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Conference Championships Remain Wide Open - This Week in MLS

November 24, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


The first legs of the Conference Championships lived up to the billing, leaving the second legs open for the taking in both the Eastern and Western Conference.

In the Eastern Conference the Northeast rivalry met expectations in a cagey and fast-paced affair. The Revolution took a slim, but crucial, 2-1 lead over the New York Red Bulls with goals from Teal Bunbury and U.S. international Jermaine Jones. The two goals are even more important with away goals now serving as the first tiebreaker in the MLS Cup Playoffs this year. There is still much to play for, with the high-flying Red Bulls' offensive duo of Frenchmen, Thierry Henry and Peguy Luyindula, able to erase any deficit in a matter of minutes - Golden Boot winner Bradley-Wright Phillips will be unavailable due to yellow card accumulation. Volkswagen MLS MVP candidate Lee Nguyen and the Revolution will look to reverse their last regular season meeting with NY at home, a 2-0 loss in June. The teams will head to Gillette Stadium to face-off in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Championship on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN, UDN, TSN2, RDS2).

On the other side of the country, the LA Galaxy got one step closer to fulfilling its quest for a fifth MLS Cup title, as the SoCal club beat Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 in front of a home crowd in the first leg of the Western Conference Championship series. A goal from Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Sarvas in the 52nd minute was all the advantage the Galaxy needed to see out the game. But with a slim margin for the Sounders to recover from, the second-highest scoring team in MLS this season will remain calm with the dynamic duo of forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins set to take advantage of playing in front of one of the largest fan bases in the league. With just one goal separating the two sides, the opportunity to host MLS Cup 2014 will be up for grabs when the two teams square off again on Sunday, Nov. 30 at CenturyLink Field at 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, RDS2).

Below is the full 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule.

Conference Championships

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

Sunday, December 7 (hosted by finalist with best regular season record)

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

Sweet Tweets

@yedlinny - November 19 - DeAndre Yedlin, Seattle Sounders FC

Always Remember The Beginning.... Come on mama. #fakeittillyoumakeit #worldtraveler

http://instagram.com/p/vm8IYNGGIN/

@sjohn25 - November 22 - Sean Johnson, Chicago Fire

40 degree weather is feeling like summer time in Chicago!

@DaxMcCarty11 - November 22 - Dax McCarty, New York Red Bulls

Kind of wish the game was at night tomorrow so you could see my fluorescent mustache better. Oh well. Cant wait to see RBA packed. #RBNY

@raygaddis - November 23 - Ray Gaddis, Philadelphia Union

The #Beckham edits are hilarious been in tears all night. pic.twitter.com/uHl7bUyqdO

@ClintIrwin - November 23 - Clint Irwin, Colorado Rapids

Odell Beckham > David Beckham

@SoonySaad - November 23 - Soony Saad, Sporting Kansas City

When you can't take your #wedgie any more #EPLVine https://vine.co/v/O1ALurwFw0O

@wingert17 - November 23 - Chris Wingert, Real Salt Lake

For everyone who's watching this MLS game- Who has a better hair/mustache combo @kylemartino or @DaxMcCarty11 ??? Man, this is a battle!

Quotables

"We're not a sit-back-and-defend-type team. We like our chances in a track meet, which it was. We think we have the quality to eventually find a goal. We're glad that we did. Lee, Teal and Jermaine made special plays down the stretch. We'll back those guys to get goals if the game opens up."

New England Revolution defender Chris Tierney on the team's strategy against the Red Bulls

"Well yeah, a bit, it was great to see the stadium the way it was today. A tiny bit more people today to talk to the players after the game. But at the end of the day, we lost. I might have preferred less of you guys, and we win."

New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry on a sold-out Red Bull Arena

"We're confident, we've been there twice this year, we were thoroughly dominant the first time (3-0) and the better team for 86 minutes of the second game, so we're full of confidence going there. We know we're going to get their best shot and we look forward to it."

