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The LA Galaxy has been showing off their newly acquired designated players signings. Joseph Paintsil made a significant impact by scoring a goal and providing an assist as the Galaxy scored three times in the first 30 minutes, eventually clinching a tight 4-3 win against the San José Earthquakes at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday evening.
Currently leading the Western Conference with a 5-1-3 record, the Galaxy took the lead early on at the 14-minute mark when Gabriel Pec netted his second goal of the season, with assists from Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig. Paintsil doubled the Galaxy's lead by skillfully converting a penalty into the bottom right corner after a handball penalty was called on San José's midfielder Niko Tsakiris. This goal marked Paintsil's second in as many matches, bringing his season total to four goals.
Paintsil didn't stop there, going on to deliver his fourth assist of the season with a corner kick that Maya Yoshida turned into the Galaxy's third goal. Yoshida, scoring his second of the season, has now accumulated three goals across 21 starts over the last two seasons. The Earthquakes managed to respond in the 32nd minute when defender Rodrigues, assisted by Cristian Espinoza, scored his first goal of the season and his second career goal.
The Galaxy quickly widened the gap again in the 56th minute when Puig scored off assists from Pec and Joveljic, bringing his season goal tally to three and the score to 4-1. However, San José cut the lead when Espinoza set up Benjamin Kikanović for a header in the 58th minute, marking Kikanović's second goal of the season.
The match intensity increased following a red card shown to Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta in the 70th minute, putting the Galaxy a player down. This disadvantage led to Jeremy Ebobisse scoring a penalty-kick goal after drawing the foul on Zavaleta, tightening the score to 4-3. This was Ebobisse's third goal of the season and his 10th in 15 career matches against the Galaxy.
Goalkeeper John McCarthy made four saves for the Galaxy, solidifying their lead in the Western Conference with 18 points, two ahead of second-place Vancouver. William Yarbrough recorded three saves for the Earthquakes.
Dejan Joveljic also continued his impressive performances against San Jose, scoring five goals and contributing three assists in eight matches. This game was the 100th meeting between the two clubs across all competitions, with the Galaxy now having 48 wins, 33 losses, and 19 draws. In league play, the Galaxy have been particularly dominant recently, winning 39 times, losing 28, and drawing 17, including a 5-0-1 record in their last six encounters, highlighted by a 3-1 victory earlier this season. Next, the Galaxy will face Austin FC.
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