Brandon Prideaux of the Colorado Rapids fired a dead-on shot from just inside the goal box, only to be stopped by Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon, preserving a scoreless tie in the first half.

With Landon Donovan and David Beckham both unavailable, the Galaxy needed all the help they could get. They got the help they needed from Cannon, who kept the Galaxy slim playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over the Rapids on Sept. 8.

In a frustrating first half, the Galaxy played as they did all season, unable to finish plays and score timely goals. Alex Gordon helped alleviate the Galaxy’s frustrations, scoring the game’s first goal in the 46th minute (assisted by Peter Vagenas).

The Galaxy extended their lead to 3-0 with goals by Edson Buddle in the 63rd minute (assisted by Cobi Jones) and Kyle Martino in the 70th minute (assisted by Chris Klein). Mehdi Ballouchy scored the sole Rapids’ goal in the 89th minute.

With the win, the Galaxy end a franchise-tying 6-game losing streak and improve to 4-11-5, while the 4th place Rapids fell to 7-10-7.