LA Galaxy Gives Away MLS Supporters’ Shield To Seattle Sounders

By Jackee Arce @knackeredwriter on October 25, 2014

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders‘ final back-to-back matches were the most anticipated matches of the end of the season. Both clubs had been at the top of their game, and the outcome would be unpredictable, or so it was assumed. The first match took place last weekend in Galaxy’s home, but Seattle stole the match and ended it in a draw. This meant that Saturday’s mid-day match needed to be won for Galaxy’s to earn the coveted Supporters’ Shield. Galaxy fell short, but the match itself told its own story. If Galaxy wishes to make it the MLS Cup final, they have a lot to work on.

Galaxy was missing two top players on Saturday: Omar Gonzalez and Robbie Keane. They may have made all the difference, but they shouldn’t have. Players like Landon Donovan and Leonardo played a fantastic match, but players on both sides of the pitch had problems keeping their cool. This led to a lot of violent collisions and many shoving matches, which happened during both matches. Gonzalez was only absent because he received two yellow cards during the match at home. If they were warranted is debatable, but Galaxy needs to work on clean tackles if they hope to not lose more players to discipline charges in the playoffs.

Another player who Galaxy needs to keep an eye on is Jaime Penedo. He may have been Galaxy’s saving grace for the majority of the season, but he has been unpredictable in the last few matches. He may have made some incredible saves at home last weekend, but this weekend was a different story. Galaxy’s defense did their job of keeping the ball away from the net, but Penedo fell short twice. The second time stood out more, because Penedo stepped very far off his line and then was on the ground, which left his net wide open. Marco Pappa took advantage of the situation and made his second goal of the match. Penedo’s big mistake may not have affected the outcome of the match on Saturday, but it could make all the difference during the playoffs.

There would be nothing more satisfying than Galaxy earning their revenge in a Western Conference final against Seattle. Hopefully they shape up and take the playoffs more seriously than they took these last two regular season matches.

Jackee Arce is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @knackeredwriter, like her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.