Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Los Angeles Galaxy gave Landon Donovan a fairytale ending to a storied career Sunday, beating the New England Revolution 2-1 after extra time in the MLS Cup final. Ireland international Robbie Keane scored the winning goal in the 111th minute as the Galaxy claimed a record fifth Major League Soccer title. Donovan, the all-time leading scorer for both the United States and in Major League Soccer, announced he would retire at the end of the season in August -- after he was left off Jurgen Klinsmann's World Cup squad. Keane, the newly named Most Valuable Player of the MLS regular season, endured a difficult afternoon at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, but came through when it mattered the most. He slipped in behind the defense -- thanks to superb ball from Marcelo Sarvas -- to slide a shot into the bottom right corner. "It was a tough game," Keane said. "I think there was a lot of nerves there, I think by both teams. "I think we didn't play as well as we know we can at home, but it doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, we won, and we're the champions again." The Galaxy had seized the lead in the 52nd minute as Gyasi Zardes got on the end of a cross from Stefan Ishizaki and fired a left-footed shot past New England keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The Revolution equalized in the 79th as rookie substitute Patrick Mullins got free on the left flank and got the ball to Chris Tierney, who took one touch and slotted a shot past Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.

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