Calen Carr lies injured as David Beckham look on during the 2012 MLS Cup.
For the first time in MLS Cup history, the championship was not held at a predetermined neutral site. Instead, the match venue was held in the home stadium of the finalist with the best regular season record, in this case The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles), which broke the MLS record for hosting the most MLS Cup matches (5).[5] The game was a rematch of the 2011 MLS Cup, won 1–0 by the Galaxy.
As MLS Cup finalists, both Houston and Los Angeles qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League (champion in Pot A, runner-up in Pot B).
Galaxy striker, Robbie Keane, lead the team in scoring during the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Los Angeles Galaxy entered the 2012 season as the defending MLS Cup champions, as well as the Supporters Shield titleholders, becoming the first team since 2008 to achieve a "league double" (having the best regular season record, and winning the championship). Due to preseason injuries, the Galaxy started their 2012 campaign off on a rough note, at point being at the bottom of the Western Conference table. Their 3–8–2 record to begin the season caused many critics to wonder if the club was even capable of qualifying for the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs.[6]
Midway through the regular season however, Los Angeles went on a resurgence, that saw the club climb as high as third place in the Western Conference. Many point to the return of center-back Omar Gonzalez as a source for the team's renowned success, as well as the Josh Saunders returning from injury. Due to their early season underachievement, the club was unable to ever seriously be in the talks of the Supporters Shield race. Their revitalization in the regular season got them within a dozen points of eventual premiers, and their upstate rivals, San Jose Earthquakes, but in early October Los Angeles was mathematically unable to defend the Shield for what would have been a record third-consecutive year.
The regular season ended with the Galaxy finishing fourth place in the West, and eighth place overall, their poorest regular season performance since 2008. Despite this, the club embarked on a remarkable run in the MLS Cup Playoffs, having to play a record five matches before reaching the MLS Cup final. Despite this, the club lost two matches during the run, one being at home. The Galaxy's playoff campaign began a month before MLS Cup, on November 1, hosting the fifth-placed Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the Home Depot Center, in the wildcard round. Many pundits and media outlets expected Los Angeles to be heavy favorites in this round, mostly due to Los Angeles' strong form, in stark contrast to Vancouver's weak form (the Whitecaps had only won a single match in their last 11).
Despite the predictions, Los Angeles fell behind Vancouver very early on, due to a third-minute goal from the Whitecaps' Darren Mattocks. Despite the advantage for Vancouver, Los Angeles dominated possession throughout the first half. The Galaxy's effort paid off thanks to an eight-yard volley from Mike Magee off a cross from Juninho in the 69th minute of play, tying the match at 1–1. With a minute, the Galaxy penetrated the Whitecaps' back line, as Juninho slid a pass into the penalty box to Landon Donovan. Donovan was immediately brought down by Vancouver's Martin Bonjour who had just entered the match. Center official, Silviu Petrescu gave a yellow card to Bonjour, in what some believed should have been a red card, for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. Donovan scored on the penalty kick, and gave the Galaxy the 2–1 lead, which would eventually end up being the scoreline to the match.
"I feel like you’re assuming [Gonzalez] is really dominant. I feel like you’re wanting me to assume these things or something. I’m not comfortable assuming these things."
-San Jose striker Steven Lenhart speaking about Omar Gonzalez, November 3, 2012 [7]
As winners of the wildcard round, the Galaxy played their California Clasico rivals, San Jose Earthquakes, in the conference semifinals. San Jose, coming off a remarkable turnaround season, earned the Supporters Shield and amassed 68 points during the regular season. Some drama between the two sides sparked throughout the American soccer niche, when Galaxy defender Gonzalez described the Earthquakes' style as "embarrassing",[8] while San Jose's Steven Lenhart, who had been creating a cult-following in the league,[9][10][11] described being "unintimidated" by Gonzalez.[7] The two-leg, aggregate series began on November 4, with Los Angeles hosting San Jose. The closely knitted affair looked likely to head into a draw, until a free kick was awarded to San Jose in the third minute of second half stoppage time. San Jose, known throughout the season for their late-match heroics, notched a bizarre free kick thanks to Víctor Bernárdez.[12] The ball seeped through the wall that Los Angeles had assembled and awkwardly caught Saunders off guard, who failed to stop the shot from going in the goal. The result gave San Jose a 1–0 aggregate lead headed into the second leg.[13]
Los Angeles Galaxy became the first team to defeat San Jose at Buck Shaw Stadium since August 2011.
