Gabriel Pec thought he’d done it for the LA Galaxy.
When the Brazilian forward slotted home a 96th-minute penalty to draw his side level at Houston Dynamo FC, LA had the Western Conference's No. 1 seed nearly secured. A 1-1 tie was within reach and would keep LAFC at bay, despite Marlon's late header giving the Black & Gold a 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Decision Day drama was just beginning, though.
Former Galaxy defender Daniel Steres headed home a 2-1 winner past John McCarthy in the 101st minute, giving Houston all three points and leaving the Galaxy heartbroken.
LAFC and LA both ended Saturday night with 64 points. However, their El Tráfico arch-rivals won the West on goal differential – the second standings tiebreaker.
"Let this be a lesson"
“It’s one play at the end of the season when there's a season of a ton of plays, but the one play being the last play of the season just really hurts for everybody,” Galaxy manager Greg Vanney said postgame. “I told the group that we need to let this be a lesson. This one today hurt us and it cost us first place. The next one like that will cost us our season.”
“I was trying to get the message to the group," Vanney added. "With a certain level of calculation, you would want to try to go get the goal back and get the draw...but then obviously, there was a goal that happened for LAFC and it became ‘Okay, we've got to push.' And we've got to try to throw caution at the wind maybe.”
Now, LA are the No. 2 seed in the West and will face No. 7 Colorado Rapids in a Round One Best-of-3 Series in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. They'll enter as favorites, but the West's road to MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 7 now runs through LAFC's BMO Stadium.
Meanwhile, Houston's win booked fifth in the West and a clash with No. 4 Seattle Sounders FC.
“It felt really good – a lot of reasons behind that," Steres said. "But just to give us that winning momentum going to playoffs, it feels good to score a goal like that and help the team get the win right up here with one."
While the last-second drama didn’t go the way of the five-time MLS Cup champions, it came as a warning shot. They know simple mistakes could cost them a campaign, especially in the single-knockout rounds after the opening series.
“Even if you’re a super competitive, mature group with a lot of positive things going for it, sometimes you forget that there's a dark side if you don't get your stuff done correctly all the way through the game,” Vanney said. “Tonight was a harsh reminder.”
Moving forward
While the Galaxy won’t have the advantages of the West's top seed, they're still expected to deliver in the postseason. And for Maya Yoshida, who boasts a career brimming with big games, it lights a fire even more.
“I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight, but I can promise I will give it back to the club fans and the squad and through the playoffs. I'm being tested now,” the veteran said.
“Sometimes in life, people think, why do things happen to me? We think and think and think, but this kind of difficult moment is always tested... you will see how I react. I will contribute, go through the final, and get the title. This is my target from now on.”
