LA Galaxy vs Vancouver Whitecaps: Mike Magee on Fire in 3-0 Win

"Magee! Magee! Magee is on fire!"

That was the chanting of the men and women of the Angel City Brigade as they celebrated a brace from Mike Magee in the 40th and 75th minutes en route to a 3-0 victory for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy over Tom Soehn's Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Home Depot Center.

Forget about the fact that Robbie Keane somersaulted his way to his third goal in all competitions in a Galaxy uniform in the 64th minute. This was Magee's night.

Magee, a longtime fan favorite, finished off a sequence from David Beckham and Keane in the 40th minute to drill one past Whitecaps goalkeeper and former Galaxy netminder Joe Cannon, who was making his 300th appearance in Major League Soccer.

In the 75th minute, Magee received a cross from Bryan Jordan to effectively put the game out of reach.

I have a bit of a gripe with the officiating by Michael Kennedy and crew. In the ninth minute, Cannon clearly pushed the ball out of bounds on a pass by Keane inside the six-yard box. Kennedy called a goal kick when it should have been an offsides.

I sympathize a bit with Vancouver supporters on one call. In the 62nd minute, what should have been a penalty awarded to the Whitecaps was instead called an advantage to the Galaxy.

There shouldn't be any surprises if some Vancouver fans argue that the refs were star-struck on Saturday. The match could have fulfilled my prediction of a 3-1 Galaxy win.

Kennedy apparently made up for that when a would-be goal from Jordan in the 89th minute was called back due to offsides. It would have been the same old story for Vancouver, who lost in their first-ever meeting with the Galaxy to the tune of 4-0.

Vancouver should be given credit for their first-half feistiness. Let's face it: this is a team that is playing with nothing to lose.

Nothing to lose—I will repeat that one more time. Nothing to lose.

So, as predicted in the preview for this match on the View from Victoria Street and Bleacher Report, the Whitecaps threw everything and the kitchen sink, forcing Josh Saunders to make some saves and the defense to do some work.

Vancouver went so far as to foul a number of players, perhaps to put them in a pinch ahead of regional action next week. Alain Rochat, Gershon Koffie and Eric Hassli all earned yellows, although the Hassli card was for arguing the advantage call on LA in the 62nd minute.

Of the stalwarts in LA's back line, Jordan continues to surprise me. He is not the one-dimensional player I thought he would turn out to be. Not only can he defend, but he can create some scoring opportunities.

That 64th minute goal was a thing of beauty. Keane got open space in LA's attacking third, Jordan delivered a crisp cross and it was positioned right for Keane to finish the play.

Jordan did not have a complete game, as he was offsides on the would-be goal, but it was a hiccup in an otherwise breakout performance. The man knows how to cross.

Up until that moment in the second half, Keane was having a rough go. The Irishman was out of position at some intervals, and through balls in his direction were either intercepted like clockwork by the Vancouver backline or delivered too far, resulting in goal kicks.

LA probably figured out that the best way to get Keane a legit look on goal is to cross it to him.

But this was Magee's night. With these two goals, Magee becomes the team's second-leading scorer behind Landon Donovan and his 12 goals.

Break out the blowtorch, No. 18.

As for Beckham, his work as a provider gives him 14 assists on the year.

The match fitness of Beckham will be an important talking point as the Galaxy resume CONCACAF Champions League action against Liga Deportiva Alajuelense of Alajuela, Costa Rica in a must-win game.

The triple threat of Donovan, Beckham and Keane were subbed, and Dan Keat, Michael Stephens and Miguel Lopez did well to maintain the shutout.

I found it unfortunate that Saunders is likely to start against Alajuelense. Donovan Ricketts injured himself during training this past week, meaning that he could be a no-go against La Liga.

Galaxy fans can only hope Saunders doesn't lay an egg like he did in the last 10 minutes and stoppage away to Morelia.

His performance against Vancouver could be a sign of reassurance, so we'll wait and see.

Kickoff between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Liga Deportiva Alajuelense at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto is scheduled for Wednesday, September 21 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

LA's next league game is on Saturday, Sept. 24 against the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports West.