On November 7, Los Angeles and San Jose dueled in the second round of the conference semifinals, where Galaxy striker, Robbie Keane quickly gave the Galaxy the upper hand in the series, notching two goals in the 21st and 34th minutes of play. Los Angeles' Magee added an insurance goal that would eventually be the series winner in the 39th minute. For the remainder of the first half and a majority of the second half, Los Angeles comfortably held off San Jose, until the 'Quakes earned a free kick in the 81st minute. There, a chip from Alan Gordon gave the Quakes a late goal, resulting in Los Angeles' series lead being trimmed to a goal. For the final 10 minutes, plus added time, San Jose dominated possession but failed to find an equalizer, giving the Galaxy a fourth-straight berth into the Western Conference championship.
With the final leg being played at San Jose's Buck Shaw Stadium, where the Earthquakes went undefeated during the regular season, it looked likely for Los Angeles' postseason to end in the conference semifinals. Although there was an advantage for San Jose, the Galaxy expressed confidence heading into the second leg that they felt that the club could repeat as MLS Champs.
Houston's home stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium. During the playoffs, Houston went undefeated here and only conceded one goal.
Houston entered the 2012 as the finalists for MLS Cup 2011, but failed to perform as well during the regular season in 2012 as they did the previous year. Barely qualifying for the playoffs, Houston finished one point ahead of Columbus Crew for the fifth and final playoff berth, although their spot in the playoffs was claimed with a week left in the regular season.
On October 31, Houston Dynamo played the Chicago Fire in the opening round of the playoffs (known as the Knockout round). Played in Chicago's suburb of Bridgeview, the Dynamo took a 1–0 lead over the Fire off a 12th-minute strike from Will Bruin. Bruin would double Houston's lead a minute into the second half, before Chicago's Alex slashed the lead in half in the 88th minute. The late surge by Chicago proved to be too little too late, as Houston advanced past Chicago and into the Conference playoff semifinals, where they took on Eastern Conference regular season, and 2012 U.S. Open Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City.
Five days after the knockout round match against Chicago, Houston's newly opened BBVA Compass Stadium hosted its first ever MLS Cup Playoffs match, for the first leg of the Conference semifinals. Taking on Sporting Kansas City, the Houston Dynamo jumped–once again–to an early lead off of an Adam Moffat goal in the 18th minute of play. Though it would end up being the leg-winning goal, Houston's Bruin score the insurance goal in the 27th minute, which would prove to eventually be the series winner. The match itself ended in a 2–0 advantage for Houston, being up two goals in the second leg.
The second leg of the Conference semifinals proved to be a hostile environment for Houston, as Kansas City dominated much of the ball possession, but failed to tally a goal in the first half of play. Kansas City would eventually score, and slash the series lead in half with a diving header from Seth Sinovic in the 64th minute. From there, it looked likely that Kansas City would eventually find the series-tying goal. Despite that onslaught of pressure from Kansas City, the Dynamo were able to hold off wave, upon wave, of attack, and even managed to create some counterattacking moments, although they were unsuccessful in doing so. Nevertheless, the match ended in a 1–0 loss to Houston, but with Houston winning the series, upsetting Kansas City 2–1 on aggregate.
In the Conference Finals, Houston Dynamo took on D.C. United, who had been returning to the playoffs for the first time in five years. The first leg of the series proved to be extremely controversial, with some saying that a decision by referee Ricardo Salazar decided the whole series. Played on November 11, United went up early off of a through ball from United's Marcelo Saragosa to rookie midfielder, Nick DeLeon who slotted a shot underneath Houston's Tally Hall to give United the 1–0 lead in the 27th minute. United maintained the 1–0 lead through the remainder of the first half. In the second half, United's Saragosa had a breakaway shot on goal, but was taken down by Houston's André Hainault. Protesting for a red card, due to a take down and denying a goal-scoring opportunity, center official Salazar did not card Hainault, nor call a foul. Subsequently, the Professional Referee's Association made a press release saying that it should have been an ejection. However, Houston eventually went on to score three unanswered goals, including one by Hainault. The decision was heavily criticized, though United's Ben Olsen said his club should have done a better job closing out the match regardless.
Honduran international, Oscar Boniek García, scored the opening goal of the second leg in the Eastern Conference championship.
A week later, the second leg of the Conference Finals, commenced, with United hosting the Dynamo at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. In front of a season-record crowd of 20,015, the match was closely knitted for the first 20 minutes, before United began to dominate possession throughout the match, requiring Houston's Hall to make a couple acrobatic saves in the first half, primarily off of shots from United's Chris Korb and Branko Boskovic. Eleven minutes prior to halftime, Houston found themselves on a counterattack, as Adam Moffat successfully managed to penetrate the left flank of United's back line, sliding a pass to García. García, drilled the ball past United's Bill Hamid giving Houston a very likely series-clinching goal, leading 4–1 on aggregate. Plagued with injuries, United's depleted attack failed to generate much offensive output until the 80th minute, when Boskovic dribbled past three Houston defenders and slotted the match-tying goal, slashing Houston's series lead to two goals.
