MLS Major League Soccer

2014 MLS Conference Championships All Set - This Week in MLS

Published on November 11, 2014 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


The 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs presented by AT&T saw its semifinal round come and go this weekend, leaving LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders FC left to vie for the right to hoist MLS Cup.

Both the New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution entered the second legs of their respective semifinal matchups resting on two-goal aggregate leads. New York carried a 2-0 advantage into its matinee match versus D.C. United on Saturday, and despite a 36th minute goal from D.C.'s Nick DeLeon that gave fans at RFK Stadium a glimmer hope, Thierry Henry & Co. quickly slammed the door on a comeback finishing the series on 3-2 aggregate. Meanwhile, New England did not have to stave off such a surge from the Columbus Crew after last weekend's four-goal performance in Columbus. Thanks to goals from Lee Nguyen, José Gonçalves and Teal Bunbury in the second leg (3-1 final score), the Revs advanced on a convincing 7-3 aggregate score.

New York and New England will now open the Eastern Conference Championship round on Sunday, November 23rd at 1:30 p.m. ET at Red Bull Arena (NBC), and conclude the second leg at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, November 29th at 3:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, UDN, TSN2, RDS2). The Red Bulls defeated the Revolution in both of their regular season meetings in 2014, coming away with a 2-0 road win in New England on June 8th and a 2-1 home victory on August 2. However, when the clubs last clashed in the postseason - a 2007 meeting in the Conference Semifinals - it was the Revolution emerging victorious on a 1-0 aggregate score.

In the West, all eyes were on Landon Donovan entering the second leg of the LA Galaxy-Real Salt Lake semifinal matchup. Following a scoreless first leg, Donovan served up a spectacular performance, becoming only the third player in MLS history to record a playoff hat-trick. Donovan opened the scoring in the 10th minute, leaving RSL reeling from the early blow. The Claret-and-Cobalt never quite found its footing and LA added goals in the 20th, 54th, 63rd, and 72nd minutes for a final 5-0 score line.

The Conference Semifinals came to a close in front of 38,912 fans at CenturyLink Field on Monday night, where Seattle Sounders FC was able to edge FC Dallas out with a scoreless draw and advance on the away goal tiebreaker. The two clubs entered the match with things knotted at 1-1 from the first leg in Dallas, with the Sounders claiming the advantage with a coveted away goal.

Seattle Sounders FC and LA Galaxy will kick off the Western Conference Championship series in Southern California on Sunday, Nov. 23rd at 5:00 p.m. ET at StubHub Center (ESPN, ESPN Deportes). The second leg will then head back to the Pacific Northwest, where Seattle will host the Galaxy on Sunday, Nov. 30th at 9:00 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, RDS2). In the MLS regular season, the two clubs split the series even, going 1-1-1 in 2014. The Western Conference foes have met four times in the playoffs, with LA Galaxy getting the better of Seattle with a 3-1-0 record all-time.

Below is the full 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule:

Conference Championships

First Leg:

- New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution - Sun., Nov. 23, 1:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

- LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders FC - Sun., Nov. 23, 5:00 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

Second Leg:

- New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls - Sat., Nov. 29, 3:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, UDN, TSN2, RDS2)

- Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy - Sun., Nov. 30, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, RDS2)

MLS Cup 2014

- Sun., Dec. 7 (hosted by finalist with best regular season record)

o Teams TBD - 3:00 p.m. ET (ESPN, Univision, TSN, and RDS networks)

o Site TBD

U.S. and Canadian Men's National Team Friendlies

The U.S. men's national team will play two international friendlies during the FIFA international window with the first coming against 2014 World Cup quarterfinalist Colombia at Craven Cottage in London, England on Nov. 14 at 2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN, UniMas). Four days later, the U.S. will take on the republic of Ireland in Dublin on November 18 at 2:45 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

A total of 10 MLS players have been named to U.S. manager J-rgen Klinsmann's 25-man roster, including MLS MVP candidate, Lee Nguyen who received his first U.S. call-up since 2007. Nguyen will be joined by teammate and World Cup standout Jermaine Jones. The other eight MLS players include D.C. United's Bill Hamid, RSL's Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman, Chicago Fire's Sean Johnson, Houston Dynamo's DeMarcus Beasley, Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler, Seattle Sounders FC's DeAndre Yedlin, and San Jose Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski.

