LA Galaxy Officially Clinch a Playoff Berth

Saturday night was a big moment for the Los Angeles and their fans. With their 10th victory in the all-time series between the Galaxy and LAFC, Head Coach Greg Vanney has his first-place Galaxy a lock now to play in the postseason.

After a year absence from the playoffs, the LA Galaxy are the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a berth to play for the 2024 MLS Cup. The team is looking for their sixth title as a franchise as they already own the mark for most championships in the league.

The LA Galaxy had lost the last three contests against their cross-town rival, LAFC. It appeared that the Galaxy were on their way to a fourth loss in a row when LAFC scored twice in the first fifteen minutes of the game.

The Galaxy's defense and goaltending was not strong at the opening of the game. Mateusz Bogusz and Dénis Bouanga both had a shot that found the back of the net early in the first half. Going into halftime, the Galaxy were down 2-0.

The stars aligned and shined for the Los Angeles Galaxy

Despite entering the second half of play with a two goal deficit, the Galaxy offense do what they have done best all season. They score in bunches. Four second half goals by the LA Galaxy led to a dramatic conclusion in the 24th match of 'El Trafico Derby.'

Forward Dejan Joveljic reminded the soccer world why he is the Galaxy's leading scorer. He added his 13th goal of the season in the 53rd minute on an unassisted play from the right side of the box to the top left corner of the net.

Before Joveljic would add another score, Edwin Cerrillo tied the game up at the 55th minute. The LA Galaxy's second and third goals in the game were assisted by Riqui Puig. Marco Reus recorded the assist on the late insurance goal for the Galaxy.

Prior to the game ending, Puig connected once himself to make the score 4-2 in favor the Galaxy. The Spanish midfielder was handed a yellow card for immediately after his goal for excessive celebration. Yet, the celebration for the Galaxy did not stop there.

The Los Angeles Galaxy know they will continue to play soccer after Saturday, October 19 when Decision Day hits the league. As other teams may be playing that day to secure a postseason berth, the Galaxy are the first in the Western Conference to clinch theirs.

It is safe to say that with a seven-point lead atop the West, the LA Galaxy will not be playing in the Wild Card Match which will be played on Wednesday, October 23rd. Most likely, they will be playing their first playoff game on Saturday, October 26 as part of the best-of-three series in the opening round of the postseason.

Of the five remaining opponents the LA Galaxy will face before the end of the season, all but one of them are still in the thick of the final eight playoff spots. Only Austin FC, who is currently at the 11th spot, has beat the Galaxy, 2-0.

The LA Galaxy have won against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Colorado Rapids, and Houston Dynamo. They have also beaten the Portland Timbers earlier this season as they are the next team up on the Galaxy's schedule. This could easily be a potential preview of a first-round matchup come late October.