Simon Dawkins scored twice and Chris Wondolowski got his 16th goal of the season to tie for the MLS scoring crown in the San Jose Earthquakes' 4-2 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night.
Rookie midfielder Rafael Baca added his first league goal to help San Jose (8-12-14) romp despite being eliminated from playoff contention.
Wondolowski, who converted a penalty kick in the 34th minute, tied D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario for the league lead in goals, but De Rosario will win the Golden Boot award due to his 12 assists - nine more than defending champion Wondolowski.
George John and Ruben Luna scored for Dallas (15-12-7), which missed an opportunity to clinch third place in the Western Conference, and the first-round playoff bye.
Dallas will instead host a wild-card game Wednesday against the 10th-place club - either New York or Houston. The Red Bulls and Dynamo were tied with 46 points going into Houton's last game - against Los Angeles on Sunday.
Wondolowski had several second-half opportunities to pass De Rosario and potentially become the first player to lead MLS scorers outright in back-to-back seasons.
In the 55th minute, Dallas midfielder Bruno Guarda misplayed a ball deep in his own end, dropping it at Wondolowski's feet inside the 6-yard box. Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz, making his first appearance of the season as regular starter Kevin Hartman rested in Texas, just got a hand to the ball as Wondolowski struck it, pushing the shot high.
Seitz was again up to the task in the 71st minute, delivering a fine reaction save after Wondolowski redirected a grounded pass from Joey Gjertsen from 8 yards.
Wondolowski's final try came in the 87th minute, when he sent a shot from 20 yards, only to see Seitz parry it with his right hand.
Barring a record-setting performance from someone in the Houston-Los Angeles game Sunday, Wondolowski will become the first player to take a portion of the MLS scoring crown in back-to-back years since the Galaxy's Carlos Ruiz won the title outright in 2002 and shared it with New England's Taylor Twellman the following season.
