Seattle Sounders FC 2 – LA Galaxy 1 (2-2 on aggregate, LA advances on away goals)
SCORING SUMMARY – SEA – Brad Evans 26′ – SEA – Clint Dempsey 32′ – LA – Juninho (Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan) 54′
Coach LA Galaxy Arena:
“Knowing that if we got a goal back in the second half we’d advance, it was big to come out early. We challenged them early in the second half, got some good chances and obviously Juninho hit the back of the net. We had to hang on for our lives at the end there. It was just a matter of grinding it out and having the right mentality and we accomplished it.”
“We came here to try and win the game,” Arena said. “We didn’t want to sit back and we didn’t. We came in and we were very aggressive. Obviously you know what the rule is and an away goal is important. Shutting Seattle out in the first leg was a big factor as well”.
“The whole objective is to advance and to get to the MLS Cup final. We’ve accomplished that.”
MF Landon Donovan:
“It seems perfect, yeah. But we’ve got to win it. That’s our challenge. We’re playing a team that I think is the best team in the league the last 10 or 12 games, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
“In the few minutes at halftime that I had time to ponder, I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t it,” Donovan said. “I wanted to make sure, regardless of the outcome that I put it all in and it worked out well.”
“We haven’t won anything yet. This is just the first step along the way. The first part was the Salt Lake series, and now Seattle. Nobody’s had to do it harder than we have. These are two very good teams. To beat the best team in the regular season during a series like this is very difficult.
“Now we get one game at home to win a championship, so if anyone had said at the beginning of the year, we’d take it in a heartbeat and we’re going to go with everything to win it.”
Coach Seattle Sounders Schmid:
“I’d just say [to the fans] thank you and we’re sorry. Because we want to win it for them. We really do.”
“I think we expected them to play a little bit more defensively. “But they came out and played their game. It’s a testament to a confident team and to a veteran group of players that says, ‘We’re not going to sit back. We’re going to push forward and play our style.’”
“We did all we could do. I’m proud of the group and the performances all through the year and all the success … It’s a little bit painful right now, but we’ll look back on it as a successful season.”
“I’m really proud of our team, I’m proud of their effort and I’m proud of their fight to the very end … I thought we were a little bit unlucky today. I’m proud of their effort, I’m proud of their fight to the very end … We’ve won five trophies now in six years. There aren’t a lot of clubs that have [accomplished that] in this league.”
