CARSON, Calif. -- As Landon Donovan stepped onto the field for Sunday's Western Conference semifinal decider against Real Salt Lake, he made it clear he wasn't ready to step away from the game just yet.
A loss to Real Salt Lake, or a draw in which goals were scored, would have ended the LA Galaxy's run for a third MLS Cup title in four years and wrap up Donovan's spectacular career.
The legendary attacker made sure that wasn't going to happen, scoring a sensational hat trick, setting up a Robbie Keane goal, and giving a comprehensive performance as LA romped to a 5-0 triumph at StubHub Center to advance to the Western Conference Championship in the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T.
The thought that it might be the last time Donovan stepped onto a soccer field, at least as a professional player, had been running through his mind.
“Just before the game started, we were walking out,” center back Omar Gonzalez said, “and he was like, 'I don't want this to be my last game.' I told him it's not going to be.
“From the opening whistle, he was on, we kept spraying balls to his side, and he was collecting them and making magic happen.”
It was the best performance in more than a month for Donovan and the Galaxy, and more in line with their spectacular play through most of summer than with the four-game winless streak they brought into Sunday's second leg. The result tied the franchise record for the most one-sided LA playoff victory - equalizing a 6-1 rout of Dallas in 1998 - and it was the worst postseason defeat ever for RSL.
Donovan scored in the 11th, 54th and 72nd minutes, extending his MLS career playoff goals record to 25, as LA dictated terms the entire way. Keane was fantastic, too -- he had three assists -- and Marcelo Sarvas added a goal and an assist, but Donovan, he was something else
“Unbelievable performance. Unbelievable,” Keane said before racing off to catch a flight to join Ireland's national team. “Perfectly capped off a great hat trick.”
Donovan nodded home a little chip from A.J. DeLaGarza to complete a superb sequence for an early first goal, played a ball across the goalmouth for Keane's finish in the 20th minute, then made it 3-0 nine minutes into the second half, running past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando and scoring from an abrupt angle after Keane split defenders with a diagonal pass.
His finale might have been the nicest, a subtle volley past Rimando from a Keane chip over defender Chris Schuler and into the RSL box.
“Last night and today I was thinking a lot of this through, and the reality is this could have been the last game ever,” Donovan said afterward. “There's a lot of things that were out of my control tonight. The one thing that was in my control was how I played, so I wanted to make sure that when I went home tonight and I looked in the mirror, that I knew I gave regardless of the result.
“And, fortunately, the team played well, too, and that made for a very fun night.”
Donovan hadn't scored in his previous five games as LA went into something of a tailspin at the end of the regular season, but his teammates knew he had more to give.
“He was amazing. It's pretty spectacular that a player of that quality can have a game like that,” left back Robbie Rogers said. “He has one or two games where he doesn't score a goal, and people think, 'Oh, he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing.'
“It's, like, just relax. Landon is Landon.”
