Last time, we took a look at all of the results from the Eastern Conference semis, so it’s only natural that we look at what happened in the second leg of the Western Conference match ups in this post. We saw the Galaxy destroy Real Salt Lake and Seattle barely squeak by FC Dallas. Let’s see how it all went down.

First of all, wowsers to the Galaxy. After a scoreless draw in Salt Lake City, things were looking a little hairy for the boys from L.A., even though they were playing at their beloved StubHub Center. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that the Galaxy had come to play in this one. Landon Donovan hammered home the third ever MLS Playoff hat trick, and the first since Stern John 15 years ago for the Columbus Crew (Raul Diaz Arce had the first for D.C. United in 1996), with scores in the 10th, 54th and 72nd minutes (why is he retiring again?), and Robbie Keane (20′) and Marcelo Sarvas (63′) chipped in scores of their own as the Galaxy romped Real 5-0. Salt Lake only even managed four shots, and only one of those was on target. Omar Gonzalez completely shut down the diminutive Joao Plata, and RSL never even stood a chance in this one.

The other game ended late last night, as the Sounders took on FC Dallas at home at 10:30 ET (damn west coast night games). The teams had already drawn 1-1 in Dallas last week, and we were in for more of the same in this one, although this time nobody scored. That being said, I didn’t necessarily think this was a bad game. There were some very tense and exciting moments and some good defense and saves, but nobody managed to get one into the back of the net. Dallas needed a win to move on in this one, but I almost feel like they didn’t try hard enough until it was too late. I know Seattle played some good defense, but Dallas didn’t even bring in their Uruguayan, David Texeira until the 86th minute, for crying out loud. Texeira scored 3 of his 4 goals against Seattle this year, and he’s Uruguayan, so that’s a big time mistake by FC Dallas, and they deserve to get sent home. You never wanna lose with a Uruguayan sitting on your bench for 86 minutes.

Up Next

Because of the way both of these games panned out, we’re getting the matchup that I think everyone’s been waiting all year for in the Western Conference Finals, as the Galaxy will take on the Sounders in what should be a very heated matchup. I know we just got these two teams in a home-and-home a couple of weeks ago to end the season, but who isn’t excited for this match up? These two teams battled all year for the Supporters’ Shield, a race that wasn’t settled until those last two games, and now they’ll take each other again for a chance to advance to the MLS Cup Finals.

There’s extra insentive for both teams in this one too. The Galaxy are trying to win one last championship for Donovan, and the Sounders are trying to win the first MLS Treble (U.S. Open Cup, Supporters’ Shiled and MLS Cup) ever. This matchup is gonna be a raging hurricane of hair, teeth and violence, and I cannot wait to watch it on November 23. Again, this one is tough to pick. My heart says L.A., but it’s becoming harder and harder to pick against Seattle, especially considering how they dominated the Galaxy at the end of the regular season. Sounders win 2-1 on aggregate.

Featured image courtesy of: LAG Confidential