Todd Dunivant

Four months ago, the Galaxy ended its 2009 Major League Soccer season one kick shy of a league championship. Instead, it was Real Salt Lake that walked off the field with the trophy after defeating Los Angeles on penalty kicks in the final. On Saturday night, Coach Bruce Arena's team goes back to the drawing board when it opens the 2010 season at 8 p.m. at the Home Depot Center against the New England Revolution. The drawing board looks very familiar. Of the 26 players on the Galaxy roster at the end of last season, 20 are back.

If the Galaxy needs a cautionary tale heading into Sunday's decisive Western Conference playoff game with the Seattle Sounders, it must look no further than last week's Eastern Conference semifinal between the New York Red Bulls and San Jose Earthquakes. The Red Bulls, like the Galaxy, won their conference. Like the Galaxy they entered the playoffs top-seeded and, like the Galaxy, they took the first match of the two-game semifinal 1-0 on the road. Then New York came home needing just a tie to advance, only to see its season ended when it was blown out, 3-1. "If you don't show up to play, then yeah, it can happen," said Galaxy captain Landon Donovan.

The Galaxy had cleaned house all season, denying any Home Depot Center visitor to depart with a win. The soccer club doesn't own the building, but saying it did this regular season wouldn't be inaccurate. And all that stood between it and an unbeaten home record -- something only two teams have done in Major League Soccer history (San Jose in 2005, Real Salt Lake last season) -- was Sunday's guest, which came along with a sold-out crowd of 27,000, the Galaxy's sixth this season.

It begins in 2011 where it ended in 2009. On Tuesday night, at a sold-out Qwest Field in Seattle, the Galaxy launches its 16th Major League Soccer season, still seeking the championship that has eluded the club since 2005. Coach Bruce Arena's team has come close in the last two seasons, losing the final to Real Salt Lake in Seattle in 2009 and falling to FC Dallas in the Western Conference title game in Carson in 2010. MLS priorities remain a question There is a sense around the team that this could be the year, that this should be the year, and the reasons are many.

The MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center on Sunday has a number of compelling story lines, including a straight one that starts with Houston Coach Dominic Kinnear, passes though his captain, Brian Ching, then ends with Galaxy teammates Landon Donovan and Todd Dunivant. That quartet won an MLS Cup together eight years ago in San Jose, after which Donovan and Dunivant headed off to Los Angeles and the entire San Jose franchise later moved to Houston. The foundation for this year's championship game might have been poured back then.

Few teams had more reason - or opportunity - to pack it in and play for next season than the Galaxy did this year. Nearly halfway through the Major Soccer League season, the team, missing four of its starters, was buried in the conference cellar. The Galaxy climbed out to finish fourth in the Western Conference, then had to win a wild-card game just to get into the playoffs. And once there it found itself trailing time and again. Yet the Galaxy never quit and Saturday that resilience was rewarded one more time when the team rallied from a one-goal halftime deficit to beat the Houston Dynamo, 3-1, and win its second consecutive MLS Cup before a record crowd of 30,510 at the Home Depot Center.

David Beckham was ready to leave. Cruz Beckham was not. The scene was the Galaxy locker room in the aftermath of last weekend's Major League Soccer playoff victory over Chivas USA, and 4-year-old Cruz was at the chalkboard, drawing cartoon characters. "Come on, Cruz, it's time to go," Beckham said. "Come on, it's bedtime." Cruz ignored him and kept drawing. Eventually, Beckham came over and, taking the marker from his son, squiggled a line of hair on the cartoon face and added a top hat for good measure.

The Galaxy, mired in a 10-game winless streak, traded defenseman Todd Dunivant to the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday for a player allocation and also waived midfielder Marcelo Saragosa. Dunivant, in his fourth Major League Soccer season, played every minute for the Galaxy in last year's championship season. Saragosa appeared in 40 games with the club over the last three years and started 10 games this season.

GALAXY VS HOUSTON When: 8. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1330. Records: Galaxy 4-1-2, Dynamo 4-2-2. Record vs. Dynamo (2012): 0-1-0. Update: Seeking its third consecutive win, the Galaxy faces the Houston club that it has defeated in the MLS Cup the last two years to win back-to-back championships. The game also is Landon Donovan's bobblehead night, and Donovan, forward Robbie Keane, defender Todd Dunivant and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini are expected back after missing last week's game because of minor injuries.