The Canadian Men's National Team will face Panama in a friendly on November 18th with a roster that includes 12 MLS players. All three Canadian clubs had multiple players selected for the squad, led by the Montreal Impact with four selections, followed by Toronto FC with three, and finally, the Vancouver Whitecaps with two. Meanwhile, D.C. United defender Nana Attakora was the only player from a U.S.-based MLS club to earn a call up. Canada put forth a promising effort in its most recent match, a 1-0 to Colombia on October 14th, and earned a convincing 3-1 victory over Jamaica on September 9th.

International Call-Ups

CHI: Sean Johnson (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18)

CHV: Marvin Chavez (Honduras; vs. Japan 11/14, China 11/18); Erick Torres (Mexico U-21; Central American and Caribbean Games, 11/17-28)

COL: Deshorn Brown (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16); Gabriel Torres (Panama; vs. El Salvador 11/14, Canada 11/18)

CLB: Waylon Francis (Costa Rica; vs. Uruguay 11/13); Kevan George (Trinidad & Tobago; Caribbean Cup vs. Curacao 11/11, French Guiana 11/13, Cuba 11/15); Justin Meram (Iraq; Gulf Cup of Nations vs. Kuwait 11/14, Oman 11/17, UAE 11/20); Romain Gall (USA U-20; vs. Russia 11/12, Ireland 11/15, Canada 11/18)

DAL: Raul Fernandez (Peru; vs. Paraguay 11/14, 11/18); Je-Vaughn Watson Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16); Kellyn Acosta (USA U-20; vs. Russia 11/12, Ireland 11/15, Canada 11/18); Jesse Gonzalez (Mexico U-20)

DC: Nana Attakora (Canada; vs. Panama 11/18); Bill Hamid (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18); Michael Seaton (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16)

HOU: DaMarcus Beasley (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18); Boniek Garcia, Luis Garrido (Honduras; vs. Japan 11/14, China 11/18); Jermaine Taylor (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16)

KC: Matt Besler (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18)

LA: Robbie Keane (Rep. of Ireland; vs. Scotland 11/14, USA, 11/18); A.J. DeLaGarza (Guam; vs. North Korea 11/16, Hong Kong 11/19)

MTL: Patrice Bernier, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Karl Ouimette, Maxim Tissot (Canada; vs. Panama 11/18); Louis Béland-Goyette, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Canada U-20; vs. England 11/12, Russia 11/15, USA 11/18)

NE: Jermaine Jones, Lee Nguyen (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18)

NY: Tim Cahill (Australia; vs. Japan 11/18); Ambroise Oyongo (Cameroon; vs. Congo DR 11/15, Ivory Coast 11/19); Roy Miller (Costa Rica; vs. Uruguay 11/13); Santiago Castano, Matt Miazga (USA U-20; vs. Russia 11/12, Ireland 11/15, Canada 11/18)

PHI: Andre Blake (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16); Rais Mbolhi (Algeria; African Cup of Nations qualifiers vs. Ethiopia 11/15, Mali 11/19)

POR: Alvas Powell (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16); Jake Gleeson (New Zealand; vs. China 11/14, Thailand 11/18)

RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18); Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica; vs. Uruguay 11/13); Carlos Salcedo (Mexico U-21; Central American and Caribbean Games, 11/17-28)

SEA: Kevin Parsemain (Martinique; Caribbean Cup vs. Jamaica 11/12, Haiti 11/14, Antigua & Barbuda 11/16); DeAndre Yedlin (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18)

SJ: Victor Bernardez (Honduras; vs. Japan 11/14, China 11/18); Cordell Cato (Trinidad & Tobago; Caribbean Cup vs. Curacao 11/11, French Guiana 11/13, Cuba 11/15); Chris Wondolowski (USA; vs. Colombia 11/14, Ireland 11/18); Tommy Thompson (USA U-20; vs. Russia 11/12, Ireland 11/15, Canada 11/18)

TOR: Kyle Bekker, Dwayne De Rosario, Doneil Henry, Ashtone Morgan, Jonathan Osorio (Canada; vs. Panama 11/18); Manny Aparicio, Jordan Hamilton (Canada U-20; vs. England 11/12, Russia 11/15, USA 11/18)

