MLS Cup 2014

MLS Cup 2014 was the 19th edition of MLS Cup, the match that determined the champion of Major League Soccer's 2014 season. It is also the last MLS Cup to be held before the league's rebranding in 2015. The Western Conference Champions LA Galaxy played the Eastern Conference Champions New England Revolution. The match was held at the Galaxy's home field of the StubHub Center in Carson, California, as the Galaxy were awarded home advantage by finishing the regular season with more points than the Revolution. The Galaxy won 2–1 after Overtime, winning their fifth MLS Cup title and also sending all-time U.S. national team goal scoring leader Landon Donovan into retirement with his sixth MLS Cup crown.[1]

MLS Cup 2014
EventMLS Cup
LA Galaxy New England Revolution
2 1
After extra time
DateDecember 7, 2014
VenueStubHub Center, Carson, California, US
Most Valuable PlayerRobbie Keane
(LA Galaxy)
RefereeMark Geiger
Attendance27,000
WeatherCloudy and 73 °F (23 °C)

It was a record sixth time that the MLS Cup was held at the StubHub Center, and the first time in two years that the venue has hosted the MLS Cup. The Galaxy returned to the MLS Cup for the first time since 2012, when they became the third club to win the championship in back-to-back seasons. It was the first time since 2007 that the Revolution reached the MLS Cup final. The two clubs had met twice before in the MLS Cup final: in 2002 and in 2005; the Galaxy defeated New England 1–0 after Overtime in both finals. New England Revolution became the first club to lose five MLS Cups.

Going into the match, the Galaxy had earned a berth into the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League regardless of the result; New England could only do so by winning the Cup. Since the Seattle Sounders won both the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters Shield, the Galaxy had secured a berth into the Champions League as the Supporters Shield runner-up. Had New England won the match, they would have entered as the MLS Cup champion representative. Instead, Real Salt Lake went to the Champions League.

Road to the final
Further information: 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs

Both teams finished second in their respective conferences at the end of the regular season. The Galaxy convincingly defeated Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference semifinals by an aggregate score of 5–0. They then advanced past Seattle Sounders FC and to MLS Cup 2–2 on aggregate due to the away goals tiebreaker, as the Galaxy had 1 away goal to Seattle's 0. New England knocked out the Columbus Crew 7–3 on aggregate after dominating both legs of the Eastern Conference semifinals before narrowly besting the New York 4–3 over the two legs to reach MLS Cup.

New England Revolution Round LA Galaxy
Eastern Conference
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts.
D.C. United 3417985237+1559
New England Revolution 34171345146+555
Columbus Crew 341410105242+1052
New York Red Bulls 341310115550+550
Sporting Kansas City 34141374841+749
 Regular season
Western Conference
Team GP W L T GF GA GD Pts.
Seattle Sounders FC 34201046550+1564
LA Galaxy 34177106937+3261
Real Salt Lake 34158115439+1556
FC Dallas 34151274242054
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 34141194538+750
Opponent Result Legs Playoffs Opponent Result Legs
Columbus Crew 7–3 4–2 away; 3–1 home Conf. Semifinals Real Salt Lake 5–0 0–0 away; 5–0 home
New York Red Bulls 4–3 2–1 away; 2–2 home Conference Finals Seattle Sounders FC 2–2 (a) 1–0 home; 1–2 away

Tournament Bracket
East Knockout
   
E4 New York Red Bulls 2
E5 Sporting Kansas City 1
West Knockout
   
W4 FC Dallas 2
W5 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1


  Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup 2014
                                     
E1 D.C. United 0 2 2  
E4 New York Red Bulls 2 1 3  
  E4 New York Red Bulls 1 2 3  
Eastern Conference
  E2 New England Revolution 2 2 4  
E2 New England Revolution 4 3 7
E3 Columbus Crew 2 1 3  
  E2 New England Revolution 1
  W2 LA Galaxy (a.e.t.) 2
W1 Seattle Sounders FC (a) 1 0 1  
W4 FC Dallas 1 0 1  
  W1 Seattle Sounders FC 0 2 2
Western Conference
  W2 LA Galaxy (a) 1 1 2  
W2 LA Galaxy 0 5 5
W3 Real Salt Lake 0 0 0  

Match
LA Galaxy2–1 (a.e.t.)New England Revolution
Zardes  52'
Keane  111'		 Report Tierney  79'
StubHub Center, Carson, California
Attendance: 27,000
LA Galaxy
New England Revolution
GK18 Jaime Penedo
RB20 A. J. DeLaGarza
CB4 Omar Gonzalez
CB22 Leonardo
LB14 Robbie Rogers 82' 91'
RM24 Stefan Ishizaki 91'
CM8 Marcelo Sarvas 113'
CM19 Juninho 96'
LM10 Landon Donovan  45+1'
CF7 Robbie Keane (c)  92'
CF11 Gyasi Zardes
Substitutes:
GK12 Brian Rowe
DF2 Todd Dunivant
DF21 Tommy Meyer
DF33 Dan Gargan 91'
MF6 Baggio Husidić 96'
MF34 Kenney Walker
FW9 Alan Gordon  113' 91'
Manager:
Bruce Arena

GK22 Bobby Shuttleworth
RB2 Andrew Farrell 62'
CB5 A. J. Soares
CB23 José Gonçalves (c)
LB8 Chris Tierney
DM6 Scott Caldwell 58'
DM13 Jermaine Jones 113'
RW10 Teal Bunbury
LW11 Kelyn Rowe
AM24 Lee Nguyen 90+1'
CF9 Charlie Davies 72'
Substitutes:
GK18 Brad Knighton
DF25 Darrius Barnes
DF30 Kevin Alston
MF12 Andy Dorman 90+1'
MF16 Daigo Kobayashi 58'
FW7 Patrick Mullins 72'
FW14 Diego Fagúndez
Manager:
Jay Heaps

MLS Cup MVP:
Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)

Assistant referees:
Peter Manikowski (United States)
Joe Fletcher (Canada)
Fourth official:
Armando Villarreal (United States)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics
Overall[2]
LA Galaxy New England Revolution
Goals scored 2 1
Total shots 16 16
Shots on target 6 6
Saves 6 4
Corner kicks 3 3
Fouls committed 20 14
Offsides 4 1
Yellow cards 5 2
Red cards 0 0

References
  1. Carlisle, Jeff (December 7, 2014). "Three Points: Los Angeles vs. New England". ESPN FC. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  2. "Boxscore – Player statistics". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
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