Giovani dos Santos scored early in the second half and a hard-working Galaxy defense made the goal stand up for a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the first game of the Western Conference semifinal Sunday at the StubHub Center.
It was clear the game, played before an announced crowd of 24,487, was going to be a defensive struggle since the Rapids and Galaxy were the two stingiest teams in MLS during the regular season. And neither team disappointed, combining to allow just five shots on goal.
The only one that found the back of the net came off the head of Dos Santos in the 55th minute, although Galaxy defender Jelle Van Damme did most of the heavy lifting to set it up.