Galaxy defeat Revolution in extra time to claim 5th MLS title

An extra-time goal from Robbie Keane proved to be the difference as the Los Angeles Galaxy emerged with a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on Sunday to claim a record fifth Major League Soccer title.

The match marked the fourth time in the last six years that the MLS Cup final has required more than 90 minutes of play, and believe it or not, it's the third time that the Galaxy have won the league by defeating the Revolution in extra time following finals in 2002 and 2005.

With all eyes on Landon Donovan, whose decision to hang up the cleats at the end of the season means that his illustrious career is over, the first half of the fixture featured little in the way of action. The Galaxy dominated possession, but could only place one shot on target throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Related: A summary of Landon Donovan's final match 

Fast forward to the second half, where it took only six minutes for hometown hero Gyasi Zardes to trigger wild scenes from the crowd at the StubHub Center by becoming the first Homegrown Player to score in an MLS Cup final.

In the 71st minute, the Galaxy nearly doubled their lead when Keane, who had been enduring a rough match up until that point, fired a shot on goal that was saved by 'keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. Had Keane played a pass to Donovan, the play would almost surely have resulted in a goal.

New England then made Keane pay for his selfishness moments later, when Chris Tierney found an unlikely equalizer after the Galaxy failed to cover him on a cross from Patrick Mullins.

Few could have predicted that the Revolution would find a goal as they had been flat in attack throughout the entire match, and Teal Bunbury nearly turned the final on its head when he hit the crossbar in the 87th minute.

But the Galaxy survived the scare, and once the 111th minute of extra time rolled around, Keane showed just why he received this season's MVP honors.

Unleash the cartwheels!

While witnessing the conclusion of the most illustrious football career by any American player ever is obviously tragic, it's hard to think of a better way for Donovan to wrap up a career than by claiming his record sixth MLS Cup in the city where he carved out a name for himself over the past decade.

Well done, LA.