Earthquakes take over first in West

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SANDY, Utah -- Reserve forward Alan Gordon scored a goal and assisted on another from Chris Wondolowski to lift the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

"Another good win for us," Gordon said. "It's been a common theme and we're used to it. It's kind of crazy, but we're rolling right now."

The victory allowed San Jose (10-3-3) to move into first place in the Western Conference. Javier Morales scored for RSL (10-5-2), which suffered its second straight home loss in MLS action and third consecutive setback at Rio Tinto Stadium overall.

The Earthquakes opened the scoring in the 76th minute when Ramiro Corrales played a long ball down to Gordon inside the box. Gordon headed the ball over Nick Rimando before he could get to it. The ball bounced across the goal line and into the net to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

It didn't last long. Morales struck in the 79th minute. He blasted the kick over the five-man wall and toward the left post. Busch tried to bat the ball away, but it slipped through his fingers and evened the score at 1-1.

San Jose gained advantage again in the 84th minute when Gordon headed a throw-in to Wondolowski's feet. He sent a right-footer at Rimando and the veteran keeper attempted to cover it up. The ball slipped out of his grasp and continued into the net to give the Earthquakes a 2-1 lead.

For Gordon, it was another solid effort at just the right time. San Jose coach Frank Yallop said Gordon is still not 100 percent match fit after recovering from hip surgery last season. But Yallop knows he can count on Gordon to make a difference late in matches.

"He has a knack for scoring goals," Yallop said. "That never goes away from you."

Gordon has embraced his role as a substitute. He relishes the chance to give his teammates a boost every time he comes onto the field.

"I'm always looking to come in and add a little energy," Gordon said. "The last two games have been at altitude and guys are tired. I'm coming in to give fresh legs."

Good defensive play from both teams set the tone during the first half. San Jose and Salt Lake each created plenty of scoring chances. Finishing those opportunities proved problematic. Goalkeepers Jon Busch and Rimando traded fantastic saves to keep it scoreless going into halftime.

Even while the match remained scoreless for more than 70 minutes, Yallop never wavered in his belief that his team would find a way to get three points.

"For me, it's about putting your body and your mind on the line," Yallop said. "Our guys have done it all season. We never quit and that's a great trait for any team to have."

It is a trait RSL is searching for again after a tough week. Salt Lake could only look back and see a pair of games filled with missed opportunities. Real's defense has also struggled.

"We're a little bit weak right now," midfielder Will Johnson said. "We're not finishing up plays or games. We're not staying sharp and focused throughout the whole play. The goals we're giving up are really poor mistakes."

Galaxy 3, Whitecaps 0

CARSON, Calif. -- Mike Magee, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan scored first-half goals and the Los Angeles Galaxy earned their third consecutive victory.

The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Magee capitalized on a scramble in the box to send home his third goal of the season past Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

Making his first appearance for the Galaxy (6-8-2) since returning from Euro 2012 duty with Ireland, Keane went through the Whitecaps defense and doubled the Galaxy's lead in the 30th minute. On his ensuing celebration, Keane paid tribute to James Nolan, an Irish fan that died in Poland during the tournament.

Keane helped create the third goal in the 40th minute as well when he fired a shot in the box into the hand of Jay DeMerit setting up a penalty kick that was converted by Donovan.

Vancouver fell to 7-4-5 on the season.

Union 4, Sporting KC 0

CHESTER, Pa. -- Jack McInerney scored twice as Philadelphia snapped a six-game winless skid.

Lionard Pajoy converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute after Antoine Hoppenot was fouled in the box and Hoppenot also had a goal in the 87th minute for the Union (3-8-2). Philadelphia, 0-5-1 in its previous six, won for the first time since beating Chivas USA 1-0 on April 21.

Philadelphia entered the game having scored a league-low eight goals. However, McInerney got the Union on the board early with a goal in the second minute. He added his second in the 43rd minute.

Kansas City (9-4-2) had its four-game unbeaten streak snapped.

Fire 2, Crew 1

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Marco Pappa and Dominic Oduro scored in the first 26 minutes to lead Chicago over Columbus.

The victory moved the Fire (7-5-3) within three points of third-place New York in the Eastern Conference. Columbus, dominated from the start by the Fire, had entered the game with a six-match unbeaten streak (3-0-3).

The Crew's last loss was on April 28, 1-0 to Vancouver.

Pappa maneuvered to the edge of the penalty area, and using a screen, ripped a right-footed shot off the hands of diving goalkeeper Andy Gruenbaum in the second minute.

Impact 4, Dynamo 2

MONTREAL -- Hassoun Camara got his first MLS goal and Patrice Bernier scored on a penalty kick in the second half, lifting Montreal over Houston.

Sanna Nyassi and Davy Arnaud also scored for Montreal (5-8-3).

Will Bruin got his ninth goal and Brad Davis also scored for Houston (5-5-5). Former Impact forward Brian Ching had an assist.

Houston's Adam Moffat received a red card after bringing Montreal's Felipe Martins down hard in the 73rd minute.

The Impact took the lead when Arnaud flicked Martins' corner kick to Camara, who scored with a header at the far post in the 60th minute. After Felipe went down in the penalty area following a light shove from Geoff Cameron eight minutes later, Bernier converted the penalty kick.

Revolution 2, Toronto FC 2

TORONTO -- Chris Tierney scored in second-half stoppage time to complete New England's comeback and lift the Revolution to a draw.

With the Revolution (5-7-3) trailing 2-0, Blake Brettschneider cut the deficit in half in the 71st minute as he knocked in a rebound past Toronto goalie Milos Kocic.

Danny Koevermans put Toronto (1-10-2) ahead in the 4th minute and Ryan Johnson doubled the lead in the 42nd, before it gave up a two-goal lead for the second straight game. Houston scored two late goals to pull to a 3-3 draw against Toronto on Wednesday.

Both Toronto goals came from headers inside the 18-yard box on pinpoint crosses from the left side by defender and Canadian international Ashtone Morgan.

Chivas USA 0, FC Dallas 0

FRISCO, Texas -- Dan Kennedy finished with three saves to help Chivas USA tie FC Dallas.

With the tie, FC Dallas (3-9-5) extended its winless streak to 11 games to set a new club record. The previous record of 10 games without a win was from July 2 to Sept. 10, 2005.

FC Dallas is 0-7-4 during its winless streak and has been shut out four times during that span. Chivas USA is 5-7-4 and salvaged a tie despite only managing a season-low two shots. FC Dallas finished with 13 shots.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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