The Galaxy didn’t have much to think about on Decision Day.
The task was easy to understand — get a win or draw against Houston and claim the top seed in the Western Confernce.
On the field, the task was much tougher.
The Galaxy gave up a goal in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time to lose 2-1 to the Dynamo on Saturday night in Houston, keeping them from earning the top seed in the MLS Western Conference playoffs.
The visiting Galaxy (19-8-7, 64 points) had their three-match winning streak end. The loss, coupled with LAFC’s victory over San Jose, saw the Galaxy bumped to second in the Western Conference. Both teams had identical records, but LAFC had a plus-20 goal differential compared to the Galaxy’s plus-19.
The Dynamo got the winning goal from Daniel Steres deep into stoppage time. Steres headed in a cross from Griffin Dorsey.
Gabriel Pec scored for the Galaxy on a penalty kick in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time — a goal that temporarily had L.A. in the driver’s seat in the West.Just before, Houston’s Artur took down Riqui Puig in the 18-yard box, setting up the PK.
Instead of a first-round bye, the Galaxy will now have to match up against the Colorado Rapids. Dates and times were not available at press time.
Meanwhile, the Dynamo (15-10-9, 54 points) are the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.