The Galaxy captured the Western Conference championship with a hard-fought, tight 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders Saturday.
The win sends the Galaxy to their first MLS Cup final since 2014.
That’s also the last year the club won the trophy.
Standing in their way are the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls are the seventh seed from the Eastern Conference.
The Red Bulls defeated No. 2 Columbus in the first round, No. 6 New York City FC in the semifinal, and No. 4 Orlando City SC 1-0 in the conference final.
The Galaxy and Red Bulls met in preseason, but haven’t played a MLS game since 2021.
Here is a first look at the final:
How they got here: The Galaxy finished second in the West and breezed through the first three games of the playoffs, scoring 15 goals in three games. They had to roll up their sleeves and grind out a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders in the conference final.
The Red Bulls finished seventh in the East, winning just 11 games and drawing 14. When MLS play resumed after Leagues Cup, the Red Bulls went 1-5-3 to conclude the regular season.
Leading goal scorers:
NYRB
Lewis Morgan: 13 goals, seven assists.
Emil Forsberg: nine goals, five assists.
Elias Manoel: eight goals, four assists.
Galaxy
Gabriel Pec: 16 goals, 14 assists.
Dejan Joveljic: 15 goals, six assists.
Riqui Puig: 13 goals, 15 assists.
Joseph Paintsil: 10 goals, 10 assists.
Big question entering the week:
How can the Galaxy replace Riqui Puig?
The Galaxy announced that playmaking midfielder Riqui Puig suffered a torn ACL in the second half of Saturday’s game and will miss the MLS Cup. That’s as big of a blow as any. Coupled with the uncertainty of how long Marco Reus can play and the Galaxy midfield is taking big hits. Reus, who dealt with an injury in the conference semifinal win against Minnesota, was subbed at halftime against Seattle. “He said he felt something in the first half and had to come out.” Diego Fagundez will likely see a larger role and if Reus is unavailable, then Mark Delgado will also move into the starting lineup, with Gaston Brugman available off of the bench.
Can the Red Bulls survive another road game?
Call them the Road Warriors. New York has already recorded road wins against Columbus, New York City FC, and Orlando City SC. Playing the final on the Galaxy home field, in the Galaxy home stadium, Red Bulls are the underdog, but as they showed so far, they don’t care.
Conference Final starting XIs
NY Red Bulls:
Coach: Sandro Schwarz
GK: Coronel
D: S. Nealis, Reyes, D. Nealis
MF: Tolkin, Stroud, Edelman, Harper
Attacking MF: Forsberg
F: Morgan, Vanzeir
Galaxy
Coach: Greg Vanney
GK: McCarthy
D: Yamane, Garces, Yoshida, Nelson
MF: Reus, Cerrillo, Puig
F: Pec, Joveljic, Paintsil
