MLS Cup 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

 championship game. The match was played on November 18, 2007 between the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

 and the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...

 — a rematch of the 2006 MLS Cup
MLS Cup 2006
The 2006 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2006 Major League Soccer season, played on November 12, 2006 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. Houston won 4-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw following extra time...

 final. For the second straight year, the Dynamo defeated the Revolution, this time by a 2-1 score. It was the fourth loss in the title game for the New England side. RFK Stadium, the home stadium for D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...

, played host to the 2007 MLS Cup — the third time it has hosted the title game, and the first since 2000.

Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...

 performed the national anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...

 and Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind....

 performed "Big Casino" at halftime.

MLS Cup Playoffs

MLS adopted a new format for qualification into the playoffs. In 2007, the top two teams from each of the league's two conferences, followed by the next four teams with the highest number of points at the end of the regular season, qualified for the postseason, leading to the possibility of an uneven number of playoff teams from each conference. This year, five teams qualified from the Eastern Conference, and only three teams from the Western Conference qualified, so the Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

, who have been assigned to the Western Conference playoffs, could have played a fellow Eastern Conference team in the final.

New England Revolution

For the fourth time in team history, third-straight, the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

 became the Eastern Conference Champion. New England defeated the New York Red Bulls
Red Bull New York
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The team competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...

 in the semifianls, advancing to the conference finals where they defeated the Chicago Fire.

Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo, for the second consecutive year in the club's two-year history, won the Western Conference Championship. Their win came through their victories over in-state rival FC Dallas
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

 in the conference semifinals and the Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...

 in the conference championship game. The Dynamo advanced to a rematch against the Revolution , and the MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

, for the second straight year.

Bracket

Match details


|
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION:
GK 1   Matt Reis
Matt Reis
Matt Reis is an American soccer player who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-College:Reis played college soccer at UCLA...

DF 4   Avery John
Avery John
Avery John is a Trinidadian soccer player.-Youth and College:John attended Vessigny [Antilles] Government Secondary School and then Presentation College, and played college soccer for Yavapai College in Arizona and American University in Washington, DC...

DF 6   Jay Heaps
Jay Heaps
Jay Heaps ) is a former American soccer player. He is the current head coach for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer....

DF 13   Jeff Larentowicz
Jeff Larentowicz
Jeffery Adam Larentowicz is an American soccer player who currently plays for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.-College:...

DF 15   Michael Parkhurst
Michael Parkhurst
Michael Parkhurst is an American soccer player. He plays primarily as center back for F.C. Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga...

MF 14   Steve Ralston
Steve Ralston
Steve Ralston is a retired American soccer player and a current assistant coach for the Houston Dynamo.-Professional:...

 
MF 18   Khano Smith
Khano Smith
Khano Smith is a Bermudian footballer.-College and Amateur:Smith played college soccer at Champlain College and Lees-McRae College, and in the USL Premier Development League for Carolina Dynamo.-Professional:...

 
MF 21   Shalrie Joseph
Shalrie Joseph
Shalrie Jamal Joseph is a Grenadian footballer who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-College:...

MF 27   Wells Thompson
Wells Thompson
Thomas Wells Thompson is an American soccer player who currently plays for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.-High school and College:...

FW 11   Pat Noonan
Pat Noonan
Pat Noonan is an American soccer player who last played for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...

FW 20   Taylor Twellman
Taylor Twellman
Taylor Twellman is a retired American soccer player who currently works as a television analyst for the Philadelphia Union and ESPN soccer.-Youth and College:Taylor was raised in St...

 
Substitutes:
GK 12   Doug Warren
Doug Warren
Douglas Patrick "Doug" Warren is an American soccer goalkeeper, who last played for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer. He was a member of the U.S. team at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship....

DF 16   James Riley
MF 22   Marshall Leonard
Marshall Leonard
Marshall Leonard is an American soccer defender and midfielder, who recently played for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer....

MF 25   Andy Dorman
Andy Dorman
Andrew "Andy" Dorman is a Wales international footballer. Born in England of English parents, he grew up in Wales and represented the Wales schools team, eventually gaining full senior international recognition when FIFA amended its rules on eligibility...

