MLS Cup 2006 was the 11th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 12, 2006. It was contested between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo to decide the champion of the 2006 season. The match was played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, which had hosted the previous cup. Both teams qualified for the playoffs by placing second in their respective conference during the regular season. New England were appearing in their second consecutive final, while Houston had been formed from the relocated San Jose Earthquakes. The match was tied 1–1 on goals scored 71 seconds apart by Taylor Twellman and Brian Ching in extra time. Houston won 4–3 in the first penalty shootout in MLS Cup history, with Ching scoring the winning penalty kick and Pat Onstad saving the follow-up in the fifth round. Houston and New England would stage a rematch in the following cup, which the Dynamo won in Washington, D.C. Venue The match was hosted at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, the venue of the previous final between the New England Revolution and Los Angeles Galaxy. The $80 million stadium was opened on August 6, 2005, and serves primarily as the home of FC Dallas. On January 31, 2006, MLS announced that Pizza Hut Park would repeat as the venue for a second consecutive MLS Cup, following a successful bid from FC Dallas; the other bidding finalist was the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Home Depot Center was also the only other venue to previously host consecutive MLS Cups, having done so in 2003 and 2004. Pizza Hut Park was considered as a model for Houston's proposed stadium, along with other soccer-specific stadiums built by the league in the 2000s. During the run-up to the match, the MLS Cup trophy toured the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to promote the league and FC Dallas. Road to the final The MLS Cup is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), a professional club soccer league based in the United States. The 2006 season was the eleventh in the league's history and was contested by twelve teams in two conferences, divided into the east and west. Each team played a total of 32 matches in the regular season from April to October, facing teams within their