Steven Gerrard scored his first goal since his MLS debut, and the LA Galaxy climbed atop the overall league standings with a 3-2 victory over FC Dallas on Sunday night.
Giovani Dos Santos and Robbie Keane scored in the first half before Gerrard connected in the 57th minute as the Galaxy ended their perplexing three-game scoreless stretch with a barrage of goals from their talent-laden roster. All three of the Galaxy's designated players scored in the same match for the first time.
The Galaxy moved past Vancouver and the New York Red Bulls with 50 points in the Supporters' Shield race, but the Whitecaps, Red Bulls and FC Dallas all have games in hand on the defending MLS Cup champions.
Michael Barrios and Atiba Harris scored for FC Dallas, which began the night even with the Galaxy with 47 points. Dallas has lost two straight, but has two games in hand on the Galaxy.
Dominic Dwyer scored in the 79th minute to give Sporting Kansas City a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders, further tightening the race at the top of the MLS Western Conference standings.
The Sounders opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Obafemi Martins shouldered off defender Kevin Ellis to finish a long ball from Gonzalo Pineda for his 14th goal.
Sporting KC's goal came five minutes after Dwyer entered the game. Jacob Peterson fed Amadou Dia on a nice overlap on the left side of the box for a low cross that a sliding Dwyer on the right side redirected past keeper Stefan Frei. It was his 11th goal.
Seattle could have tied Vancouver for first with a win but remained in fourth place. Kansas City remained a point behind in fifth place with a game in hand. The Sounders have three games left.
Matias Perez Garcia scored in the 87th minute to give the San Jose Earthquakes a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake, a result they desperately needed to keep their playoff hopes alive.
San Jose closed within a point of Portland for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Earthquakes have three games left, and Portland has four to go.
Real Salt Lake remained six points behind the Timbers with four games remaining.
Garcia approached a ball that Quincy Amarikwa headed back to him outside the box and he launched a left-footed shot that deflected of a Salt Lake defender into the bottom right corner.
Garcia ripped off his jersey in celebration and was rewarded with his second yellow card, forcing the Quakes to play a man down through the end that included four minutes of stoppage time.
San Jose dominated with a 20-6 shots advantage.