Gyasi Zardes scores twice in Galaxy win over San Jose

CARSON >> A pair of goals from Gyasi Zardes led the Galaxy to a 3-1 win Saturday over a short-handed San Jose team in the first Califoia Clasico matchup the season.

After the Earthquakes (2-1) lost Simon Dawkins to a red card in the final seconds of the first half, the Galaxy dominated the second half, getting goals from Zardes in the 56th and 62nd minutes. They were the first MLS goals for the Galaxy’s prized homegrown player since Aug. 23 against New York City FC.

Zardes gave the Galaxy the lead, redirecting a header from Jelle Van Damme. Forward Robbie Keane flipped a nifty backheel pass to midfielder Mike Magee, who found Van Damme in the box. The Belgian defender put his shot toward the back post, where Zardes tapped it in.

Van Damme again set up Zardes’ second goal, sending a long ball over the top of the defense that a San Jose defender got a touch on. Zardes pounced on the ball and finished the shot to double the L.A. lead.

The Galaxy offense that struggled to find much a rhythm in the first two games of the season moved midfielder Sebastian Lletget to the top of the formation and Magee to the right side of the midfield. Despite the scoreless first half, the change seemed to work as the L.A. (2-1) outshot San Jose 7-1 in the first 45 minutes and 17-6 for the game.

Midfielder Steven Gerrard left in the third minute with a left calf injury, and was replaced by Baggio Husidic, who was solid next to Nigel de Jong.

Chris Wondolowski scored in the 89th minute for San Jose as the Earthquakes caught the Galaxy on counter, but L.A. responded immediately when Keane drew a foul in the box one minute later and converted the penalty to polish off the victory.

As expected between the Califoia rivals, it was a chippy game that featured seven combined yellow cards along with Dawkins’ red card, which came after the San Jose midfielder chopped down Lletget with a two-footed tackle just seconds before halftime.