After a scrappy 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have found themselves on the doorstep of a major breakthrough in their 2010 Major League Soccer campaign.

If you follow the action in MLB, a magic number is a number used to indicate how close a front-running team is to clinching a season title. In this case, it would be the number of points a team needs to get combined with the number of points a team needs to drop.

If the magic number formula were to be translated into something comprehensible in the race for this year's MLS Supporters' Shield, the number would be two.

For Real Salt Lake, their scoreless draw with the New York Red Bulls makes the Galaxy's magic number two. For FC Dallas, their 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids makes their elimination number one, as it would take just a single point gained by Los Angeles or a single point dropped by the Hoops to eliminate them from the race.

To make things a bit simpler, a win by the Galaxy over the Rapids or a draw for LA combined with RSL drawing against Dallas on October 16 will clinch the Supporters' Shield.

“We are playing pretty well," team captain Landon Donovan said last Thursday. "We need to be a little better with the ball and a little better with our chances. Overall I think we are happy especially when we are on the road.

“From the day Bruce got here, he set the standard high defensively and brought in a lot of guys. Our team has been very good defensively. We know every game we are going to get the chances we have been if we stay organized defensively, we are going to be tough to beat.”

The Galaxy currently sit at 17-6-5 (56 points), good for the best record in the league. They take on a Rapids side that can clinch the final MLS Cup Playoff spot with a draw.

For Los Angeles, the high-octane tandem of Edson Buddle and Donovan have translated to a league leading 16 goals and 14 assists. Donovan has also added seven goals to LA's campaign, while Michael Stephens and Sean Franklin have done some work in a provider role with eight and six assists, respectively.

The midfield of Chris Birchall, Michael Stephens, Beckham, and Juninho will need to step up their production if they plan to be a factor on Saturday. Crisp passing and timely dispossession will form the minimum.

As for Los Angeles's defensive backline, the unit was solid in their 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union and will be counted on today. Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzales, Sean Franklin, and A.J. De La Garza will look to stop Colorado's vaunted attack, led by Omar Cummings, Conor Casey, Jamie Smith, and Mehdi Ballouchy.

Cummings is Colorado's top scorer, with 12 goals this season, while Smith is the team's top playmaker with seven assists. However, Casey is the main catalyst behind the Rapids' success this season with 11 goals and five assists. Ballouchy is another threat to watch, with five assists to his credit.

Colorado's defense, led by Drew Moore, Pablo Mastroeni, Marvell Wynne, and Kosuke Kimura have a tough assignment in stopping Buddle, Donovan, and Beckham, who seem to be getting stronger as the season goes on.

Other players to keep an eye out for in this match include defender/midfielder Anthony Wallace and midfielder Wells Thompson.

Donovan Ricketts has a 17-6-4 record to go with 74 saves, a 0.81 goals against average, and a 77.1 percent save percentage. His counterpart, Colorado's Matt Pickens, has a 10-8-9 record to go with 80 saves, a 1.047 GAA, and a 73.4 percent save percentage.


Prediction:

This could be the day that Los Angeles clinches the Shield. This should be a shutout win, and the moment where the club becomes the finished product that will put on a magnificent display in the postseason.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Colorado Rapids 0

Kickoff is scheduled for October 16 at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be televised by Fox Sports PrimeTicket.

Ins and Outs

Galaxy Superlatives

• The 17 wins for the Galaxy set a new club record for most wins in a season since the end of the shootout following the 1999 season.

• The Galaxy remain on pace to become the third team in MLS history to record 60 points in a season. With 56 points through 28 games, the Galaxy need either two wins or a win and a draw over their final two games of the year to reach that mark. Only the 1998 Galaxy and 2005 San Jose Earthquakes recorded 60 points in a season in the history of MLS.

• Edson Buddle gave the Galaxy the lead in the 27th minute on Thursday against the Philadelphia Union with his MLS-best 16th goal of the season. That goal sets a new career-high for Buddle, who had never scored more than 15 goals in a season before this year. The goal also put Buddle alone in seventh place in MLS history with 89 career goals, including 41 in a Galaxy uniform, good for the fourth most in club history.

• Buddle now has three goals and an assist in two games against the Union this season after scoring two and setting up one in LA’s 3-1 win over the Union at The Home Depot Center on May 1.

• The Galaxy are now a perfect 16-0-0 when scoring first, making them the only team in MLS not to drop a point when scoring the game’s opening goal.

• Donovan Ricketts made three saves for the win. This was his first clean sheet since a 1-0 win at New York on August 14. Ricketts remains on pace to record the lowest single season goals against average in club history. With the clean sheet, Ricketts tied Kevin Hartman’s club record for shutouts in a season with 11.

This was the Galaxy’s 12th shutout in MLS play this season, tying the club record for most shutouts by the team in a single season, a record that they set in 2009.

• Philadelphia were the 11th different team to be shutout by the Galaxy this season.

• Landon Donovan played the 230th game of his MLS career, with 141 of those coming in a Galaxy uniform.

• Jovan Kirovski entered the game in the 76th minute, replacing David Beckham. This was his 20th appearance of the season and the 160th of his MLS career. This was the Galaxy’s final road game of the season. They finish the year with an MLS-best 9-3-3 record on the road for 30 of their 56 points.

• This was also the Galaxy’s final game against an Eastern Conference opposition this season. They finish the year with an 8-4-4 record against the East.

• The attendance for Thursday's match between the Galaxy and Union was a sellout crowd of 18,779 at PPL Park, setting a new stadium record.

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