For years, the Colorado Rapids have been viewed as one of the teams stuck in a bygone era of MLS, lacking ambition to improve. They formed a new image for themselves by signing Shkëlzen Gashi, Jermaine Jones, and Tim Howard this spring, and that trio has guided them into the Western Conference final. They all had big parts to play as the Rapids beat the LA Galaxy, 3-1, on penalties Sunday, following a 1-1 aggregate draw.

The second leg of this semifinal tie featured an incredible zero shots from inside the box on target, as both teams sat back and defended very well while taking virtually no risks going forward. With conservative managers Bruce Arena and Pablo Mastroeni on the touchline, this was always a possibility if the aggregate score became tied. From the 36th minute until penalties, there was very little to watch.

But about that 36th minute. That's when Gashi scored this goal, which is probably the best one any player has scored in MLS this season. Brian Rowe never had a chance.

Unfortunately, Gashi picked up an injury in first half stoppage time and was carried off the pitch. He couldn't continue, and was replaced by Marlon Hairston to start the second half. The Galaxy made a defensive substitution as well, bringing on Jeff Larentowicz to replace Landon Donovan.

From there, both teams looked very content to make it to penalties. They might be a lottery, but each manager apparently decided that they had less than a 50-50 chance of winning if they opened up defensively. What the second half and extra time lacked in drama, penalties more than made up for.

Steven Gerrard and Kevin Doyle scored in the opening round, but Giovani dos Santos put his spot kick over the bar. Sebastien Le Toux scored, giving the Rapids an advantage. Things got worse in the next round for the Galaxy when Ashley Cole had his penalty saved by Howard, which was followed up by Marco Pappa converting for Colorado. Larentowicz sealed LA's fate by hitting the post, and Colorado won the shootout, 3-1, to advance.

Colorado Rapids: Tim Howard; Marc Burch, Axel Sjoberg, Jared Watts, Eric Miller, Sam Cronin, Jermaine Jones (Dillon Powers 83'), Shkëlzen Gashi (Marlon Hairston 46'), Kevin Doyle, Sebastien Le Toux, Dominique Badji (Marco Pappa 112')

Goals: Gashi (36')

LA Galaxy: Brian Rowe; Ashley Cole, Jelle van Damme, Daniel Steres, Robbie Rogers, Mike Magee (Steven Gerrard 76'), Sebastian Lletget, Baggio Husidic, Landon Donovan (Jeff Larentowicz 46'), Giovani dos Santos, Alan Hutton (Robbie Keane 61')

Goals: None.

Three things

Gashi probably saw Rowe struggling early -- While the Rapids didn't have any clear-cut chances in this game, Brian Rowe had a couple of shaky moments on half-chances and crosses in the early moments of the game. Gashi noticing that was probably a factor in him attempting the 40-yard blast that turned into a goal of the season candidate. And while Rowe had a respectable season for a player in his first year as a full-time starter, he was often a weak link for the Galaxy, and they'll probably consider upgrading that position in the offseason.

Bruce Arena succeeded in shutting down the game -- The Galaxy lost on penalties, but they accomplished what they set out to do otherwise. The Rapids couldn't create much before they scored and they put together nothing afterwards. That's in big part thanks to Arena's decision to introduce Jeff Larentowicz for Landon Donovan. Perhaps the Galaxy should have been a bit more ambitious, but they did enough to not throw away their aggregate lead, and made things very hard on Colorado at home.

A fit Jermaine Jones will make a difference going forward -- A long-term injury to Jones derailed Colorado's Supporters' Shield chase and prevented him from playing 90 minutes in either leg of this tie, but he should be back to full fitness for the Western Conference finals. And if the Rapids could beat the Galaxy without Jones at his best, maybe they should be favored to beat the Dallas-Seattle winner with Jones fully fit.