Devon McTavish and Thabiso Khumalo scored early goals in the first and second half, respectively, but D.C. United couldn't overcome a hat trick from Landon Donovan and fell 5-2 to the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
The Galaxy overcame D.C.'s early strike from McTavish and scored goals in the 23rd, 35th and 38th minutes to take a commanding two-goal edge heading into the intermission. D.C. cut the deficit through Khumalo, but the task became too great when United were left with 10 men after Marc Burch saw red in the 63rd minute.
The loss kept D.C. United in fifth place in the Eastern Conference table, as United are just one point ahead of Kansas City through Saturday's games.
Perhaps it was the Galaxy's league-worst defense, or maybe it was the fast-charging Kansas City Wizards who had closed to within one point of D.C. Whatever the case, things were good for the visitors early on United jumped out on the attack in search of an early goal. The visitors were rewarded for their tenacity 71 seconds into the match.
United took advantage of an early corner kick to take a quick 1-0 lead. Ivan Guerrero whipped a corner kick to the front of the six-yard box to McTavish, who settled the ball and ripped a shot that easily beat Galaxy 'keeper Josh Wicks.
The goal set a milestone for McTavish. The third-year product of West Virginia University, McTavish's goal was the first of his career. In 47 previous games, McTavish had accounted for four assists.
D.C. has had success with early goals against the Galaxy this season. On June 29, Moreno scored on a fifth-minute penalty kick in a 4-1 United rout.
Hours before Saturday's match kicked off, Kansas City finished off Toronto FC by 2-0 to move to 32 points. D.C. began the night with 33, which was good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference table.
After the early opener, both teams exchanged possession but neither side showed much danger. It wasn't until the 20th minute that the Galaxy showed a bit of bark, but for all the wrong reasons. D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms made contact with Galaxy captain David Beckham, who fell to the ground near the middle of the field. As United collected the ball and raced toward the Galaxy third on a quick counterattack, Beckham stood up and chased referee Terry Vaughn. After several moments of arguing, Beckham saw yellow.
The exchange seemed to inspire the Galaxy, though. Three minutes later, Chris Klein sent a through ball between D.C.'s defense. Donovan raced onto the ball, shook off Bryan Namoff's challenge and beat Louis Crayton with a nifty flick with his right boot.
The Galaxy maintained their pressure and came close to scoring several times before Donovan broke through again. Eddie Lewis hit the post in the 31st minute and Crayton turned Gordon away with a stellar save a few minutes later.
In the 35th minute, though, it was Donovan who again found the back of the net. Donovan ripped a 22-yard rocket past Crayton and into the back of the goal.
Gordon found the back of the net as United fell apart late in the half. Beckham found Edson Buddle on the right side of the area but Crayton had come well off his line to make the save. The ball bounced around before a D.C. defender sent it out of the area. However, the ball went to Lewis, who fired a shot on goal. Standing near the penalty spot, Crayton turned Lewis away but the rebound fell to Gordon, who slipped it past a pair of United defenders and into the back of the net.
Thus, in a three-minute span, D.C. went from being tied 1-1 to trailing by two goals.
In stoppage time, Buddle let United off the hook. He walked into the area alone and Crayton turned him away. A rebound fell to Buddle and with an empty goal in front of him, Buddle skimmed a shot off the top of the crossbar.
The Black-and-Red, though, showed signs of life early in the second half and threatened to make a game of the encounter. Khumalo collected a long ball from Gonzalo Martinez, beat Klein to the ball and ripped a shot past Wicks just three minutes into the second half to cut the Galaxy's lead to 3-2.
The Galaxy's defense yielded few chances to D.C., however, as the visitors could not find their rhythm despite the surge of momentum from the goal.
However, any momentum United enjoyed vanished in the 63rd minute. Burch was sent off after a challenge with Beckham on the right touchline. As a ball went into touch, Beckham stood near the line and tried to shield Burch from the ball. Burch made contact with Beckham, who fell and tumbled into the boards. Referee Vaughn, who earlier had failed to give Beckham a call in his favor, sent Burch off and left United with 10 men.
The loss of manpower eventually came back to haunt D.C. In the 80th minute, United coach Tom Soehn replaced Gonzalo Martinez with Ryan Cordeiro. With just two defenders in the match, the Galaxy quickly capitalized. Donovan found Peter Vagenas on the right side of the penalty area and Vagenas lofted a ball over Crayton, off the left post and across the goal line.
Donovan scored his third goal of the night in second-half stoppage time, taking a long ball played over the top by Klein and walking in alone on Crayton before slotting home inside the left-hand post for his league-high 19th goal of the year.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
