Sunday, November 12, 2006

HOUSTON WINS MLS CUP TITLE

At Frisco Texas:

The Houston Dynamo captured the Major League Soccer championship by winning the penalty-kick shootout against the New England Revolution 4-3, after the two teams battled to a 1-1 deadlock after 120 minutes. The game was scoreless after regulation time, with both goals coming in the second overtime period. New England's Taylor Twellman scored in the 113th minute, only to see Houston's Brian Ching tie it up one minute later. In the fifth and final regulation round of the shootout, Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad easily saved the Revolution's Jay Heaps' shot to propel the former San Jose Earthquakes (winners in 2001 and 2003) to their third MLS title. This was New England's third MLS Cup appearance without winning the title. They lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in both 2002 and 2005.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The MLS final was exciting, but I wonder why I seem to be the only one wondering whether Brian Ching's stunning header to tie the game shouldn't have been called back because he'd been offsides. I mean, the replay I saw suggested Ching was running full tilt toward the goal, looking over his shoulder (behind him) at the arriving ball, and tracking it carefully to head it as he did. All the while, he was at least a step ahead of the NE player in view. Unless the replay didn't show someone else between him and the goal, why wouldn't this have been a full-speed cherry-picking offsides?

I don't want to take away from a phenomenal finish or shot, but I guess I didn't get a good view of the play and what I saw looked pretty flagrant...unless letting something like that go is within the discretion of the officials in a game like this.

I'd feel a lot better about the finish if it were truly a legal shot, based on something the replay couldn't show or I didn't see - does anyone out there have a clear memory of something that proves he couldn't have been offsides the four steps before he headed the ball?