VAN: Bryce Alderson, Russell Teibert (Canada; vs. Panama 11/18); Darren Mattocks (Jamaica; Caribbean Cup vs. Martinique 11/12, Antigua & Barbuda 11/14, Haiti 11/16); Carlyle Mitchell (Trinidad & Tobago; Caribbean Cup vs. Curacao 11/11, French Guiana 11/13, Cuba 11/15); Sam Adekugbe, Marco Bustos, Marco Carducci, Kianz Froese (Canada U-20; vs. England 11/12, Russia 11/15, USA 11/18)

Sweet Tweets

@AJD_20 - November 9 - AJ DeLaGarza =FE

My bad for messing up that Ole chant going around. #ThisIsLA pic.twitter.com/fM9gRdu5tI

@2Fast2Farrell - November 9 - Andrew Farrell, New England Revolution Pretty sure my mom is trying to lose me in the grocery store... Hmm

@ChrisRolfe17 - November 10 - Chris Rolfe, D.C. United

If only I had my Nintendo 64 today...

@keikamara - November 8 - Kei Kamara, Columbus Crew

"@BenSpeas17: @Freakyfast8 @keikamara [??] [??] #PapaDom #Reggie #BuddyLove pic.twitter.com/Jtb8WLecQv " ~> That's Dom right?? [??] [??] [??] [??] [??]

@MattBesler - November 6 - Matt Besler, Sporting Kansas City Toy Story 4?!!

@sjohn25 - November 9 - Sean Johnson, Chicago Fire

Soooo... the seats I'm in on this train are reserved, but i have too many bags to move! [??] [??] [??] @mattwatson8 @GrantWard_ pic.twitter.com/nu3iT0LgF4

@Freakyfast8 - November 9 - Dominic Oduro, Toronto FC

Thanks to @PapaJohnsCbus and #PapaJohns pizza for this special delivery #[??][??]#yummy

Quotables

"I just take it as a day-by-day thing. Even when I was at Arsenal, whether it was my first day or my last day, you don't even know. This is the game tomorrow. Tomorrow's the game. You're thinking about what's going to happen, what's at stake."

New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry on taking his future day-by-day

"We're obviously disappointed with how we ended everything, but it wasn't a disastrous season. We're not a bad team. As a whole, you look back in the season to August, and we're the best team in the league. We can still be that same team."

Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer on how the 2014 season went for Sporting

"The dancing is always in good fun and it's all about enjoying the moment and sharing it with my teammates. After the first goal, that was such a huge goal, an away goal in the playoffs. You almost have to celebrate that. I love to dance - I'm always dancing in the locker room and am pretty energetic and the guys all wanted to see me dance (after the goal). You can see them egging me on to dance so I did this little freestyle. It was a blast because all the guys had so much fun with me doing it."

New England Revolution forward Charlie Davies on his dancing goal celebrations

"I do like to play with veterans too, people who are super-talented and proven. I feel very comfortable working with them. But they understand me as well that I'm not a coach who just rates experience as a big factor. I see all of them with the same opportunity to play, it comes down to confidence and trust. Those guys know that I love them all, even when they lose or when they're done. I feel closer. That's a time when they need me the most. It's very easy to praise, or reward players who had a good performance. The difficult part of coaching is to provide an opportunity to somebody who is not in a good moment, and you still trust him and you still develop him."

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja on having faith in both youth and veteran players

"None of us want to go home early, this is a team that's used to winning, so perhaps there was a tiny little added incentive, but it's not what guys are playing for. Guys are playing because they want to win a trophy and it showed tonight."

LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan on there not being added pressure to send him off with an MLS Cup

"Over here it's a lot quicker than the academy, you've got to be mentally there, you can't be messed up. You can't be doing the little stuff you be doing down there with the academy. Here it's business time. Everything is just business. Everything is professional."

Seattle Sounders FC forward Victor Mansaray on getting his first, first-team practice since signing as a homegrown player

"I met [Penn and Nguyen], and I was struck by their sincerity and enthusiasm about wanting to do this and really having this club be a part of the fabric of the greater Los Angeles area. The Galaxy has set a very high bar in this area, and I've been asked if L.A. can handle two soccer teams. And I was like, 'Absolutely.' As part of the ownership, we're really excited about the challenges in front of us. I just came back from our daughters' school, and there are so many parents our age that play or played, and they're excited about it. That's fun for us to hear."

LAFC co-owner Mia Hamm on being a part of brining a new team to the Los Angeles area

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Major League Soccer Stories from November 11, 2014


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