CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy just keep rolling on, scoring goals almost at will, it seems, behind Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes.
They were at it again Sunday evening, netting three beauties in a 3-0 romp over Chivas USA at StubHub Center to push their winning streak to four, their longest in nearly two years.
Zardes scored twice from Donovan feeds, Keane tallied on a sweet chip after coming off the bench, and they might have had another four if not for Dan Kennedy’s sterling performance in the Chivas nets.
That’s 19 goals in seven August games and 28 over their past 10, dating to the 5-1 rout of New England in mid-July. They’ve scored at least three in six of those 10 outings, going 7-2-1 in that span.
The big debate afterward was which goal was best.
Zardes first-timed a short, defense-splitting pass from Donovan from the upper-left corner of Chivas’ box to just inside the right post in the 41st minute; Keane collected a ball from Marcelo Sarvas, poked it between Jhon Kennedy Hurtado’s legs and chipped Goats goalkeeper Dan Kennedy from 23 yards in the 68th; and Zardes hit an open net in the 71st after a 10-pass sequence brought LA from one end of the field to the other and ended with some Keane & Donovan attacking telepathy in the 18.
Zardes, who has a dozen league goals this year, ended a three-game drought that followed a span in which he scored seven in seven games and nine in 10.
"It was a great goal," said Donovan of Zardes’ opener. "I don’t think anyone was expecting him to shoot it except him. Dan Kennedy was excellent tonight, as he always is, but I think [Zardes] caught him leaning across the goal, and he hit in a perfect spot and flat-footed all of us, including Dan."
Zardes said he "took a glance at the goalkeeper and saw him shift over" and knew he’d shoot if the ball came to him. Landon delivered a "phenomenal ball."
Keane’s was just as nice, maybe better.
"It takes a second to score a goal," said the Irishman, who came off the bench after missing Wednesday’s win over D.C. United with an adductor strain. "I was lucky enough to get past the defender and the goalkeeper, when you go to the 18-yard box, he naturally comes out a few yards. I seen him come off his line, and thankfully for me, it hit the back of the net. It can go in or it can just go over."
Which was the nicest?
"Robbie’s. I mean, give credit when it’s due," Zardes said. "He nutmegged the defender and chipped the goalie. That’s a highlight goal. He should win goal of the week."
Donovan sure liked it.
"I was just admiring it like everybody else in the stadium," he said. "A few guys were making runs, but a few of us were probably tired and hanging back, and when you see a goal like that, it’s pretty special. It doesn’t happen often, and I’m not sure there’s many guys in this league that can score a goal like that, not many guys in the world.
"You just admire it, you shake his hand, and you hope he does it again."
So goes the story of LA’s Summer of Goals.
