CARSON, Calif. -- Entering tonight's game the LA Galaxy hadn't scored in 279 minutes, but they fixed that in a hurry Sunday evening, scoring twice in the first 15 minutes en route to a 3-2 triumph over visiting FC Dallas that sent them atop the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings.
Giovani dos Santos broke the long drought in the 11th minute, Robbie Keane added another goal in the 15th, and Steven Gerrard restored the two-goal cushion a dozen minutes into the second half as LA (14-9-8) claimed their first MLS victory since Aug. 23.
Dos Santos and Keane assisted each others' goals, and Keane was inches from a hat trick; striking the crossbar twice in the second half.
Michael Barrios tallied for FC Dallas (14-10-5) late in the first half, a goal aided by Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts' positioning, and Atiba Harris scored in the 86th minute to increase the drama in the game's final minutes.
LA climbed two points ahead of Vancouver in the West (and two also ahead of the New York Red Bulls in the Shield race) and three in front of Dallas (and also ahead of New England and Columbus in the overall standings).
Bruce Arena claimed his 113th regular-season victory as coach of the Galaxy, the most a coach has won with one team in MLS history. Dominic Kinnear, during his time at Houston, and former New England coach Steve Nicol won 112.
The Galaxy used its first-choice XI for the sixth time in their past seven MLS outings. FC Dallas returned to its customary 4-2-3-1 alignment, with Mauro Diaz returning to the lineup after nearly two months on the sidelines with a quadriceps injury and Fabian Castillo and Tesho Akindele back in the XI after coming off the bench in last weekend's loss to Sporting Kansas City.
Recent games have seen LA start without the requisite energy, but were all over Dallas from the start which led to opportunities that fell apart with a bad pass or miscommunication -- dos Santos and Gerrard got in each other's way at the top of the Hoops' box in to kill a chance in the seventh minute -- before everything finally clicked in the 11th minute.
Dos Santos collected a header from Robbie Rogers a few yards outside the Dallas box, then played a square ball to Keane who eluded Victor Ulloa to play the ball into the box, on the right, for Gyasi Zardes.
Zardes sent the ball toward the near post, and dos Santos slipped between Zach Loyd and Je-Vaughn Watson at the edge of the 6-yard box to finish the feed.
LA doubled their advantage three minutes later on Keane's 16th goal of the campaign.
Sebastian Lletget brought the ball up the left wing from midfield, then played the ball square to dos Santos who took it toward the box and squared it to Keane at the top of the area. Keane took one touch, then blistered a shot past Jesse Gonzalez and into the right side of the net.
FC Dallas had most of the game much of the rest of the half, with Castillo's agile runs through small crevices causing plenty of havoc. Deft defending by A.J. DeLaGarza stopped him twice, and Omar Gonzalez defused another situation.
The closest the Hoops came in the first half-hour was a sharp Watson header from a corner kick that sailed wide in the ninth minute.
Diaz had a superb opportunity in the 34th minute, but he mishit a feed from Barrios past the right post.
Dallas halved the deficit moments later. Diaz sent a ball from the midfield stripe over LA's backline to the streaking Barrios, but Rogers, half a step behind, got his left foot to the ball, arcing it into the box and toward the net. The 5-foot-4 Colombian won a footrace to the ball and headed it over Donovan Ricketts, who was caught several steps off his line and could only parry it into the upper-left corner.
The Galaxy looked sharper out of the break and nearly tallied three times before Gerrard netted the third goal. Gonzalez was able to punch away at the near post a bristling Gerrard free kick from just above the left edge of the box five minutes into the second half, Keane's redirection of a Rogers feed to the top of the 6-yard box rolled wide of the right post in the 55th minute, and Keane struck the crossbar from a Lletget pass in the 56th.
LA finally got the goal on the ensuing corner kick. Harris and Akindele walled Gonzalez from dos Santos' service, but the big center back was able to poke the ball when it fell to earth. Gonzalez made the stop, but Gerrard fired the rebound into the goal's ceiling.
Keane nearly scored a fourth eight minutes later, with a shot from 21 yards that beat Gonzalez but clanged off the crossbar.
FC Dallas brought on Kellyn Acosta in the 66th minute, Ryan Hollingshead in the 78th, and Blas Perez in the 79th. They twice came close to trimming the deficit before Harris struck.
Rogers cleared Watson's ball into the goalmouth from near the left byline in the 72nd minute, and Acosta put the rebound wide at the right post after Ricketts went to the ground to tip away a Diaz try through traffic in 77th.
Harris scored nine minutes later, slipping into a seam between Gonzalez and Leonardo to finish a Hollingshead pass. Dallas might have made it 3-3 had Hollingshead been able to turn on a ball at the right post following a corner kick in the 89th minute.
The Galaxy visit Seattle next Sunday, when FC Dallas is home against Houston in the year's final Texas derby.
