Carson, CA – After winning just three times in its first 13 games, the Los Angeles Galaxy is starting to hit its stride.
Saturday's convincing 3-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC is the club's third successive win, and it came courtesy of a dominant first half.
Mike Magee scored the opening goal after 16 minutes before Robbie Keane doubled the Galaxy's lead on the half-hour mark.
Landon Donovan then converted a penalty kick shortly before halftime, giving L.A. a commanding lead that was never in doubt after the break.
The opener arrived from a David Beckham corner kick as the ball took a number of deflections before ending up on goal. Vancouver goalkeeper Joe Cannon did his best to keep the ball from crossing the goal line, but Magee was on hand to smash home the rebound from a few yards.
Donovan could have scored a hat trick in the first half, but after stealing the ball from Whitecaps defender Jay DeMerit in the offensive third, he pulled his shot wide with only Cannon to beat.
The Galaxy continued to control the game and Donovan played provider in the 30th minute when he slid a pass into the penalty area for Keane, who eluded a trio of Vancouver defenders before rolling his shot past Cannon.
The chances continued to fall to Donovan as he was played in on goal in the 32nd minute, but watched his effort strike the post.
DeMerit's night got worse a few minutes before halftime when Keane's shot struck his arm inside the box, giving Donovan the chance to send Cannon the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 3-0 to the hosts.
Vancouver failed to register a shot on goal in the first half and the second wasn't much better for the Canadian side offensively, although the Galaxy didn't see as much of Cannon's net after the break.
The Whitecaps were on a five-game unbeaten run prior to Saturday's match, but it came to a crashing halt at The Home Depot Center.
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