Sounders v. LA MLS Cup player ratings

Thanks to a house full of soccer-loving Dutch people over Thanksgiving (my girlfriend is Dutch); I present to you, in one story, the community player ratings for the first leg of the MLS Cup Western Conference Championship and a chance to cast your ballots for the second game.

I thought the team was good on Sunday. We all know it wasn't quite good enough, but a 2-1 win at home against a quality team is nothing to be ashamed of. In terms of player performances I chose Clint Dempsey as my man of the match.

While I have the bully pulpit that Dave so graciously allows me here, I want to say one other thing: I have believed, and will always believe, that the Supporters' Shield is awarded to the best team in MLS in a given year. I believed the New York Red Bulls were the best team last year. I believe the Seattle Sounders are the best team this year. I know all the arguments and I know I'm in the minority, but I gladly stand beside the fans who created the Shield nearly 20 years ago because they thought the league champion should be the best team over the course of a long, grueling regular season. I have no problem with MLS having a post-season tournament, but you will never convince me that a five-game tournament at the end of the year decides the champion of nine-months of work.

Thanks everyone for taking part in these player rating threads throughout the season and I hope you will stay tuned for some post-season fun with stories wrapping up the year in ratings and highlighting some of the best, and worst, individual performances of the season as judged by Sounder at Heart readers.

Community ratings for the 1-0 loss in the first leg in LA
Chad Marshall: 8.12
Stefan Frei: 7.31
Brad Evans: 6.52
Obafemi Martins: 6.38
Leo Gonzalez: 6.07
Zach Scott: 5.99
Michael Azira: 5.99
DeAndre Yedlin: 5.93
Gonzalo Pineda: 5.90
Clint Dempsey: 5.68
Chad Barrett (sub): 5.36
Andy Rose (sub): 5.31
Jalil Aniaba (sub): 4.81
Marco Pappa: 4.76

Enter your ratings for leg 2, a 2-1 victory

The key to the 1-10 scale:
1. Horrible
2. Awful
3. Poor
4. Flawed
5. Adequate
6. Good
7. Very good
8. Great
9. Superb
10. World Class

My scores
Frei 6
Yedlin 7, Marshall 6, Scott 7, Gonzalez 6
Evans 7, Alonso 6, Pineda 6, Neagle 6
Dempsey 7 (MOTM), Martins 7
Subs: Azira 5, Rose 5, Pappa 5