The soccer match took place on November 13, 2005, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas, and was contested between the New England Revolution and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

It was a rematch of MLS Cup 2002 and ended in a repeat victory for Los Angeles, who won 1–0 on a goal scored by Guillermo Ramírez in extra time.

New England qualified as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with several players named to the MLS Best XI, while Los Angeles was the lowest-seeded playoff team and had rebuilt its roster in the offseason.

The club drafted several young midfielders and forwards during the two seasons, including Pat Noonan, Shalrie Joseph, and Clint Dempsey, who helped replace retiring players or injured starters.

[21] They advanced to the Conference Final, drawing 3–3 with D.C. United after extra time and losing 4–3 in the resulting penalty shootout in the sudden death sixth round.

[24] New England then regained its first-place spot, but lost several players in early August to injuries after playing five league and U.S. Open Cup matches in 15 days.

[33][34] The Los Angeles Galaxy fired head coach Sigi Schmid midway through the 2004 season, only two years after leading them to their first cup title in 2002, despite the team's place at the top of the league.

[38][39] The Galaxy rebuilt their roster ahead of the 2005 season, retaining only 12 of 28 players from the playoff run, and traded away Carlos Ruiz to FC Dallas to sign returning American forward Landon Donovan.

[40][41] Los Angeles began the season with only two losses in their first eleven matches, but national team callups and injuries led to winless streaks in July and August.

[44] In the Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles faced their in-state rivals and Supporters' Shield-winning San Jose Earthquakes, who had won in the two team's last playoff meeting 5–4 on aggregate in 2003.

[53] The Galaxy began the match with several attacks, including a lobbed shot into the goal in the sixth minute by forward Herculez Gomez that was ruled offside.

[52] The Revolution could not produce many attacks during the first half, with a lone shot near goal coming in the 29th minute on a missed header by Shalrie Joseph off a corner kick.

New England's lone shot on goal during regulation time came from defender Jay Heaps in the 62nd minute, shooting into the hands of Los Angeles goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

[61] The match featured 10 yellow cards, doubling the previous MLS Cup record set in 2001, was the third to be decided by a single goal, and the second to be scoreless before overtime after the 2002 final.

[51][62] The match's attendance of 21,193 was a sellout crowd, and included hundreds of traveling supporters from New England and 100 employees brought by Revolution owner Robert Kraft, but remains the lowest for an MLS Cup final.

[65][66] The Revolution were also finalists in the next two MLS Cups, losing both to the Houston Dynamo (formed from the San Jose Earthquakes) on penalty kicks at Pizza Hut Park in 2006 and in regulation time at RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. in 2007.