Sporting KC beats Galaxy 2-1, clinches playoff spot

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Dominic Dwyer scored the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute and Sporting Kansas City secured a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night.

Sixth-seeded Sporting Kansas City (14-11-9, 51 points) will face third-seeded Portland on Thursday night, while the Galaxy (14-11-9, 51 points) took the fifth seed and will play fourth-seeded Seattle on Wednesday night. Both are knockout-round matches.

Benny Feilhaber raced down the center of the field, and then passed the ball through three defenders to Dwyer. Dwyer shot just outside the 6-yard box and beat diving goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for his 12th goal of the season.

Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 38th minute. The ball was headed twice before Chance Myers fired a shot on goal. Ricketts blocked the shot with his left foot, but deflected the ball back to Kevin Ellis, who shot went just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.

For the Galaxy, Robbie Keane made it 1-1 when he scored in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.