CARSON — Long-time rivals turned into desperate opponents Saturday.
Both the Galaxy and Seattle Sounders entered their meeting looking up at the playoff line in the Western Conference. The Sounders were in 13th place, riding an 11-game winless streak, while the Galaxy were in 12th place.
After 90 minutes, nothing was settled on the scoreboard as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in front of 20,489 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The Galaxy (7-10-9, 30 points) move slightly up the standings to 10th, now tied with San Diego FC, who holds the final playoff spot in ninth place. San Diego plays Sunday.
Marco Reus sent the Galaxy into halftime with a 1-0 lead after converting a penalty kick. Chucky Lozano drew the penalty after being fouled by Paul Rothrock.
In the 62nd minute, the Sounders nearly had the equalizer as Jordan Morris beat the Galaxy backline and scored over goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski. However, the linesman immediately raised his flag for offside, negating the goal.
The Sounders finally found their breakthrough in the 81st minute on a goal from Paul Arriola, who had just entered the game in the 79th minute. Jordan Morris set him up for an easy tap-in, but the speedy run from Peter Kingston down the right sent the Galaxy defense into scramble mode.
The Sounders (7-9-7, 28 points) remain in 13th place.
Joao Klauss made his return after being out since April. Klauss suffered a foot injury on April 18, underwent surgery and was placed on the injured list. He was officially added back to the active roster Friday and came on as a substitute in the 66th minute.
The night was also a second return this season to Dignity Health Sports Park for former Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić. Joveljić, who scored against the Galaxy in front of his former fans earlier this season as a member of Sporting Kansas City. He was traded to Seattle last month in a cash trade for $6 million. Ironically, the Galaxy traded him to SKC in one of the first cash trades in MLS history for $4 million before the 2025 season.
Joveljić was subbed off in the 78th minute after taking an injury knock, forcing the training staff to come out and check on him.
Saturday was the end of a three-game week for the Galaxy. It started Sept. 5 with a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution. Four days later, the Galaxy suffered a 3-0 loss on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Time is running out for the Galaxy, who now have just eight games remaining.
The Galaxy won the first meeting against the Sounders, 2-0, between the teams back on May 16.