MLS playoffs

Los Angeles gains berth in MLS Cup, blanking Rapids 2-0.

DENVER (Saturday, November 5, 2005) -- At times this season, the Los Angeles Galaxy looked like one of the elite teams in Major League Soccer. At other times, the club looked awful and the result was a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, however, the Galaxy has been in top form and that trend continued tonight when L.A. used two goals from Landon Donovan to defeat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the West final before 12,789 at Invesco Field.

It was the fifth time Los Angeles has won the Western Conference crown and the Galaxy will seek its second MLS Cup championship on Sunday, November 13, in Dallas. The New England Revolution hosts the MetroStars in Sunday's Eastern Conference final, a 3 p.m. (ET) match televised on ESPN2.

Donovan became MLS's all-time playoff goals leader after he converted a cross from midfielder Cobi Jones in the 28th minute and sealed the triumph with a tally two minutes from time. With four tallies in the 2005 postseason, Donovan has 14, passing Roy Lassiter and Carlos Ruiz for the all-time MLS lead.

Donovan "had the best defender in the league on him and he still just (got) away. Hats off to him," Colorado defender Mike Petke said. "Pablo (Mastroeni) played him well. That's just Landon Donovan. He is one of the best players in the league. The second goal was a garbage-time goal, not taking away from them, but we were pushing forward. There should have been a better result today, There should have been a better product on the field, (but) we made it to the Western Conference finals, so I'm not complaining."

Both sides opened playing tight, clinging defense with referee Brian Hall whistling 13 fouls against the Galaxy and eight against the Rapids in the first half.

Donovan forced a save from Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon with a fierce angled shot in the 17th minute, but neither team was able to create much until the Galaxy broke through in the 28th minute. Jones shook off some physical marking from midfielder Dedi Ben-Dayan to streak down the right sideline before sending a rolling cross that was met by a sliding Donovan, whose poke left Cannon with no chance for a save.

"When you play away from home, getting the first goal is absolutely crucial," Donovan said. The Rapids don't "play well when they are a goal down. . . I know that when (Jones) gets the ball that I should get myself in a good position to score. I know he is going to put it in a good spot and then it is up to me to get on the end of it and make something of it."

"Almost to script, Cobi took the ball at midfield and was very direct in getting behind," Los Angeles coach Steve Sampson said. "It was a great service to Landon and a great timed run by Landon and a perfectly one-touched ball in the back of the net. You couldn't ask for a better sequence and action. I think it lifted our confidence and it certainly forced Colorado to, over time, make some adjustments and take some more risks which opened up the game for us. It was critical for us to get the first goal."

The Rapids nearly tied the match twice in the next six minutes. In the 22nd minute, defender Eric Denton's free kick curled to the far post, but striker Jeff Cunningham's volley was slightly off target and rattled off the outside of the net.

Colorado thought it had tied the score in the 34th minute when forward Jean Philippe Peguero headed a Terry Cooke corner kick into the net, but Hall had blown his whistle when the ball was in the air and immediately waved off the goal. He ordered the corner be retaken as he dealt with the pushing and shoving in the goal mouth.

"The goal was disallowed. I don't know what happened there, but it's been that way the whole season," Colorado coach Fernando Clavijo said,

The Rapids started the second half in intense fashion and again came close to equalizing in the 48th minute. On a counterattack, Ben-Dayan played a long cross to Cooke and the midfielder beat Ugo Ihemelu with a quick cutback. Cunningham, however, couldn't control Cooke's centering pass and, even though the ball bounced back to Peguero, his shot was easily saved by L.A. keeper Kevin Hartman.

With the lead, the Galaxy defended with numbers and handled the Colorado pressure. The Rapids continued to try to break through, controlling possession for most of the second half, but their offense seemed out of sync in the final third.

"I think tonight was frustrating," Cannon said. "I think you could say we had the better end of the play, but towards the end of the game they dropped back and let us have the play. They didn't mind us trying to have possession and that's football -- you give up the first goal and the other team is going to drop back, especially during the playoffs."

Colorado's best attempts came off set pieces. Cooke's free kick in the 74th minute fell to reserve striker Fabrice Noel, but the Haitian volleyed into a crowd of Galaxy defenders.

Minutes later, L.A. failed to clear a free kick and the ball ricocheted around the crowded box. Peguero headed it toward goal, but Galaxy left back Todd Dunivant came running over and headed the attempt away.

Then, Donovan went back to work, receiving a ball alone at the center stripe. He carried and faked his way through three defenders, twice riding tackles from Pablo Mastroeni, before entering the Colorado penalty area.

Donovan took a look and curled a right-footed shot past Cannon inside the right post to make it 2-0.

"I think Landon is definitely the difference, if you look at the game," Cannon said. "He is just a player that when he decides to turn it on, he can do things that other players can't."

Referee: Brian Hall. Referee's assistants: Thomas Supple; Nathan Clement. Time of game: 1:57. Attendance: 12,789 at Invesco Field in Denver. Weather: Clear, 39 degrees.