After 33 games and 90 minutes, LAFC and the Galaxy were no further apart than they were when the MLS season began in February: Same number of points, same number of wins, same goal differential.
They were as even as a carpenter’s level.
Then during 11 minutes of stoppage time Saturday that symmetry dissolved into confusion, with the teams trading places atop the standings three times before LAFC claimed the Western Conference title in the wildest finish to an MLS schedule either team has ever been a part of.
When the dust finally settled the teams were separated, appropriately enough, by a tiebreaker — one that gave LAFC the home-field advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs and assures the road to the MLS Cup final will run through BMO Stadium.