After 45 minutes on Saturday, the Kansas City Wizards held a 1-0 lead and, by all accounts, had the better of play against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Somewhere between entering and exiting the locker room, though, the Wizards lost their grip on the match as the Galaxy scored three second-half goals en route to a 3-1 win at The Home Depot Center on Saturday.
"We were very, very good in the first half. I thought we started the game extremely well. We were dictating the pace of the game. I thought we played some very great soccer all through the first half," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said. "The Galaxy kind of took it to us in the second half and we just kind of hit a wall."
Whether it was tired legs after playing on the opposite side of the country a week ago or the weariness of the fifth game in a six-game road swing, the Wizards' defense was not up to the task of handling the league's highest-scoring offense.
Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle and David Beckham did the damage against K.C., a week after the Wizards squandered a late 1-0 lead against New York.
"We're saying all the right things and we're putting in good energy," Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad said. "One play seems to kind of trigger us and we're playing farther and farther back and closer and closer to our goal."
On Saturday, that play was a foul inside the penalty area. Donovan took a pass from Beckham and tried to turn on Tyson Wahl, but the Wizards defender tripped Donovan down inside the area and the hosts were awarded a spot kick.
Donovan buried the ball into the back of the net, and the hosts took control of the match.
"They had the momentum after the penalty kick. It really shifted the momentum in their direction," Conrad said. "I think they felt like they were going to win and we felt like we worked hard to get that first goal and probably even harder to get our second (which never came). I just don't think we reacted well after that and that's something we have to fix."
The Wizards defense had held up to the challenge of Beckham and Donovan until the second half. At some point after halftime, the Galaxy began to throttle the Wizards as the hosts' attackers created space and made runs through the Wizards backline.
"We got to a point where we let them turn and run at us," Wizards midfielder Sasha Victorine said. "At that point, we had Landon turn and run at us, Buddle running at us. The game opened up for them and we never got control back."
Donovan created the match-winner in the 74th minute when he slipped a ball inside the penalty area to Buddle, who drove the ball into the back of the net.
Donovan, who could earn his 100th appearance for the U.S. national team on Wednesday against England in London, helped turn the game toward the Galaxy's favor when he dropped back from the forward line into the middle of the field.
"When he dropped in the midfield, it made a difference," Conrad said. "Now we have to account for Buddle and [Alan] Gordon with Landon coming late. Especially when you are tired, it makes a big difference."
Beckham finished off the Wizards in stoppage time when he sailed a 70-yard shot into an empty net. Wizards 'keeper Kevin Hartman had ventured into the Galaxy's penalty area on a corner kick but Beckham was the one who capitalized as he found a rebound, settled the ball and sent it into the empty net.
For K.C., though, the second-half collapse leaves the team with much to ponder in the upcoming week.
"That's something we need to address and make sure we're putting our foot on the jugular, still trying to attack and still putting pressure on them as opposed to let them do whatever they want to do," Conrad said. "We let New York do that and we let LA do that tonight in the second half."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
