MLS Cup Playoffs: Los Angeles Galaxy Take Ascendancy Over Seattle Sounders (VIDEO)

Nov 23, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Sarvas (8) celebrates his goal in the second half of the Western Conference Championship game against the Seattle Sounders FC at StubHub Center. Galaxy won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy are 90 minutes away from either seeing their season end at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. or continue for one more game at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. At the Hub, they were able to shut out Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders, 1-0, on Sunday in the first leg of the 2014 MLS Western Conference Championship. The win means that Seattle will need to win by at least two goals next week to host the 2014 MLS Cup Final, while any draw or one-goal loss will be enough for LA.

The winner of this series will host either the New England Revolution or the New York Red Bulls on Dec. 7. New England currently leads the series 2-1 after their win at Red Bull Arena earlier on Sunday. Hear from Bruce Arena and Landon Donovan following this critical result.

Let’s look at six things we learned, followed by player ratings, following the match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders.

1. Marcelo Sarvas: the unexpected hero for Los Angeles

We talk about Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes and those folks, but what about the support cast? Marcelo Sarvas scored a rare playoff goal in the 52nd minute, with A.J. DeLaGarza providing the assist. Take a look at this gem. Stefan Frei had a solid game in goal but he could only do so much.

Sarvas did suffer an injury late and had to be replaced by Baggio Husidic. However, he should be able to return to action and be ready for the second leg. That is, according to the man himself.

“I’m feeling good; I think it’s a very important goal,” Sarvas told reporters. “It’s a very important win, could be more but we cannot play with that, we had to play with what we had and we got a 1-0. In that play, I don’t know, I got hit in my muscle very close to the bone.

“It was hard when I stepped on my left leg I felt the muscle pulling so I had to stop. I spoke with the doctor and I think we’re going to have to do an x-ray tomorrow. I don’t think it’s something that would keep me out of the next game.”

But the bigger question has to be asked: is that the goal that could give LA the right to host the league’s showcase event?

“If that happens, I’ll be very pleased,” Sarvas said. “I would be very happy for that. It doesn’t matter who scores; I think we have to evaluate everyone who is running, defending, creating situations. I think our team is giving the biggest effort they can to reach the final.”

2. Jaime Penedo’s hotstreak continues

Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is a netminder built for important occassions. He has four saves in all, but every one of them was huge. Penedo’s reach and extension will be important next week at CenturyLink Field.

“Jaime’s been terrific,” Donovan said. “At the end of the year, he gave up two to three goals that were relevantly similar in the way they were created and the way they were played out. He and Matt Reis, the goalkeeper coach, did a lot of work over the past two weeks on how to do better with those chances.

“And ironically, those chances that we’ve given up have been very similar. Guys coming in at angles, and he’s made very good saves. He’s been very solid and we need him to make some big saves again if we want to win another championship.”

3. Another unsung hero for LA: Tommy Meyer

Defender Tommy Meyer is coming of age in these playoffs. Filling in for Leonardo, he had an almost-perfect outing which was more than enough to preserve the shutout for the Galaxy and keep them in the driver’s seat to see their season end in December rather than just after Thanksgiving.

“Tommy was great,” Donovan said of Meyer. “Tommy hasn’t played in a long time. He came in two weeks ago against Salt Lake and was excellent. He was very good again tonight.

“There were a couple of plays that were a little dicey, but you expect that from a guy that hasn’t played in a long time. I thought he was terrific. I thought that him and Omar [Gonzalez] did a great job shutting down those two.

“Those two are very, very difficult to play against. They did a great job. And we will need the same next week from them.”

4. A better performance will be needed from Stefan Ishizaki

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As with the last game against Real Salt Lake, Stefan Ishizaki stretched Seattle and the width helped create some dangerous chances. But Ishizaki will need to be a bit more creative with his crosses because the other Stefan; that is, Stefan Frei, wore him like a glove at the Hub on Sunday.

“He played well,” said Arena of Ishizaki. “Obviously when they drop back their numbers the way they do, you got to use the width of the field and we were able to do that.”

“[Stefan Ishizaki] had a lot of drive on his side,” said Galaxy captain Robbie Keane on Ishizaki’s play. “We said at the start of the game we have to switch and play quickly on Ishi’s side. Overall, it was a good performance for us. They came and tried to keep it tight, trying to catch us on the counterattack and get a goal, but they didn’t manage to do it.”

5. Seattle still have a puncher’s chance, according to the boss

Schmid believes that Seattle have what it takes to get the two-goal result in the second leg and make the second leg of the Western Conference Championship a literal dress rehearsal to MLS Cup 2014.

“We have always said to our team, we got to put ourselves in position in game one so that we can wrap it up in game two,” said Schmid. “We’ve always came up with a positive result when we’ve had game two at home. Last time we were in this position, we lost here three-nothing so this is a lot better. We know we’re capable of stuff at home, our fans are going to be behind us, it’s going to be packed and I think that will help spurt us on.

Lamar Neagle and Osvaldo Alonso should be available for the second leg of this contest. However, Micheal Azira did a fine job filling in and is capable of doing more of the same next weekend in the Emerald City.

“I think you always miss Osvaldo, but Mike did a good job,” said Sounders midfielder Gonzalo Pineda. “He was very good support for me, so I think we need to move on and be okay for the next game.

“I think we need to be a little more aggressive and play forward earlier because sometimes we make too many touches in the midfield and we need to play forward with Oba[femi Martins] and Clint [Dempsey]. But I think that is a part of these kind of games. When they are at home, they try to push too much, and maybe we need to be smarter but at home, we will be different.”

“Both of those guys are integral parts of our team, but we’ve never been about one person,” said Seattle defender Zach Scott. “This entire year, guys have cycled in and out when there has been injuries or national team call ups. So we are excited to have Osvaldo and Lamar back, but that being said, we expect to put in a good performance regardless.”

6. The only thing that justifies these stats…is better finishing

Take away the poor finishing from the Galaxy on Sunday, and you have a one-sided game that favors Los Angeles. The only major statistic that the Sounders were rock-solif on…were clearances. While these statistics look good for the Galaxy, better finishing and timely defending will be required on the fast artificial surface at CenturyLink to put the four-time MLS Cup champions in a good position to wrap this series up.

Team Statistics

Los Angeles Galaxy on left, Seattle Sounders on right

Los Angeles Galaxy Player Ratings

Jaime Penedo 8, A.J. DeLaGarza 7.5, Omar Gonzalez 7, Robbie Rogers 7, Tommy Meyer 7, Juninho 6, Landon Donovan 6, Marcelo Sarvas 9, Stefan Ishizaki 6.5, Gyasi Zardes 6, Robbie Keane 6, Dan Gargan 5, Baggio Husidic 4, Alan Gordon 3

Seattle Sounders Player Ratings

Stefan Frei 6, Chad Marshall 8, DeAndre Yedlin 6.5, Leonardo Gonzalez 6, Zach Scott 6.5, Brad Evans 6, Gonzalo Pineda 6, Marco Pappa 5, Micheal Azira 7, Clint Dempsey 6, Obafemi Martin 6, Chad Barrett 4, Andy Rose 3, Jalil Anibaba NR