Donovan's goal came in the Aug. 8 game against New England and was one of 12 he scored during the regular season.

His stunning left-footed volley beat out an Alecko Eskandarian effort and eight other finalists. It's the first time a Donovan goal has received the award.

Compare the 10 best strikes (as voted by fans) here:

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The USA TV ratings for the Western Conference Final of the Los Angeles Galaxy v Houston Dynamo is now the highest ever on ESPN2. The rating is good news for the league who is showing the benefits of having David Beckham and the Galaxy in the playoffs. With the MLS Cup Final coming up on Sunday in a primetime spot and on ESPN (instead of ESPN2), the league could hope for a 1.

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Major League Soccer announced its Best XI on Monday, with no real surprises among the selections.

MVP finalists Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Cunningham headed the group, while MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton also got the nod.

Here is the MLS Best XI

GOALKEEPER- Zach Thornton

DEFENDERS- Chad Marshall, Wilman Conde, Geoff Cameron

MIDFIELDERS- Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph, Stuart Holden, Freddie Ljungberg, Dwayne DeRosario

FORWARDS- Jeff Cunningham, Conor Casey

What's our take?

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer announced its Best XI on Monday, with no real surprises among the selections.

MVP finalists Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Cunningham headed the group, while MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton also got the nod.

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All you who criticized Bruce Arena, said the game had passed him by, said he relied too much on old veterans...all you who said Dema Kovalenko was a one-dimensional hack...all you who said there was no way Ricketts or Berhalter would make it through the whole season...all you who said that Beckham and Donovan couldn't work together. Click to continue reading...

In the 52nd minute and with Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts sprawled on the turf in pain. (He's up, now, but the lights are still off).

Again, I'm told it's another power "dip" and the sensitive stadium lights take 10 minutes or so to come back on.

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When it comes to friendlies, it's nearly an impossible task to convince an audience that the stakes are high. And while that is certainly true the day before the U.S.-Slovakia match in Bratislavia, there is plenty to learn about the state of the U.S. team both Saturday, and next Wednesday in Denmark.

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Omar Gonzalez was named Rookie of the Year today. (Getty Images)

Another season award came down today, this time it is the league's Rookie of the Year. For the second straight year a LA Galaxy defender has won it as the honor went to Omar Gonzalez today.

Gonzalez helped a defense go from one of the worst in league history to one of the better ones this season.

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The Wizards had 4 goals up for Goal of the Year, and 2 of those goals have made it to the final 10, one from each Davy Arnaud and Claudio Lopez. Arnaud's goal is his blast from the first game of the season against Toronto. Lopez's goal is his shot from midfield that looped in over Donovan Ricketts. Click to continue reading...

He thought about naming them Landon and Donovan. Click to continue reading...

In my opinion, the two best teams in MLS already faced eachother during these playoffs. Forget the finals, the best matchup is/was Houston vs. Seattle.

What more can you say about Seattle and their fans? They are the pinnacle example of what every team strives for. Sure, there might be some exceptions, like a few over-zealous Sounders fans that chose to sing through the moment of silence for the Fort Hood tragedy.

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David Beckham switches attack with a swerving long ball down the left to Donovan. The Galaxy skipper crosses into the box to Mike Magee who is brought down by Yamith Cuesta's challenge. Ricardo Salazar points to the spot as Magee writhes in pain. Donovan converts the PK after an interminable wait.

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The Los Angeles 'Super Clasico' will determine a playoff winner for the first time as the LA Galaxy play host to Chivas USA at Home Depot Center in Game Two of their Western Conference playoff series.

The teams tied, 2-2, in Game One, and tonight the Galaxy will be the home team.

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Well, my laptop just died so I'm depending on the kindness of coworkers here to blog (sporadically).

Here's the scenario: if the Galaxy win they'll face the Houston Dynamo at home 8 o'clock Friday; if Chivas USA wins they'll travel to Houston for a Sunday game.

There's just one change for the Galaxy today: Chris Birchall has fallen ill (nothing serious I'm told), so Chris Klein replaces him in midfield.

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These USA vs Italy matches have gotten to be quite something. The U- 17 World Cup match today was no exception. A missed penalty made the difference.

The USA had their chances including a penalty awarded for a handball on Federico Mannini in the 17th minute. But Jack McInerney saw his penalty kick saved by replacement goalie Francesco Bardi.

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Major League Soccer announced today that Zach Thornton of Chivas USA has won the 2009 Goalkeeper of the Year Award. Thornton beat out Seattle's Kasey Keller and LA Galaxy's Donovan...

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BAM!G - Guzan, Howard, PerkinsD - Bocanegra, Marshall*/Califf/Gibbs, Castillo, Cherundolo, Conrad, Goodson, Pearce, SpectorM - Bradley, Beckerman*/Cronin, Cameron*/McCarty, Dempsey, Donovan*/Beasley/Bedoya, Feilhaber, Torres, WhiteF - Altidore, Casey, Cunningham, Findley*/CooperThe players marked with an asterisk may or may not be available, depending on MLS leg two results this week. Click to continue reading...

With his contribution key to the Galaxy making the playoffs, Beck's Milan departure raises fewer eyebrows. He will play his first Serie game on January 6th and if all goes as planned, he will join the Galaxy after the World Cup.

I am of the camp that the criticism which he received on his return was fully deserved.

