Okay so technically nothing too shocking happened in the Major League Soccer conference championship games yesterday. I’ve just always wanted to use that headline.
Following yesterday’s results, the Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy will meet in MLS Cup 2012, on December 1, at 4:30 ET on ESPN.
Seattle 2, LA 1: LA advances, 4-2 on aggregate
LA thumped Seattle 3-0 in the first leg of the Western Conference finals, then survived a valiant comeback effort by their Emerald City foes at sopping, frigid, sold out Century Link Field yesterday. Seattle could and probably should have at least sent this one to extra time, but they were robbed of an early Eddie Johnson strike via a blown offsides call, and then suffered a harsh penalty call when Adam Johanssen was whistled for a handball in the box after inadvertently blocking a Robbie Keane cross from the endline with his dangling left hand:
I’ve seen this penalty given and not given an equal number of times–but I feel like as ref, regardless of the rulebook, you have to err on the side of the defender, the home team, and the game’s high stakes here. It’s one of those grey area moments where refereeing needs as much art as science. Johanssen makes no attempt to handle the ball, Keane’s cross is likely headed nowhere, Seattle are on the verge of an historic comeback in front of the league’s best fan base–but alas, the penalty’s given, Keane slots it home, LA go up 4-2 on aggregate and hold on to advance:
Houston 1, DC 1: Houston advances, 4-2 on aggregate
Houston laid a controversial 3-1 beatdown on DC in the first leg, then silenced the crowd at decrepit, colossal RFK yesterday by grinding out a 1-1 tie. This one was honestly no contest–with better finishing, Houston could have walked away 5 or 6-1 winners on aggregate. DC were unlucky to lose the two keys to their offense–perennial MLS post-season legend Dwayne DeRosario and perennial Jurgen Klinsmann snub Chris Pontius–to injury. DeRo appeared for a 30 minute cameo, but it wasn’t enough as Houston rode an early, against-the-run-of-play Boniek Garcia strike and beast-mode defending by Bobby Boswell (who’s a dirty player in my opinion, but undeniably a hunter-killer for Houston) to sad-face the RFK crowd:
Final thoughts on these two:
1. “Home Field Advantage” Deserves the Ironic Quotation Marks I Just Put Around It
The league has maintained that allowing the lower-seeded team to host the first leg provides a home field advantage to the higher seed, who can, prospectively, clean up any deficit in the second leg at home. In all instances, this proved untrue in 2012:
I don’t think there’s a better way to reward the higher seed, unless maybe the league let them CHOOSE whether they wanted to host the first or second leg. But that seems far too democratic a move for a professional sports league, even one as warm and fuzzy as MLS*.
2. The Workin’ Man is a Sucker
Or, as it applies to MLS, the regular season is for suckers. LA and Houston barely squeaked into the playoffs on 54 and 53 points, respectively, won their play-in games, then toppled the two teams with the most points in the league: San Jose (66) and Kansas City (63). Had they not fallen at the first hurdle, either of those teams would have hosted MLS Cup based on their point totals.
Instead, LA will host MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center, while KC plays golf and San Jose, presumably, hangs out at Chris Wondolowski’s house and watches “Goonies” again.
It’s a cruel old game.
But seriously–how ’bout them Goonies?
MLS Cup prediction: 2-1 LA (if Donovan’s healthy) on goals from Donovan and Keane. If Donovan can’t go, Houston wins 1-0 after Mac Kandji listens to Posh Spice’s solo album in the center circle while balancing the ball on his forehead, dribbles the LA roster twice, stops to ask Dom Kinnear for directions to the goal, then backheel nutmegs Josh Saunders for the tally.
*The MLS Don’t Cross The Line campaign is warm, fuzzy, and very cool. Can you imagine another pro sports league emphasizing its total intolerance for discriminatory language right now, via a high profile campaign like this AND hefty fines and suspensions within the league? As this recent Grantland piece points out, this is all about MLS’s demo, which is very young and very “New America”. I think that’s awesome for the league, for the sport and for AMERICA:
McEvoy Creative Industries 