MLS Cup 2006 in Frisco, Texas
New England Revolution vs. Houston Dynamo
Sunday, live on ABC, 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT.
Before they moved and became the Houston Dynamo, the San Jose Earthquakes reached MLS Cup twice and lifted the trophy each time, with a 2-1 win over Los Angeles in 2001 and a 4-2 win over Chicago in 2003.
Landon Donovan, who scored three goals in those two finals, is gone. Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, who scored the winner in 2001 and assisted in the 2003 title game win, orchestrates the attack for Houston, whose coach, Dominic Kinnear, was Frank Yallop's assistant on the title-winning teams.
The New England Revolution finished runner-up in 2005, falling 1-0 to Los Angeles, just as it did in its other trip to the final in 2002. In both losses to Los Angeles the Revs fell on an overtime goal. They have played nearly four hours of MLS Cup ball without scoring. Leading the Revs in pursuit of their first MLS Cup goal is Taylor Twellman, who went scoreless in postseason play last season but has scored two playoff goals this season, including the gamewinner over D.C. United in the 1-0 semifinal win.
Past MLS Cup results
2005 Los Angeles 1 New England 0.
MVP: Guillermo ''Pando'' Ramirez
2004 D.C. United 3, Kansas City 2
MVP: Alecko Eskandarian
2003 San Jose 4, Chicago 2
MVP: Landon Donovan
2002 Los Angeles 1, New England 0 (OT)
MVP: Carlos Ruiz
2001 San Jose 2, Los Angeles 1 (OT)
MVP: Dwayne De Rosario
2000 Kansas City 1, Chicago 0
MVP: Tony Meola
1999 D.C. United 2, Los Angeles 0
MVP: Ben Olsen
1998 Chicago 2, D.C. United 0
MVP: Peter Nowak
1997 D.C. United 2, Colorado 1
MVP: Jaime Moreno
1996 D.C. United 3, Los Angeles 2
MVP: Marco Etcheverry
Further reading:
MLS CUP: Clark's suspension leaves large void for Houston
Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney explains how the Houston Dynamo will cope with the suspension of defensive midfielder Ricardo Clark. Click here.