The Houston Dynamo came up short in their bid for a third MLS Cup title in six years, losing 1-0 on the road against the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup championship game Sunday night at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

The loss broke a five-game Dynamo winning streak and a nine-game Houston unbeaten streak. The Dynamo finished the season 10-3-4 in their final 17 games, 15-10-13 in 38 MLS games. The Dynamo are now 9-5-3 all-time in playoff games. It was the second time in three years that the Galaxy eliminated Houston in Southern California, having won the 2009 Western Conference final in extra time.

Houston’s best chances came with a long-range shot from Danny Cruz in the 44th minute and a header from Adam Moffat that went wide in the 66th minute.

The Galaxy struck for the game-winning goal with their first shot on target in the 72nd minute. Defender A.J. DeLaGarza floated a long ball into the attacking half, and David Beckham headed it toward Robbie Keane. Keane slipped a pass through for Landon Donovan, and his shot with the outside of the right foot tipped off the hand of Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall and rolled over the goal line before Geoff Cameron could reach it. The goal broke the Dynamo’s postseason shutout streak at 334 minutes, a new Dynamo record.

Brian Ching made his 20th career postseason start, ninth among active players.

The Dynamo played without midfielder and league MVP finalist Brad Davis (right quad strain) and forwards Jason Garey (right hip surgery) and Cam Weaver (right hip surgery).

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Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy
November 20, 2011 — The Home Depot Center, Carson CA
MLS Cup final
Attendance: 30,281

Scoring Summary:
LA — Landon Donovan 3 (Robbie Keane 1, David Beckham 4) 72

Houston Dynamo — Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Jermaine Taylor, Danny Cruz (Colin Clark 78), Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Corey Ashe (Je-Vaughn Watson 84), Brian Ching, Calen Carr (Carlo Costly 66).
Substitutes Not Used: Will Bruin, Tyler Deric, Hunter Freeman, Eddie Robinson.

LA Galaxy — Josh Saunders, Sean Franklin, A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant, Landon Donovan, Juninho, David Beckham, Mike Magee, Adam Cristman (Chris Birchall 57), Robbie Keane.
Substitutes Not Used: Gregg Berhalter, Paolo Cardozo, Frankie Hejduk, Jovan Kirovski, Donovan Ricketts, Michael Stephens.