who replaced a visibly upset Herzog up top in Sampson's 4-4-2 formation -- took little time to show his worth, nearly scoring on his first touch in the 65th minute after slipping by Onstad.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 75th, as second-year player Torres ran onto a Peter Vagenas pass, and slotted it just inside Onstad's far post for his first MLS goal before leaping into the stands to celebrate with delighted fans.
But Ekelund pulled one back for San Jose two minutes later, taking a clearance of a Jeff Agoos freekick just inside the area and launching it off the crossbar and downward into Hartman's goal, which the lineman correctly ruled had crossed the line before bouncing back out.
But with Ching and Donovan both looking tired after their busy week, San Jose's last best chance came in the 87th minute, when second-half sub Chris Brown's powerful long-range shot curled up and away from the upper corner of Hartman's goal.
The two teams will meet again in two weeks time in their final league meeting of the campaign at Spartan Stadium, but first they both hit the road for vital Western Conference battles next weekend, the Galaxy traveling to the Cotton Bowl to face the Burn (8:30 p.m. ET) and the Earthquakes heading to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Wizards (8:30 p.m. ET).
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Sasha Victorine (Los Angeles Galaxy)
San Jose Earthquakes (9-9-7) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (10-7-8)
September 11, 2004 -- The Home Depot Center
Scoring Summary:
LA -- Sasha Victorine 3 (unassisted) 36
LA -- Arturo Torres 1 (Peter Vagenas 1, Tyrone Marshall 1) 75
SJ -- Ronnie Ekelund 4 (unassisted) 77
San Jose Earthquakes -- Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel (Chris Brown 76), Jeff Agoos, Troy Dayak, Todd Dunivant (Eddie Robinson 69), Brian Mullan, Ronnie Ekelund, Richard Mulrooney, Ramiro Corrales (Ian Russell 66), Landon Donovan, Brian Ching.
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Cochrane, Jon Conway.
TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (5 tied with 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (3 tied with 1); FOULS: 17 (Brian Mullan 5); OFFSIDES: 1 (Chris Brown 1); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Richard Mulrooney 1); SAVES: 2 (Pat Onstad 2)
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Kevin Hartman, Chris Albright, Tyrone Marshall, Ryan Suarez (Danny Califf 86), Paul Broome, Cobi Jones (Arturo Torres 72), Marcelo Saragosa, Peter Vagenas, Sasha Victorine, Alejandro Moreno, Andreas Herzog (Joseph Ngwenya 64).
Substitutes Not Used: Josh Gardner, Guillermo Gonzalez, Alan Gordon, Ned Grabavoy, Dan Popik, Scot Thompson.
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Sasha Victorine 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Sasha Victorine 2); FOULS: 16 (Paul Broome 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Cobi Jones 1, Alejandro Moreno 1); CORNER KICKS: 4 (Andreas Herzog 2, Cobi Jones 2); SAVES: 2 (Kevin Hartman 2)
Misconduct Summary:
LA -- Paul Broome (caution; Pushing, Holding) 16
SJ -- Todd Dunivant (caution; Pushing, Holding) 28
LA -- Andreas Herzog (caution; Pushing, Holding) 58
SJ -- Troy Dayak (caution; Reckless Foul) 73
Referee: Terry Vaughn
Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey; Steven Taylor
4th Official: Erich Simmons
Attendance: 27,000
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-81-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
