LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo, 2012 MLS Cup: Galaxy repeat as champs, win 3-1

A goal behind, Bruce Arena and the Galaxy were forced to adjust their strategy to start the second half, and they came out guns blazing. Keane had a goal disallowed in the 48th minute, on a free kick where he was narrowly offside. He almost created another chance on a counter set up by Beckham with a long ball, but Hall was able to stay in front of him to push the ball out for a corner.

At that point, the Dynamo utterly crumbled. Gonzalez set up a go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute, but it was disallowed. Referee Silviu Petrescu called him for grabbing onto his marker when going up for a header that put Keane in a great position to score, but there was very little to the foul.

It was the kind of miss you have nightmares about if the game ultimately doesn’t end up going your way and not the kind of finish we’re used to seeing from Donovan.

It did appear someone jumped the gun with the confetti that always gets released when the Galaxy score. I’m sure they have plenty more though ready.

But it’s that kind of play that has become a fixture of Saunders’ play. The 31-year-old spent much of his early career bouncing between MLS and various lower-division sides, mostly because he’s such a disaster coming off his line. Even when he’s playing well, which is admittedly with alarming regularity, it’s almost entirely a result of impressive shot-stopping rather than his other abilities.

If the Galaxy fail to win this game, you can almost guarantee it will be a result of something Saunders did wrong.

The 2012 MLS Cup Final is underway at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The stadium is packed, as you might expect and there’s a large contingent of Dynamo fans in the corner supporting their team. The teams walked out past random folks holding flags of each MLS team with fire shooting out the end of the flagpole...so that was exciting.

Can the Dynamo shock the world and ruin Beckham’s going away party? Will the Galaxy lift the cup for the second straight year giving the media and MLS the story they really want?

Whenever a team bunches a few championships together, some natural debates spring up. Perhaps the most contentious revolves around dubbing one team or another a “dynasty.” This being sports, there’s no clear definition of what constitutes a dynasty. For the most part, we use the old “pornography test” ie, we know it when we see it.

But it is worth recognizing that the winner of Saturday’s game will at least be able to make the argument that they are at least building a pretty strong case, albeit one that would encompass a much longer period of time.

Saturday night’s final will be the final game in the LA Galaxy career of David Beckham, who will pursue footballing opportunities elsewhere. There are also plenty of grumblings that Landon Donovan will retire from the game after this match, win or lose. It’s the end of an era for the Galaxy, an the Dynamo would love nothing more than to spoil their party and capture their franchise’s third MLS Cup.

Match date/time: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. local