All even in L.A. SuperClasico

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:34 am

CARSON, Calif. -- Erick Torres gave Chivas USA an early lead and Gyasi Zardes pulled the Los Angeles Galaxy even before halftime, and the Southern California rivals played to a 1-1 tie Sunday in their final matches before Major League Soccer's two-week World Cup break.

The Galaxy (4-3-5), who had a 21-6 advantage in shots and held possession for 65 percent of the game, have lost just once in the past 19 meetings, since dropping two in a row in 2007. Los Angeles leads the all-time series 21-4-8.

"Not a good result for us," Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said. "We squandered a few chances. ... There were chances for us to get a few more goals, and at the end of the day, that's the game. You could see we controlled the game for long periods of time, but you've got to get a goal. The goals were out there for us, and we didn't connect."

The Galaxy are seventh in the Western Conference but have games in hand, as many as four, on all of their rivals. Chivas (2-7-5) is last in the West.

"The players showed character," said Chivas coach Wilmer Cabrera, whose team has won just once in its past 13 games. "With the ball, we made some possibilities. That was important for us. ... (This result) is going to help us with what we are going to do, but we are not happy unless we get three points."

Torres scored his ninth goal of the season in the 20th minute, finishing a defense-splitting pass from Leandro Barrera, as Chivas took its first lead in the SuperClasico series since May 2012, its last victory, a span of six games.

The goal was his 16th since he joined Chivas last July, giving him a share of the MLS record for Mexican-born players with former Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

The Galaxy (4-3-5) nearly tied the score seven minutes later, but Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy pushed Landon Donovan's chip off the right post, then leaped across his goalmouth to snag Marcelo Sarvas' header on the rebound.

Zardes scored in the 35th minute, jumping above two defenders to head home a chip from Sarvas.