Justin Braun and Chukwudi Chijindu scored in the second half to give Chivas USA a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
Sacha Kljestan also scored for Chivas USA (2-3). Chris Wondolowski and Steven Beitashour scored for the Earthquakes (2-2).
Braun broke a 1-1 tie in the 54th minute. Mariano Trujillo crossed the ball from the right edge of the penalty area to Braun, who headed it in from 7 yards.
``It gave us life,'' Chivas USA coach Martin Vasquez said. ``It gave us reassurance. We just have to be patient. If we panic, it's not a good sign.''
Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton kept the Earthquakes from tying the score in the 72nd minute with a diving one-handed save on Ryan Johnson's 13-yard header.
Chijindu used a 21-yard shot to make it 3-1 in the 87th minute. Beitashour's sliding 23-yard shot ended the scoring in second-half stoppage time.
``We're a young team,'' Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez said. ``We got spread out a lot during the second half, which opened up a lot of space for Sacha and different guys in the midfield to make plays.''
Kljestan gave Chivas USA a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute with a 24-yard shot inside the right post. Wondolowski tied it on a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
