SEATTLE - The LA Galaxy certainly had to punch their ticket the hard way on Sunday night, but they’re headed to the ninth MLS Cup final in franchise history with one more gut-wrenching win in the history books.
A tense encounter with the Seattle Sounders saw LA lose 2-1 but advance on the away goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate scoreline in the Western Conference Championship, and much of the credit went to how the Galaxy responded to perhaps the toughest adversity they faced all season.
Down 2-0 in front of a raucous Seattle crowd and needing a goal to help their chances of moving on, the Galaxy controlled the tempo early in the first half and eventually got their goal in the 54th minute off the foot of midfielder Juninho.
From there, the Galaxy held Seattle off just long enough to escape CenturyLink Field with another postseason series win over the Sounders, and another shot at the MLS Cup.
"Knowing that if we got a goal back in the second half we'd advance, it was big to come out early,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “We challenged them early in the second half, got some good chances and obviously Juninho hit the back of the net. We had to hang on for our lives at the end there. It was just a matter of grinding it out and having the right mentality and we accomplished it."
Juninho’s goal was his first in the past 43 MLS regular season and postseason matches combined, and his first in 18 career playoff games. His last goal came on Sept. 21, 2013, against the Sounders.
Arena said he expected that the league’s new away-goal rule – adopted for the first time this season – could ultimately decide the series, but that the team didn’t plan to play it safe after winning the opening leg of the series 1-0 last week in LA.
"We came here to try and win the game," Arena said. "We didn't want to sit back and we didn't. We came in and we were very aggressive. Obviously you know what the rule is and an away goal is important. Shutting Seattle out in the first leg was a big factor as well.
"The whole objective is to advance and to get to the MLS Cup final,” he said. “We've accomplished that."
Up next is a shot at the Galaxy’s MLS-record fifth MLS Cup against the New England Revolution, and Arena’s team will host the game at StubHub Center for the third time in four years. The Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo there in 2011 and 2012.
"[We] have an opportunity to be the MLS Champions, so we look forward to that challenge and we know it's going to be a tough game,” Arena said. “To get this result and be in a final at home is important. We're proud of that.
"We've got a long week ahead of us to try and get our team recovered and ready to play a very good New England team."
