Blanco's goal shows way as Fire tops Galaxy

Josh Wicks learned the hard way that Cuauhtemoc Blanco still has a little something left in his 35-year-old legs.

The Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper sprinted 10 yards outside his penalty area hoping to beat Blanco to a Chris Rolfe pass from the midfield circle. The two of them and Galaxy defender Troy Roberts reached the ball at the same time, with the ball popping just behind the sliding Wicks.

Blanco corralled the ball and quickly shot it 23 yards into the wide-open net as Wicks looked on helplessly. L.A. coach Bruce Arena called it the play of the game.

The Fire (12-9-5, 41 points) went on to score a 3-1 victory Thursday night in a sold-out Toyota Park and before a national TV audience.

It got worse for Wicks right after Blanco's 57th minute goal. Two minutes later the Galaxy defense - the worst in MLS - broke down as it has so many times this season. Gonzalo Segares fed Brian McBride just beyond midfield, and he immediately sent a diagonal pass behind the Galaxy back line to a speeding Rolfe. Rolfe went 1-on-1 with Wicks, who got a piece of the shot but not enough to stop it from continuing its journey into his net for the final 3-1 margin.

"I think in big games we put big players on the field, and they stepped up tonight," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said.

It was Rolfe's second goal of the game. He did not get credit for an assist on Blanco's goal.

Eddie Lewis scored for L.A. (7-11-8, 29 points) in the 35th minute to tie the game at 1, leaping to tap in a Chris Klein cross from 6 yards out.

The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Fire, which has been having trouble scoring lately. The Galaxy's fading playoff hopes took another hit.

"We need to pick ourselves up from this because we're running out of games," said midfielder David Beckham.