By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane scored in the second half as the Los Angeles Galaxy captured their second straight MLS Cup via a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo in a rematch of last year's title showdown Saturday at the Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy's fourth MLS Cup was a fitting sendoff for superstar David Beckham, who earlier announced that the championship game would be his last with the Galaxy.

The Dynamo appeared headed for victory after taking a 1-0 lead behind Calen Carr's right footed shot from the center of the box to the top right corner.

Gonzalez broke the Galaxy's scoring silence in the 60th minute with a header from Juninho's cross to tie the game. His effort was fittingly recognized when he was named as the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player.

Five minutes later, Donovan scored on a penalty kick from a hand in ball violation by Ricardo Clark to give the Galaxy a 2-1 advantage. The goal was Donovan's 22nd postseason goal and fifth MLS Cup goal, both MLS records.

Then, Keane sealed the victory in stoppage time with a penalty kick after a foul by Tally Hall.

The Galaxy joined D.C. United as the only clubs in MLS to win four league championships and became the third team in league history to win back-to-back titles.

With the victory, Donovan has a record-tying five MLS Cup triumphs, joining Bruce Arena, who has an MLS-record four as a coach and one as a player.

However, the championship could be the last for the current crop of Galaxy players as the team could be in for a major overhaul in the offseason.

Aside from Beckham's departure, Donovan hinted that he would take a break to mull over his future while Gonzalez could be headed to Europe and Juninho could return to Sao Paolo.

"We don't know," said Donovan. "All we know is David won't be here next year, but any team from year to year has a lot of turnover. That's the way sports are. That's the way this league is, like any other league."

 

 

 

Galaxy Silence Dynamo to Win Second Straight MLS Cup