Impact defender Wandrille Lefevre is heading to France Friday evening to spend a month visiting with family and friends that he has not seen for most of the year. Recovering from an adductor injury that troubled him towards of the 2014 season, he’ll be using the time off to slowly get back into form.
And although he has plans to take in a Lyon vs Monaco game, he will be watching the MLS Cup final closely as well.
After going 0-for-2 on his predictions for the Conference semifinals winners, he looks to redeem himself.
Eastern Conference
Prediction: New York Red Bulls
Champions: New England Revolution 4-3 on aggregate
I felt New York would take the East with players who have already played high level games, like Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, but New England surprised me. Jermaine Jones made a huge difference since his arrival and especially in the semifinals. That was the key for them. He frees up Lee Nguyen to be creative and move forward.
Western Conference
Prediction: Seattle Sounders FC
Winner: LA Galaxy 2-2 on aggregate (on the strength of an away goal)
In the West, it was really close. I felt Seattle would move on based on the season the fat that they had home field advantage. The difference here was an away goal scored by LA as each team took one game. LA was able to rally behind a number of events this season, from Landon Donovan’s retirement announcement to the tragic passing of AJ DeLaGarza’s son; it seems that LA has really come together as a team.
MLS Cup final
Champions: LA Galaxy
LA is the favourite. The biggest factor is the home field advantage, playing at the StubHub Center where the Galaxy has lost just once in 2014 - the very first game of the season. New England has to travel and deal with the time change. The team chemistry that has been built over the season in LA, Robbie Keane’s recent incredible form and Donovan’s retirement lead me to lean in favour of the Galaxy.
