STANFORD, Calif. – Joseph Paintsil scored a goal in the first period, LA scored two more goals late in the second period and the Galaxy defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.
Paintsil scored in the 37th minute off an assist from Gabriel Pec and the Galaxy went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Dejan Joveljic scored with a header in the 72nd minute after Riqui Puig had hit the crossbar. Mauricio Cuevas capped the scoring with a goal in stoppage time, the first goal of his MLS career.
LA had seven shots on goal to San Jose’s six. The Earthquakes had an 18-14 advantage in shots overall. John McCarthy stopped six shots for the Galaxy and William Yarbrough stopped four for San Jose.
The Galaxy remain tied for first place in the Western Conference. LAFC (12-4-4) and the Galaxy (11-3-7) both have 40 points. Real Salt Lake (10-3-7) has a bye until Wednesday and remains at 37 points.
Saturday’s game was the 101st California Clásico between Galaxy and Earthquakes across all competitions. LA now leads the standings with a 49-33-19 (166 GF, 142 GA). Against San Jose, LA holds a 40-28-17 record in league play, a 4-1-1 record in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and a 5-4-1 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Earthquakes (3-15-2) travel to St. Louis City on Wednesday. The Galaxy return home on Thursday to host rival Los Angeles FC in a holiday showdown.
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