Landon Donovan and Kyle Beckerman are certainly looking forward to renewing their acquaintance in the playoffs on Wednesday night.
By Ivan Yeo
It wouldn’t be the MLS playoffs without a matchup between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.
Two teams that have gotten to know each other a plenty in MLS’ second season will renew acquaintances on Wednesday night, as the Galaxy and RSL square off at StubHub Center with advancement to the Western Conference Semifinals at stake.
Both teams have experienced ups and downs in their respective 2016 seasons. The Galaxy were very aggressive in the offseason, bringing in Ashley Cole, Jelle Van Damme and Nigel De Jong to bolster its defense. The acquisitions produced mixed results, as Van Damme has been a hit, Cole has been somewhere in the middle, and De Jong lasted five months before being transferred to Turkish club
Galatasaray in August. The Galaxy finished third in the Western Conference with a 12-6-16 record. Real Salt Lake’s season was even more topsy-turvy, as they started the season 4-0-2, but still needed Vancouver to beat defending champ Portland on Decision Day to even qualify for the playoffs.
The playoff history between these two teams has featured plenty of dramatic moments, starting with the 2009 MLS Cup final in Seattle. Mike Magee pushed across an opening goal in the first half, but former Galaxy player Robbie Findley answered with a second half equalizer and making matters worse for the Galaxy, center back and Rookie of the Year Omar Gonzalez and keeper Donovan Ricketts came up injured and both did not finish the match, the RSL’s Nick Rimando cemented himself as the league’s premier penalty stopper, stopping three penalties in the shootout and captured MLS MVP honors as RSL shocked the heavily-favored Galaxy to win the MLS Cup.
The two teams met again in the 2011 Western Conference final, and again, the two teams delivered a classic. Landon Donovan put LA ahead from the penalty spot, Alvaro Saborio answered with a header, but second half goals from Magee and Robbie Keane sent LA through to the final, though RSL surely made them work for it, even as they soldiered on without its two injured center backs Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers.
RSL got some payback in 2013, overcoming a one-goal aggregate deficit in the second leg at Rio Tinto Stadium to eliminate the then-two-time champion Galaxy. LA evened the score the following year, first behind a superb performance from keeper Jaime Penedo, who made nine saves in the first leg at RSL, then in the second leg in LA, Landon Donovan decided to delay his impending retirement by another two weeks, recording a hat trick in the second leg as the Galaxy romped all over RSL 5-0 to advance to the conference final.
The Galaxy and Real Salt Lake met twice this season, the first at StubHub Center on April 23. RSL came into the game undefeated with a 4-0-2 record, and took the lead on a Juan Manuel Martinez goal in the 16th minute, but the Galaxy answered in a huge way, scoring four unanswered goals in the first half and LA handed RSL its first loss of the season with a 5-2 win. Five months later on September 7 at Rio Tinto Stadium, that match turned out to be just as wild, as the Galaxy held a 3-1 lead, but a goal from Joao Plata, followed by a goal at the death from Martinez enabled Real Salt Lake to salvage the point.
