Just four days after defeating a resilient Real Salt Lake on the road, the Timbers traveled to Los Angeles to take on the LA Galaxy, a team that earlier in the season had defeated the Timbers 5-0 at home. A result, any result, would keep the Timbers in the postseason hunt.
Through 45 minutes of play, however, the Timbers trailed the Galaxy 1-0.
But in the second half the Timbers flipped the narrative completely on its head, scoring three goals – two from forward Fanendo Adi and one, a powerful header, from midfielder Diego Chara – in a span of about 10 minutes.
The Galaxy put the Timbers' two-goal lead in doubt when Robbie Keane scored his second goal of the match in the 84th minute. But only seconds later, with celebratory confetti still fresh on the field, midfielder Darlington Nagbe iced the match, receiving a Maximiliano Urruti flick-on header, beating Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez, dribbling past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, and calmly finishing into an empty net.
“Are you serious?” intoned FOX Sports play-by-play announcer John Strong.
The Timbers were serious. So serious, in fact, that Urruti himself got in on the goal-scoring act in the game's final minutes, scoring the Timbers fifth goal of the match (a single-game season high for the team) off of a Jorge Villafaña pass from inside the six-yard box.
The 5-2 victory moved the Timbers from the drop zone to the relative comfort of third place in the Western Conference. The playoffs were within their grasp. The win was part of seven in the club's final nine matches--including the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs--that led the Timbers to their first MLS Cup.
