Extra! Extra! Galaxy capture MLS Cup

Ramirez, much maligned this season for his inability to find the back of the net, fired home the game-winner in the 17th minute of extra time to win Honda MLS Cup MVP honors. Teammate Landon Donovan started the decisive play with a corner from the right, and Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis tried to punch it away, but could only get it as far as the Guatemalan midfielder nicknamed "Pando." He rocketed a right-footed blast over the heads in the packed goalmouth from the edge of the penalty area.

Nov. 13 headlines -- MLS • Extra! Extra! Galaxy capture MLS Cup • MLS Cup 2005 postgame notes • Fans warm up at Soccer Celebration • Galaxy 1, Revolution 0 -- quote sheet • Barcelona prez interested in MLS GALAXY • Weight off Pando's MVP shoulders • Galaxy defense shines on main stage • Notebook: Donovan adjusts • Win gives Galaxy redemption REVOLUTION • Dempsey plays to 'home' crowd • Revs offense dries up at Cup • Long season leaves Revs gassed • Revs succomb to L.A., fatigue • Notebook: Put loss behind them COMMENTARY • Lewis: Galaxy hold heads high MORE HEADLINES • Nov. 11 • Nov. 12 SIGHTS & SOUNDS MVP Pando scores: 56K | 384K Hartman's shutout: 56K | 384K Reis reel: 56K | 384K Highlights: 56K | 384K Pando's goal: LISTEN GEAR • Order championship gear

Over the season, Ramirez had 62 shots, 30 on goal -- and just one goal, by far the poorest shooting ratio not only this year, but in any single season in MLS history. No one else had ever taken more shots with as few goals.

The victory is the Galaxy's second win in five attempts in the league final. The other came in 2002, when forward Carlos Ruiz slotted home a golden goal in the 113th minute against the Revs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. It also completed the domestic double for the Galaxy, earlier winners of the U.S. Open Cup. They became the third team in MLS history to with both U.S. titles, the first since the Chicago Fire in 1998.

The win also brings to a surprisingly positive close a long, turbulent season for the Galaxy, who were tabbed by many observers as a preseason MLS Cup favorite but finished fourth in the Western Conference before marching in dominant fashion through the playoffs. For the Revolution, it's another postseason heartbreaker, this time at the end of the best regular season in club history.

It was a slow, physical match with spikes of action as both clubs were loathe to give up anything to their opponent. Referee Kevin Stott handed out 10 cautions -- by far the most in an MLS Cup -- and called 51 fouls.

Forward Herculez Gomez played a major role for the Green and Gold in the first stanza. The Galaxy thought they had an early opener in the sixth minute when Gomez ran on to a long pass and chipped it over Reis and in, but he was judged to be in an offside position.

In the 19th minute, Galaxy defender Chris Albright intercepted a pass at midfield and drove forward on the counterattack, playing a give-and-go with Donovan and bursting into the box. Albright's pass across the middle of the box went begging, though, as Revolution defender Jay Heaps had the on-rushing Gomez blanketed.

At the same time, the Revolution weren't faring well in their attacking end. The only scoring chance to speak of for the Eastern Conference champions -- apart from a couple of attacks that resulted in calls for offside -- came in the 29th minute, when Shalrie Joseph headed a Steve Ralston corner over the bar.

Gomez, who carried the Galaxy late in the regular season and powered their drive to their second Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, fired off four shots in the first half, but none of his efforts were on target. The closest he came was in the 41st minute, when he beat Revolution center back Michael Parkhurst to a long ball over the top and fired into the side netting.

Gomez's strike partner, Donovan, was held in check for most of the game, but he had his moments. In first-half stoppage time, he set off on a run from deep in Galaxy territory after a Revolution corner, eventually firing a shot from 12 yards that Reis parried out for a corner.

The Revs have been a second-half team for much of the year, and after the break, they turned up the pressure on the Galaxy. Still, they failed to stir up any real trouble in the Galaxy box, their crosses left wanting.

The only Revolution shot on goal in regulation came in the 62nd minute as Heaps overlapped on the right and stormed into the box, only to have Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman punch away his effort. It was the second-longest in an MLS Cup Final a team had gone without a shot on goal, the first the Revolution in 2002, who went the entire regulation 90 minutes without hitting the frame.

The Revs tried to spice up the attack in the 64th minute by bringing on midfielder Jose Cancela for forward Pat Noonan and pushing Clint Dempsey up top. The same move worked wonders for the Revs in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the Revs. The Galaxy countered two minutes later by bringing on Ramirez for Ned Grabavoy.

The Galaxy began to tilt the match back into their favor in the last quarter-hour as the pace began to pick up. Donovan, who has been the Galaxy's unquestioned star in the playoffs, nearly did it again, attempting to stab home a loose ball in the goalmouth in the 79th minute. But Parkhurst was there to rescue the Revs, stifling Donovan's shot and clearing the ball.

The Western Conference champions continued to press and Gomez sailed a shot just inches over the bar in the 80th minute. Midfielder Cobi Jones came a bit closer to breaking the deadlock three minutes later, but not close enough, pounding a blast off the crossbar after a Donovan cross fell to him at the top of the box.

In the ninth minute of the first overtime session, the Revs finally drew some acrobatics out of Hartman. Rookie midfielder James Riley saved the ball on the left touchline and sailed in a cross that was nodded down to the top of the box. Cancela drove a shot that was headed for the top corner, but Hartman punched it out over the endline.

Five minutes later, the Galaxy had a close call of their own as Donovan dove to meet an Albright service, heading it just wide of the near post. In the next minute came Ramirez's eventual game-winning rocket.

Knowing they needed a goal to keep their season alive, the Revolution tried to drive forward in the second extra session. Dempsey took a crack from 18 yards out in the 18th overtime minute, but the shot went wide to the right.

The Galaxy could have stretched the final margin of victory to two goals in the 25th minute of extra time, but Reis stopped point-blank shots from both Donovan and Gomez after a counterattack.

The Revolution had a final foray into the attack in the final minutes, but Cancela had a shot deflected wide with two minutes to go, and the Galaxy denied two last-minute Revs corner kicks to preserve their Cup victory.

Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.