The Galaxy (8-4-6, 30 points) defeated the Sounders (12-5-2, 38 points) 3-0 in front of 39,304 disappointed fans at CenturyLink Field. Goals by Gyasi Zardes, Landon Donovan and Stefan Ishizaki led to the home crowd booing the Sounders off the pitch after the opening 45 minutes of play. Donovan not only scored the second goal but also earned two assists on the tallies by Zardes and Ishizaki.
Seattle's reshuffled defense was missing central defender Chad Marshall, who sat in the press box during the match. Marshall was rear-ended on Saturday and suffering from back spasms.
The victory extended LA's unbeaten streak over Seattle to five contests (3-0-2) and ended the Sounders' home unbeaten streak dating back to April 26.
LA stopped Seattle's three-match home shutout streak eight minutes in on Zardes' seventh goal of the year. Midfielder Marcelo Sarvas' through pass found an open Landon Donovan in front of Seattle keeper Stefan Frei. Donovan elected not to shoot and instead passed to Zardes. The Galaxy forward left-footed a shot that bounced over Frei's extended left leg to give LA an early 1-0.
Donovan struck 10 minutes later to put the Galaxy up 2-0. Sarvas left-footed a strike from outside the box towards Frei. The Seattle keeper used two hands to deflect the ball to Donovan. The MLS veteran shot the ball into the net to double LA's lead and notch his fourth goal of the year.
With nine minutes left in the first half, Sarvas again played a role on Stefan Ishizaki's goal. The Brazilian midfielder placed another picture-perfect pass to Ishizaki inside the box. The Swede right-footed a strike inside the right post to extend the Galaxy's lead to 3-0.
Zardes had two chances in the 43rd minute to add another Galaxy goal before the end of the first half. His first shot required a right-handed diving deflection by Frei. On the rebound, Frei made a two-handed grab on Zardes' second attempt.
Clint Dempsey's strike in the 59th minute forced Galaxy stopper Jaime Penedo to make his own acrobatic stop. Dempsey's left-footed volley appeared headed inside the right post until Penedo used his right arm to redirect the ball to safety.
With less than 10 minutes left in regulation time, Ishizaki shot towards the far post for another potential LA score. Frei dove to the pitch and reached out with his left hand to prevent a fourth goal for the visitors.
Next Saturday night, the Sounders head South for a Western Conference matchup against the San Jose Earthquakes. The match will be the first event at the new Levi's Stadium, the new home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers.
On the same day, LA will host the Portland Timbers at 2:30 p.m.
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