LA Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan on the confidence of the team heading into the second leg of the Conference Championship

"From the moment I touched down, people were everywhere. I knew I was popular in Vietnam, having been the first player with a Vietnamese background to play in Europe, but the fans were just crazy."

New England Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen on the fans in Vietnam when he played there

"It is a major change in our structure and the development of soccer in Quebec. This new team will serve as the final step and transition for our young players before joining MLS. We believe it is the best way to prepare them for the top league in North American soccer."

Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo on the new level of competition in Canada for young Canadians

"We wanted to find a company that could actually enhance the stadium; that's why a technology company would be logical for that. The cool thing for fans is it's going to be constantly evolving."

San Jose Earthquakes president Dave Kaval on the choice of Avaya as new stadium sponsor

"From my perspective, it was a great opportunity. It was a blank sheet of paper, to start a team from scratch. Obviously in England, teams have been there for 125-130 years. With my background, having been in America and playing soccer in the A league, I've been following American soccer since then, seeing how it's growing in interest and developing. The big thing for me was when I came over and spoke to (team owner) Arthur (Blank). To see his commitment, to see the respect he has in the community and in sports, it was fascinating."

MLS Atlanta president Darren Eales on why he chose to operate an MLS team in Atlanta

Conference Championship Game Previews

Saturday, Nov. 29

New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls, 3 p.m. (NBCSN)

- The Eastern Conference Championship shifts to Gillette Stadium, where the Revolution have won their seven home matches, including a 3-1 win in the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Columbus. The Revs last lost at home on July 26; overall, they have lost just once in their last 15 matches.

- New England's Teal Bunbury scored a goal and added an assist in the first leg victory, the second consecutive match where he's had a goal and an assist in the same game. Jermaine Jones also added his first career goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the late game-winner; since his arrival in mid-August, the Revolution have posted an 11-1-1 record over all competitions.

- Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in the first leg, and has 31 goals across all competitions this season. But he will miss the second leg, suspended after receiving his second yellow card of the postseason.

- In the only regular season meeting between the teams at Gillette Stadium, the Red Bulls did claim a 2-0 victory on June 8 - their first win at New England since the 2002 season.

- Since the two-game, total-goals series were introduced in Major League Soccer beginning in 2003, the visiting team has won the first leg on 12 occasions. Just three times has the visiting team in the second leg overturned the deficit in the return match to advance - the last coming in 2012, when the LA Galaxy lost the first leg at home to San Jose but won their Western Conference Semifinal Series.

- The Revolution have advanced each time in the first three meetings between the teams in the MLS Cup Playoffs, each previous encounter coming in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Sunday, Nov. 30

Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

- The Galaxy have yet to allow a goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs this season, with shutouts in each of their three games. The Chicago Fire in 2003 and New England Revolution in 2007 also posted three consecutive shutouts to reach MLS Cup - each of those clubs then lost in the championship match.

- The Galaxy also extended their shutout streak at StubHub Center in MLS Cup Playoffs matches to 316 minutes - their last postseason goal allowed in Carson coming in MLS Cup 2012 (a 3-1 win vs. Houston).

- The Galaxy extended their overall undefeated streak at StubHub Center to 21 games with the first leg victory. They last lost in Carson in the MLS regular season opener in March; the streak includes a win in the CONCACAF Champions League, two "road" victories vs. Chivas USA, and two wins this year in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

- Sounders FC had their goalless streak extended to 216 minutes in the first leg loss, the seventh-longest scoring drought in a single MLS Cup Playoffs campaign in league history. The record is 279 minutes without a goal, by the Columbus Crew in 2002.

- During the regular season, the teams split their two meetings at CenturyLink Field. The Galaxy won 3-0 on July 28, while Sounders FC recorded a 2-0 win in the season finale on Oct. 25.

- The Galaxy have won on each of the previous two occasions when the clubs have met in the MLS Cup Playoffs. LA won 3-1 on aggregate in the 2010 Western Conference Semifinals, then won 4-2 on aggregate in the 2012 Western Conference Championship.

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