History may often remember MLS Cup finals many times more than the rest of the playoffs, and with it being the culmination of each Major League Soccer season, that is not altogether surprising.
But there have been plenty of memorable moments in the Conference Championships over the years, and ahead of the start of the 2016 edition, with Montreal Impact hosting Toronto FC (8 pm ET, ESPN | TSN1/3, RDS in Canada) and Seattle Sounders facing the Colorado Rapids (10 pm ET, FS1 | TSN1/3, RDS2 in Canada) on Tuesday, let's take a look back at some of the top moments in Conference Championship history.
Henderson brothers goals send Rapids to MLS Cup (1997)
Playing on the same MLS team as your brother? That's pretty unusual in itself. But the Henderson brothers took it a step further in the 1997 Western Conference Championship for the Colorado Rapids. Playing Dallas in the round, which was then a best-of-three games series, older brother Chris Henderson, a US international, scored the winner in a 1-0 result in the first match, before younger brother Sean Henderson notched the 87th-minute tally at home to make it a 2-1 win for the Rapids and a series win in the second leg.
The brothers continue to work for the same soccer team, but these days they have traded Colorado for jobs in the Seattle Sounders organization.
Real Salt Lake continues Cinderella run in penalty shootout vs. Chicago (2009)
RSL made one of the all-time great MLS Cup playoff runs in 2009, sneaking in as the final qualifier, being placed in the Eastern Conference bracket and toppling defending champion and top seed Columbus Crew SC in the first round. In the next round, against the Chicago Fire, the one-game Eastern Conference Championship went scoreless through 120 minutes. In the subsequent penalty shootout, RSL prevailed, winning 5-4 on the road and booking their ticket to their first MLS Cup. And considering how the final turned out, that PK shootout against the Fire must have been good preparation for the title-clinching shootout.
Donovan converts penalty vs. Rimando (2011)
Speaking of that 2009 MLS Cup final...To set the scene for the 2011 moment, we must first rewind to 2009, when the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovanmissed a penalty against RSL in MLS Cup, paving the way for the Utah side to complete a remarkable title win.
So in 2011, when the two teams were matched up in the one-game Western Conference Championship, a penalty was called midway through the first half for the Galaxy, and Donovan stepped up to take the spot kick. This time, he made no mistake, giving the Galaxy an early lead en route to a 3-1 win and a trip to MLS Cup.
Donovan scores golden goal for Quakes (2003)
The "golden goal," or first goal scored in extra time wins, rule was abolished globally in 2004, but before that it made a mark in both Conference Championships in 2003. While Chris Armas scored the golden goal for the Chicago Fire in a 1-0 win over New England, on the other side of the bracket, Landon Donovan continued to burnish his legend in MLS. With the San Jose Earthquakes and Kansas City locked in a 2-2 draw in the one-game Western Conference Championship, Donovan scored the walk-off goal in the 117th minute, holding off a penalty shootout and sending the Quakes to their second MLS Cup.
Davies sends Revolution to MLS Cup (2014)
With the current era featuring a two-legged Conference Championship series, 2014's Eastern Conference Championship second leg between the New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls displayed the drama on tap under that format. With the Revolution leading 2-1 after a road win in the first leg, the Red Bulls had to push to win on the Revs' home ground. But Charlie Davies made sure that didn't happen, turning in two Chris Tierney crosses to notch a 2-2 draw on the day, for a 4-3 aggregate win. And considering Davies' personal story, in returning to play pro soccer at a high level after nearly dying in a car accident in 2009, seeing him help lead his team to MLS Cup was a terrific story.
