Gabriel Pec scored in the 87th minute and also had an assist to lead the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 2-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night in Carson, Calif.
Elijah Wynder scored a first-half goal for Los Angeles (6-18-9, 27 points), which has won two of its past three MLS matchups.
Anderson Julio scored early in the second half for FC Dallas (10-12-11, 41 points), who failed to clinch a Western Conference playoff spot.
Dallas played a man short after Logan Farrington was given a red card in the 16th minute for violent conduct and watched Los Angeles possess the ball for more than two-thirds of the contest.
Pec scored the winner while operating in heavy traffic in front of the net. He received a pass from Emiro Garces and did some maneuvering before sending a left-footed shot inside the right corner of the net to spoil Dallas’ clinching aspirations.
This was the second straight Saturday in which the teams squared off. Dallas recorded a 2-1 home victory last week.
Michael Collodi made three saves for Dallas, while Galaxy counterpart Novak Micovic had two stops.
The Galaxy had a 14-9 edge in shots and placed five on target to Dallas’ three.
Los Angeles struck in the 42nd minute due to Pec winning a ball in the midfield and sending a pass ahead to the streaking Wynder.
Collodi came out near the front of the box to cut off the angle, but Wynder’s right-footed shot caromed off Collodi’s leg and bounced into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Los Angeles had a big chance for another goal three minutes later. John Nelson was on the left side and took a left-footed shot that bounded off the right goal post to come up empty.
Dallas knotted the score in the 52th minute when Julio was unguarded in front of the net. He received a pass from Samuel Sarver and sent a right-footed shot into the net.
–Field Level Media
