Donovan's double does in Earthquakes

Gomez scored from a free kick to give the Galaxy an early lead, then Donovan scored late in each half to send the MLS Supporters' Shield holders to a first-leg defeat, just their second loss in all competitions since mid-July. Both losses have come to the Galaxy, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup as well as the MLS Cup Playoffs; the Earthquakes ended the regular season with a 14-game unbeaten streak.

Under perfect conditions for attacking soccer, both teams started with promising ventures toward goal. Cobi Jones was a catalyst for the Galaxy throughout much of the first half, and in the seventh minute he took off on a long run that originated in his own half. After weaving through most of the Quakes' defense, Jones laid off a pass that finally reached Gomez, but his shot was deflected wide.

Four minutes later the Quakes mounted an attack of their own. Brian Ching headed down a long ball out of midfield, laying the ball back for Mark Chung. Chung ran onto the ball and fired a first-time effort from about 19 yards out, but the shot went well high.

Gomez opened up the scoring moments later. Another run by Jones ended in a hard tackle by Wade Barrett. Barrett earned a yellow card for his effort, and Jones won a free kick. Gomez stepped up to take the kick and hit a blast from 24 yards out that went right through the San Jose wall. It seemed to change direction slightly en route to the goal and beat Pat Onstad.

The physical play from the regular season finale between the teams - a 3-1 Earthquakes win - carried over to the playoff opener. In the 21st minute Galaxy coach Steve Sampson was forced to go to his bench when Marcelo Saragosa went down with an injury, and Paulo Nagamura came on.

The Quakes nearly equalized right after the substitution. Chung sent a cross to Brian Mullan, who put a driven header on target, but Kevin Hartman managed to sprawl out and punch the ball over the bar for a corner kick.

The Galaxy then doubled their advantage in the 39th minute, with their lethal strike pair again providing the finish. Gomez crossed the ball into the penalty area from the right flank, but a pair of San Jose defenders bungled the clearance and the ball fell right to Donovan. Standing all alone, he neatly tucked the ball away from about eight yards for the L.A. second.

The Quakes managed a couple of late attempts at goal just before the half. Ricardo Clark managed to get off a long-range shot, but Hartman easily handled it. Then, literally seconds before the halftime whistle, Dwayne De Rosario ran onto a long ball and hit a volley from the top of the box, but again Hartman was equal to the task.

Sandwiched between the two San Jose shots, the Galaxy nearly put the game away. Again it was Gomez providing the service, this time from the left flank. His ball made its way to Jones, all by himself at the back post, but his acrobatic volley managed neither power nor accuracy and missed the goal all together.

The second half opened up with the same energy as the first. The Galaxy offense seemed to have a bit more creativity going forward, but it was San Jose that controlled much of the possession in the early stages of the half.

In the 60th minute, San Jose was within inches of pulling one back. A corner kick took a deflection to the top corner of the penalty area where Ricardo Clark took a shot at goal. The shot bounced off a couple legs before squirted just wide of the post.

Right after that, Gomez had an opportunity to add to the lead for the Galaxy. He found himself one-on-one with Eddie Robinson and out-fought him for the ball. Gomez cut into the box and took aim, but his low shot went right into the legs of Onstad, who quickly collected the short rebound.

Looking for some sort of offensive spark, San Jose coach Dominic Kinnear brought on Alejandro Moreno for Ronald Cerritos. Minutes later, the Quakes found a goal.

A free kick on the right flank wasn't cleared by the Galaxy and Clark won the ball, took a quick touch to his left and fired low inside the back post to bring San Jose to within one.

After a brief shoving match that saw Galaxy fullback Chris Albright shown yellow for his involvement, both sides had good chances. First, in the 81st minute, Moreno got loose inside the Galaxy penalty area, but Albright was able to recover and block his shot. Then the Galaxy worked a clever one-two in the 85th minute that allowed Ned Grabavoy to let loose a shot from just inside the 18, but his shot went straight to Onstad.

Two minutes later, Donovan worked his own magic though to bring the lead back to two goals. Jones played along ball out of midfield, and Donovan outran Danny Califf, and beat an onrushing Onstad to the ball. Donovan popped his first touch over Onstad, and then with Califf breathing down his neck, headed home his second touch to give the Galaxy the 3-1 lead.

The Galaxy now take their two-goal lead to Spartan Stadium for next Saturday's second leg. The last time the Galaxy traveled to San Jose with a two-goal lead in a playoff series, the Quakes rallied to win the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals 5-4 on aggregate.

MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.