Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Real Salt Lake won Major League Soccer’s championship on penalty kicks, denying David Beckham his first title with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Robbie Russell struck the winning kick in the seventh round of the shootout last night as Salt Lake won 5-4 on penalties at Qwest Field in Seattle. The teams tied 1-1 after 120 minutes of regulation and overtime in the MLS Cup final.

Salt Lake took its first MLS title after getting into the playoffs with a losing record, at 11-12-7. The Salt Lake City- based team eliminated the defending-champion Columbus Crew in the conference semifinals and beat Chicago on penalties before defeating a Galaxy team that had the league’s fewest losses and featured Beckham and MLS Most Valuable Player Landon Donovan.

“We have a lot of self-belief and a really tight locker room,” Real coach Jason Kreis said in a televised interview. “We have a bunch of guys who truly enjoy each other and want to fight for each other.”

Salt Lake joined MLS as an expansion franchise in 2005, when the Galaxy won the second of their two titles.

Los Angeles entered the championship game with a 14-6-13 record to Salt Lake’s 14-12-7 mark.

Beckham, the former England national team captain who joined the Galaxy in 2007, helped set up a goal by Mike Magee in the 41st minute that gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.

Beckham brought the ball up from midfield before passing to Donovan on the right wing. Donovan then crossed to the far post for Magee, whose volley beat Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Defense Breached

Robbie Findley tied it for Salt Lake in the 64th minute. Yuri Movsisyan’s shot from six yards out was blocked and the ball came back to Findley, who found the empty net. The Galaxy had held their opponents scoreless for the previous 313 minutes during the playoffs.

The Galaxy’s Donovan Ricketts became the first goalkeeper to be substituted in the MLS championship game in the 66th minute because of a right hand injury suffered during a collision shortly after halftime. Josh Saunders took his place.

When the teams went to penalties after 30 minutes of scoreless overtime, both Saunders and Rimando made two stops while Donovan sent his shot over the crossbar.

With the score tied 4-4 after six rounds, Rimando made his second save, diving to the left to block Edson Buddle’s shot. Russell, who didn’t score a goal all season, then fired into the bottom left-hand corner of the net and dropped to his knees as his teammates rushed to join him in celebration.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 01:38 EST