From there, United's attack looked more menacing for the final 10 minutes of the match, but neither side was able to capitalize on the wide-open play, as the match ended in a 1–1 draw, and Houston clinched their second consecutive Eastern Conference postseason championship, and berth into the MLS Cup final and CONCACAF Champions League.
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference Final. The MLS Cup winner is awarded the title of league champion.
Brian Ching is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years.
Brian Mullan is an American former professional soccer player. He played for the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, and Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. He won five MLS Cups, two Supporters' Shields, and one U.S. Open Cup during his career. He is one of only four players to have won MLS Cup five or more times. He also won four caps for the United States between 2004 and 2007. Not a flashy player, Mullan was known for his work rate, hustle, and determination on the field.
Eddie Robinson is an American retired soccer player who played as a center-back. During his playing career, he played in Major League Soccer for the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo. He also earned one cap for the United States national soccer team. Robinson now serves as a color commentator for Dynamo TV broadcasts.
Houston Dynamo FC is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their former owners relocated the San Jose Earthquakes' players and staff to Houston following the 2005 season. For their first six seasons in Houston, the Dynamo were based at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. During the 2012 season, the club moved to Shell Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in East Downtown Houston.
MLS Cup 2005 was the 10th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 13, 2005, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas, and was contested between the New England Revolution and the Los Angeles Galaxy. It was a rematch of MLS Cup 2002 and ended in a repeat victory for Los Angeles, who won 1–0 on a goal scored by Guillermo Ramírez in extra time.
MLS Cup 2001 was the sixth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on October 21, 2001, at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was contested by the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy, a pair of in-state rivals from California, to decide the champion of the 2001 season. San Jose won their first title, defeating Los Angeles 2–1 in overtime with a golden goal scored by Dwayne De Rosario in the 96th minute.
MLS Cup 2003 was the eighth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on November 23, 2003. It was hosted at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, and was contested by the Chicago Fire and the San Jose Earthquakes to decide the champion of the 2003 season. Both teams had previously won the MLS Cup and were looking for their second championship.
MLS Cup 2006 was the 11th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 12, 2006. It was contested between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo to decide the champion of the 2006 season. The match was played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, which had hosted the previous cup.
The Western Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Eastern Conference. As of 2023, the division of the Conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi river from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with clubs on, or west of the River in the Western Conference.
Calen Carr is an American former professional soccer player. He played in Major League Soccer for the Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo as a forward and winger. He currently works for MLS as a match analyst for MLS Season Pass broadcasts on Apple TV and a host on the league's website.
MLS Cup 2007 was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup, the post-season championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It was played on November 18, 2007, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., between the New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo in a rematch of the previous edition. The match determined the championship of the 2007 season and was attended by 39,859 spectators.
MLS Cup 2009 was the 14th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 22, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, and was contested between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.
The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 16th season of Major League Soccer. The season marked the arrival of two new league clubs, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, whose cities previously had clubs of similar name play in the USSF D2 Pro League. Those two new West Coast clubs led to a realignment of the league's conferences, with Houston Dynamo moving to the Eastern Conference to create two conferences of nine teams each.
The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.
The 2010 Colorado Rapids season was the fifteenth year and season of the club's existence. It was Colorado's fifteenth year in Major League Soccer, and the fifteenth consecutive year for the club in the top-flight of American soccer.
The 2010 FC Dallas season was the fifteenth season of the team's existence.
The 2010 Columbus Crew season was the fifteenth season of the team's existence and fifteenth in Major League Soccer (MLS).
MLS Cup 2011, the 16th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was played between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the 2011 season. The soccer match was played at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on November 20, 2011. Los Angeles won their third championship, defeating Houston 1–0 off a 72nd-minute goal from Galaxy captain Landon Donovan. David Beckham and Robbie Keane assisted the game's lone goal. With the win, the Galaxy became the first team since the Columbus Crew in 2008 to win both the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup in the same year.
The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31, and culminated on December 1, 2012 with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 over Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams, and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams cannot cross-conference brackets. The top five teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences of the league earned berths, with the top three clubs in each conference earning direct byes to the conference semifinals. The fourth and fifth-place finishers of both conferences played in a single-elimination play-in match.
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