for the Sounders to get a chance to score in front of the ECS. Real clever. That misses for Landon Donovan. Some good ball movement. Good composure from Azira. Ishizaki is foiled by Frei. Again.

48′ – Stott sees something he doesn’t like from the Galaxy’s attack and awards a Seattle restart.

49′ – Here come Martins. Omar Gonzalez is forced to clear.

50′ -This will be a Sounders corner from the northeast end. Marco Pappa, who won the Shield for Seattle, take this. Cleared.

51′ – Stefan Ishizaki wins a throw. DeLaGarza seems to be all right after that knock he took. And another corner. They’re piling up.

52′ – Stefan Frei with a wonderful save.

GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 8 Marcelo Sarvas
Unfortunately, Frei can only do so much. Something just happened here at the Hub.

53′ – Now this plays right in Seattle’s hands. Remember their first leg against Dallas? Unfortunately, they don’t have Ozzie Alonso to help them out this time.

54′ – Obafemi Martins tries to up the pace, but the Galaxy are there.

55′ – Zardes just can’t get a break today. That’s another whistle that goes against him.  Bad distribution from Jaime Penedo, the Panamanian international.

56′ – Frei with an emergency clearance.

57′ – That sequence went as well as it was going to go.

58′ – A laughable dribble from Robbie Keane. He definitely is showing his age today. Back comes the ever-dangerous Obafemi Martins. Penedo will however collect and set up the next sequence.

59′ – Sarvas gets the “don’t argue” from the Sounders. Landon Donovan now. Another goal would help for LA.

60′ – Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 33 Dan Gargan
OUT 20 A.J. DeLaGarza

61′ – Kevin Stott asks for the wall to be set up. Off the woodwork.

62′  – Substitution Seattle Sounders
IN 19 Chad Barrett
OUT 10 Marco Pappa

63′ – Ishizaki wins a restart. Donovan can’t retrieve. Chad Barrett is offsides.

64′ – Juninho concedes a restart to the Sounders. Now here is Dempsey, who has yet to find the back of the net.

65′ – A missed run for Robbie Rogers on the left side. Zardes is double-teamed.

66′ – Stefan is denied by Stefan. Or, rather Ishizaki is denied by Frei.

67′ – Zardes is having another tough afternoon at the office.

68′ – Baggio Husidic will be coming in at the next whistle. He was dropped for the second leg against Real Salt Lake.

69′ – Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 6 Baggio Husidic
OUT 8 Marcelo Sarvas

70′ – The loss of DeLaGarza may be costly in the second leg, but so far, Dan Gargan has been holding up for the G’s.

71′ – Great possession this minute from the Galaxy.

72′ – Martins broke that up but Los Angeles were able to recover.

73′ – No one to receive the Barrett cross. Sounders do maintain possession.

74′ – Ishizaki is also struggling with his shooting. Real off day for Los Angeles. It can be day and night for a club like this.

75′ – Here comes the final 15 and stoppage for LA. Winning this part of the game has been a lottery for the Galaxy, and this is where Seattle can play at their best.

76′ – Alan Gordon will be coming in late, perhaps to replace Zardes.

77′ – Oba is away, but the Galaxy are there to close him down.

78′ – Advantage given to the Sounders, says Kevin Stott.

79′ – Point and counterpoint so far. Finally, a whistle.

80′ – Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 9 Alan Gordon
OUT 24 Stefan Ishizaki

Substitution Seattle Sounders
IN 5 Andy Rose
OUT 42 Michael Azira

81′ – I stand corrected. Gordon is coming in for Ishizaki, not Zardes.

82′ – Here is Zardes, playing it forward. Baggio Husidic now.

83′ – A harsh challenge on Alan Gordon, and the crowd wanted a card. It’s only going to be a free.  Cleared, and Rose takes a shot. Cleared for a corner.

84′ – Take…two. This is a Seattle corner in front of the ECS end.

85′ – What will…Gonzalo Pineda do? Send it to Zach Scott, but it’s over the bar.

86′ – Throw-in, Seattle, and Robbie Keane wins a restart.

87′ – Man down for Seattle. May be Pineda.

88′ – It is Pineda, but he’s back on the pitch. Yedlin plays it forward.

89′ – Galaxy win a throw-in. LA are looking for a second goal here.

Substitution Seattle Sounders
IN 4 Jalil Anibaba
OUT 3 Brad Evans

90′ – Let’s see how many minutes we get here. Gordon wins a restart. Three minutes.

90′ + 1′ – Arena is looking for a card. He won’t get it.

90′ + 2′ – Corner for LA. Donovan to take. Cleared.

90′ + 3′ – Another play on, says Stott. Goal kick for Penedo, but I think Stott has pulled off enough cards for the day. He’s reached his limit, it seems. That’s it.

FINAL
Los Angeles Galaxy 1
Seattle Sounders 0

Los Angeles Galaxy lead on aggregate 1-0.

Team Statistics

Goals and Assists

Assisted By: A.J. DeLaGarza

Disciplinary

Reason: Foul

8′

A.J. DeLaGarza

Reason: Foul

35′

Stefan Ishizaki

Reason: Foul

37′

Zach Scott

Reason: Foul

Thanks for following this Live Blog on the MLS Multiplex. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day’s action.