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The only rival or derby match in the first round of the Major League Soccer Playoffs kicked off on Sunday as the LA Galaxy played Chivas USA. Both teams play at the Home Depot Center and are in based in Los Angeles. Who won the match? Here's a recap along with video highlights of the match.

Los Angeles Galaxy draws with Chivas USA 2-2 Video Highlights (will be added shortly)

1st Half

The match started out with chances for both teams but Chivas USA would strike first.

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Chivas USA 2 Galaxy 2

An entertaining if error-ridden game with all four goals coming from unmitigated howlers has ended all square.

Alan Gordon missed a trio of chances for the Galaxy after coming on a as a second half sub that could have made the difference, but Chivas USA had their own burden to bear with striker Justin Braun seemingly intent on giving away virtually every ball he touched.

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The season is over and, after a wild weekend, we have our playoff teams. The first round of playoffs looks like this:

West

LA Galaxy vs Chivas USA

Houston Dynamo vs Seattle Sounders

East

Columbus Crew vs Real Salt Lake

New England Revolution vs Chicago Fire

Before we start previewing this first round of the playoffs, let's spend a moment looking back at how we got here:

For the last month, the MLS essentially had a single table, and it was great!

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By now you've probably heard the terrible news regarding the U.S. national squad. One week after losing one player indefinitely to a terrible single car accident, this week things didn't exactly get better for the U.S. injury report. Oguchi Onyewu will  be out for around six months making his presence in the World Cup this summer questionable thanks to a horrific knee injury in the final qualifier match against Costa Rica.

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Some random thoughts from RFK.....

DC soccer fans are among the best in the nation. My only previous experience seeing a soccer game at RFK was when I saw Norway play Mexico in the 1994 World Cup, so last night was my first chance to see the DC soccer fans in action.

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What a strange week for the US National Team. It started with jubilation after defeating Honduras in thrilling fashion to qualify for the Cup. It turned tragic when rising star and projected 2010 starting forward Charlie Davies was injured in a horrific car accident. And it has ended with a controversial draw that will no doubt leave the soccer world talking.

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No LIVE tonight, but we have a preview look from ESPN and I'll be back in about 30 with the line-ups (as well as the usual wrap bits after).UPDATE:Howard; Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Feilhaber, Bradley, Holden, Donovan, Altidore, CaseyBench: Guzan, Conrad, Torres, Rogers, Cooper, Spector, Clark- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

Lots and lots of stuff today. Had to be selective:

• Barca insists it will get Cesc one day.
  
• Zenden confident of Sunderland deal.
  
• AC Milan might axe Gooch?
  
• Chamakh desperate to leave France.
  
• Galaxy could loan Beckham AND Donovan.
  
• Benayoun not leaving Reds for City.

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Tim Howard's joke about the Honduras fans being there early at 6:30 and him thinking he thought the Honduras fans must have thought the game was for 7 was great!

Donovan was right about possession at the end of the game. I was very impressed to see the team keep the ball and kill off the game.

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Conor Casey led the Nats to a 3-2 win in Honduras last night. With the win the U.S. clinches World Cup Qualification and can book trips to South Africa next summer.
After going down 1-0 Casey battled for a Davies header and beat the Honduran keeper to it. off his shoulder the ball looped up and over the onrushing keeper and rolled across the line. Click to continue reading...

Since the Confederations Cup, every time Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has been in the U.S. men's national team squad, his critics have been loud and harsh on the Inter-ma-Web.

He scored twice in a 3-2 victory over Honduras on Saturday that clinched the United States' berth in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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I'm still sweating whether my feed will hold up all the way through, but it's about 98% that I'll have one.I'll be back around 8.30 PM ET with my thoughts, with the line-ups and a prediction to follow at around 9 PM. This is what I expect will be the line-up:Howard; Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Hejduk, Bradley, Clark, Holden, Donovan, Davies, AltidoreSee ya in a while. Click to continue reading...

Paul Oberjuerge has known Donovan since he was a teen. Landon regularly gives him interviews and is usually quite candid.

Just a sampling of his extensive two-part interview:

Q: When you are no longer the fastest player on the field, for 25 yards, 40 yards, 80 yards, do you think about "How will I play at that point?

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Major League Soccer had one midweek match with the Los Angeles Galaxy hosting the Chicago Fire on Friday, October 2, 2009. Both teams are in the top 2 in their conference and could move one step closer to a playoff spot with a win. David Beckham returned to the Galaxy after missing last week due to injury while Brian McBride was leading the Chicago Fire (Blanco not in the lineup).

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The Beauty: For a few years now, Bianca Kajlich has sort of been labeled the only "real" American WAG. It's not because she is the only beautiful lady on a US Nat's arm. It's because she's the only one with a profession (actress) in the public eye.

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Clint Dempsey gets his passport immediately after the El Salvador match. Photo from the ESPN story.
More Nats news after Jimmy was named to the latest roster. The U.S. Men's National Team is once again highlighted by a major ESPN property, ESPN the Magazine. Luke Cyphers followed the team around during the last pair of World Cup qualifiers, joining the team in Salt Lake City prior to the 2-1 win over El Salvador and remaining with them through a 1-0 win away to Trinidad and Tobago. Click to continue reading...

Yup.In case you're wondering, I voted, in order: Onyewu, Donovan, Altidore. That makes it three years of the last five my pick for the winner isn't even a finalist.I'm just so punk.- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...