 
MF 29   Abdoulie Mansally
Abdoulie Mansally
Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally is a Gambian footballer who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-Professional:...

MF 31   Sainey Nyassi
Sainey Nyassi
Sainey Nyassi is a Gambian footballer who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-Professional:...

FW 7   Adam Cristman
Adam Cristman
Adam Cristman is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...

Manager:
  Steve Nicol
Steve Nicol
Stephen "Steve" Nicol is a Scottish former professional footballer. A utility player who played in the all-conquering Liverpool team of the 1980s, he was most recently coach of New England Revolution, and was the longest-tenured head coach in MLS to coach a single club.As a player, Nicol was a...



Man of the Match:

  Dwayne De Rosario
Dwayne De Rosario
Dwayne Anthony De Rosario is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. He also plays for the Canadian national team.-Early career:...



Assistant referees:

  Adam Wienckowski

  Rob Fereday

Fourth official:

  Brian Hall
Brian Hall (referee)
Brian Hall is a former American soccer referee from northern California. He was a FIFA referee from 1992 until he retired in 2007 at the mandatory retirement age of 45. He refereed two games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He has also been named MLS Referee of the Year in 2003, 2005 2006, and 2007...

style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center> HOUSTON DYNAMO: | GK 18   Pat Onstad
Pat Onstad
Patrick Stewart "Pat" Onstad is a Canadian soccer retired goalkeeper, who is currently an assistant coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...

DF 2   Eddie Robinson
Eddie Robinson (soccer)
Eddie Robinson is an American soccer player who currently plays for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.-College:...

DF 5   Ryan Cochrane DF 16   Craig Waibel
Craig Waibel
Craig Waibel is a former American soccer player.-College:Waibel played college soccer at University of Washington, and with Spokane Shadow in the USL Premier Development League prior to turning professional....

DF 24   Wade Barrett  MF 9   Brian Mullan
Brian Mullan
Brian Mullan is an American soccer player who plays for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. He has previously played for Wisconsin Rebels, Colorado Comets, Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo. He is one of only two players to have won MLS Cup five times, the other being...

MF 11   Brad Davis
Brad Davis (soccer)
Brad Davis is an American footballer who currently plays for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...

MF 14   Dwayne De Rosario
Dwayne De Rosario
Dwayne Anthony De Rosario is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. He also plays for the Canadian national team.-Early career:...

  MF 30   Richard Mulrooney
Richard Mulrooney
Richard Mulrooney is a former American soccer player.-College:Mulrooney played four years of college soccer at Creighton University, where he recorded 51 assists from 1995 to 1998...

FW 21   Nate Jaqua
Nate Jaqua
Jonathan "Nate" Jaqua is an American soccer player who last played for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.-High School:...

FW 33   Joseph Ngwenya
Joseph Ngwenya
Joseph Ngwenya is a Zimbabwean footballer currently without a club.-College:Ngwenya attended the Mzilikazi High School in Bulawayo, leading them to the 1999 Zimbabwe National High School Championship, before coming to the United States in 2000 to attend and play college soccer at Coastal Carolina...

  Substitutes: GK 1   Zach Wells
Zach Wells
Zach Wells is a retired American soccer goalkeeper.-College:...

DF 4   Patrick Ianni
Patrick Ianni
Patrick Edward Joseph Ianni is an American soccer player who currently plays for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...

MF 7   Chris Wondolowski
Chris Wondolowski
Christopher Elliott Wondolowski is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...

MF 17   Mike Chabala
Mike Chabala
Mike Chabala is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...

MF 22   Stuart Holden
Stuart Holden
Stuart Alistair Holden is an American football player who currently plays as a midfielder for Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League....

  MF 26   Corey Ashe
Corey Ashe
Corey Ashe is an American soccer player who currently plays for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.-College:...

FW 8   Paul Dalglish
Paul Dalglish
Paul Kenneth Dalglish is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.-Playing career:Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in Liverpool where his father managed Liverpool F.C...

Manager:   Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear
Dominic Kinnear is a Scottish-born American former soccer player. He is currently the head coach of Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.As a player, he began his professional career with Scottish club St...

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