LA Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard refused to make Sunday's LA Galaxy's 3-2 victory over FC Dallas about him, despite the fact that his 57th minute goal ended his own scoreless drought.
Gerrard scored his first goal since his MLS debut on July 18, and the LA Galaxy climbed atop the overall league standings.
"I didn't have a problem with my confidence. I think the goal was good for the team," Gerrard, 35, said. "We're at the business end of the season, and it's all about three points and not about individuals, tallies and who gets what, but it's about the team getting three points. It's a big result for us."
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.
"We've got a responsibility to deliver as many prizes as possible," Gerrard said. "It's all about trying to do everything we can to win the Shield. That pushes up to 50 points and we're the only team with 50 points which is nice to see."
Dos Santos, who later added an assist on Robbie Keane's strike to bring his overall goal total with the Galaxy to four goals and six assists in nine games, said he was also pleased to end his scoring drought.
"It gave us a lot of confidence in the first half, but we knew that we have very good players," the 26-year-old said. "We were very good today, Stevie also scored, and always as a striker you want to score. I think we are not worried about creating chances to score goals because we have very good players."