Live The Pitch

This past weekend the L.A. Galaxy and Real Salt Lake punched their ticket into the 2009 MLS Cup Final with exciting matches that were both decided in extra time. L.A. defeated the Houston Dynamo in extra time to win the Western Conference, while the Real Salt lake and Chicago Fire  game was decided with penalty kicks.

Quest Field in Seattle, Wa. will host the championship match this Sunday, November 22 at 8:30 p.m. Seattle is a great environment for this match. With the expansion Seattle Sounders setting the attendance record for the MLS,  it should definitely be a sellout on Sunday.

The Eastern Conference Final went scoreless for 120 minutes before Real Salt Lake defeated Chicago 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

In the West, L.A. got the only two goals of the match in overtime to defeat Houston. Landon Donovan and Gregg Berhalter both found the back of the net to send L.A. to the final.

There is a lot of excitement for this match with some of the biggest stars in the league on the pitch. Donovan and David Beckham lead the way for L.A. and Kyle Beckerman and Clint Mathis set the tone for Real Salt Lake.

Good Luck to both squads!

The 2009 MLS season is now down to four teams.  The Chicago Fire will face off with Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference finals and the L.A. Galaxy will play the Houston Dynamo.  Overall, this has been a great season for the MLS.  With attendance numbers up and with the league expanding next year this league is sure to be a success in the years to come.

Chicago earned their spot in the Conference semifinals by defeating the New England Revolution 2-0 in Chicago to win 3-2 on aggregate.  The New England Revolution won the first leg 2-1.  Cuauhtemoc Blanco and John Thorrington found the back of the net to give the Fire their 2-0 victory.  Chicago looks like the team to beat.

Real Salt Lake pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MLS history when they took out defending champions Columbus Crew by an aggregate score of 4-2.  After defeating the Crew 1-0 in Salt Lake, Real came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.  Real goes into the semifinals as one of the hottest teams in the MLS.

The L.A. Galaxy were awarded a penalty kick that Landon Donovan converted in the 73rd minute to give the Galaxy a 3-2 victory on aggregate over Chivas USA.  L.A. looks to earn a place in the finals which would be a huge boost to the entire league.  With the leagues biggest stars on the Galaxy the excitement is brewing!

The Houston Dynamo defeated the expansion Seattle Sounders 1-0 in extra time off a great finish by Brian Ching.  Houston has been in this situation before and will be a tough competitor to the Galaxy.

Schedule:

Western Conference Semifinals

Houston Dynamo at L.A. Galaxy

Friday,  November 13

11:00 P.M. ESPN 2

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Real Salt Lake at Chicago Fire

Saturday, November 14

8:00 P.M. FSC

Landon Donovan, star of the U.S. national team has confirmed that he has been diagnosed with the H1N1 swine flu virus.  He allegedly contracted the disease from two Galaxy staff members sometime last week while in Foxborough, Mass.

Donovan, who was feeling terribly ill, played the full 90 minutes in the USA-Mexico match this past Wednesday. “I haven’t felt that way in a game in a long time,” Donovan said from Los Angeles. “During the game and even after the game I thought maybe it was the altitude, the heat, whatever.”

“The last time I was there [at Estadio Azteca] I didn’t feel that bad. I just felt lethargic, slow. I didn’t feel normal,” said Landon. Even with the swine flu he assisted in the only goal for the U.S. in the 2-1 loss.  Hang up the boots for a bit and get some rest Lando, you deserve it.

Donovan is not sure how long this will keep him off the pitch.  His next match is this Saturday with the LA Galaxy taking on the Seattle Sounders.  Let’s hope this is a mild strain of the virus and he is back at full-speed soon.