CARSON, Calif. – David Beckham had two early assists and the LA Galaxy staved off a late but furious rally by the Seattle Sounders to win 2-1 at The Home Depot Center on Sunday night.
The win sent the Galaxy through to the Western Conference Championship with a 3-1 aggregate victory. They will host FC Dallas on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m./9 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
Edson Buddle and Omar Gonzalez each scored a header to give the Galaxy a comfortable lead. Steve Zakuani scored a goal four minutes from time for Seattle’s only tally of the series.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Los Angeles' 1-0 victory a week ago at Qwest Field allowed the team to sit back in a defensive posture from the start and, once again, Seattle did little to get past the Galaxy’s well-positioned backline.
Beckham picked up a yellow card in the eighth minute for a studs-up tackle on Seattle’s Fredy Montero, but the match was not as physical as the first leg was.
In the 19th minute, the Galaxy won a corner kick – one of their four first-half corners – and Beckham found Buddle in the middle of the box. Buddle buried his header past Kasey Keller and the Galaxy held a firm 2-0 aggregate lead.
Eight minutes later, Beckham again showed his touch. The LA midfielder found Gonzalez unmarked in the 27th minute on a free kick from the left and the Galaxy took a commanding and seemingly insurmountable 3-0 aggregate lead.
Seattle tried to counter but were unable to threaten much until late in the game.
A series of substitutions helped the Sounders send numbers en masse into the Galaxy penalty area and their persistence paid off in the 86th minute. Zakuani slipped into the box and fired a shot past Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts from about eight yards out. The goal was Seattle’s first-ever in the postseason.
Just three minutes later, Tyrone Marshall flicked a corner kick ball onto Nate Jaqua, but the tall Seattle forward failed to find the goal.
In the end, the Sounders' deficit was far too much to overcome in a such a short amount of time.
Seattle’s season ended once again in the first round of the playoffs while the Galaxy will host the Western Conference Final for the second consecutive year.
The Galaxy face FC Dallas in the Western Conference Championship on Sunday, November 14 at 6 p.m. at The Home Depot Center. Tickets are available as low as $20! BUY TICKETS
Scoring Summary:
LA -- Edson Buddle 2 (David Beckham 1) 19
LA -- Omar Gonzalez 1 (David Beckham 2) 27
SEA -- Steve Zakuani 1 (Nate Jaqua 1) 86
Misconduct Summary:
LA -- David Beckham (caution; Reckless Tackle) 8
SEA -- Patrick Ianni (caution; Tactical Foul) 65
Lineups:
Seattle Sounders -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Tyrone Marshall, Patrick Ianni
(Nate Jaqua 77), Leo Gonzalez, Sanna Nyassi (Alvaro Fernandez 46), Osvaldo Alonso, Nathan Sturgis (Michael Fucito 64), Steve
Zakuani, Fredy Montero, Blaise Nkufo.
Substitutes Not Used:Taylor Graham, Roger Levesque, Tyson Wahl, Terry Boss.
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Donovan Ricketts, Sean Franklin, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Eddie Lewis, David Beckham, Juninho, Dema Kovalenko (Chris Birchall 74), Landon Donovan, Edson
Buddle (Tristan Bowen 71), Mike Magee (Todd Dunivant 80).
Substitutes Not
Used:Gregg Berhalter, Alex Cazumba, Jovan Kirovski, Josh Saunders.
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's
Assistants: C.J. Morgante; Craig Lowry
4th Official:
Kevin Stott
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 66 degrees
Attendance:
27,000
