Beasley heads out as a winner

After a tumultuous 2019 campaign, the Dynamo defeated the L.A. Galaxy 4-2 in their season finale Sunday at BBVA Stadium.

“I think it’s a really good way to end the season,” interim coach Davy Arnaud said. “I think the guys put on a good show. We came from behind twice … and for me, the day couldn’t have gone much better.”

Sunday’s game was significant for a pair of legends, one on each side.

Dynamo defender DaMarcus Beasley made his final league appearance ahead of his retirement.

Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic entered Sunday’s match two goals behind Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela for the league lead.

Vela’s two first half goals against the Colorado Rapids put that milestone out of reach for Ibrahimovic, but that didn’t stop him from scoring against the Dynamo (12-18-4, 40 points).

Nine minutes in, he received the ball from Sebastian Lletget along the perimeter of the area. He edged forward then chipped a shot over Tyler Deric into the top of the opposite corner of the net.

Moments before halftime, Alberth Elis received a through ball from midfielder Tomas Martinez but his shot deflected off the post. But Christian Ramirez positioned himself for the rebound and put the ball into the back of the net.

When the second half began, it took fewer than 10 minutes for the Galaxy to go back on top. In the 54th minute, Uriel Antuna cut across the area and passed the ball out to set up Cristian Pavon, who angled his shot into the side of the net.

But the Dynamo continued to attack. In the 62nd minute, they capitalized when defender Aljaz Struna whipped a cross into the area to Elis, who tied the game when he used his chest to control the ball before letting it drop for a shot that rolled from the bottom to the top of the net.

Elis beat Diego Polenta along the end line then shuttled a pass towards the center of the area for Ramirez, who used his first touch to rifle the ball past Bingham and a gliding Julian Araujo for the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute.

Shortly after, in the 89th minute, Beasley left the field to a standing ovation.

The Dynamo capped the win with Memo Rodriguez’s stoppage-time goal.

“The most that I take away from this is if you’re trying to build a culture, if you’re trying to build a team environment and you’re trying to build something that’s real, you see responses like we saw today,” Arnaud said. “For our guys to come from behind twice and go and win the game the way that they did, that’s what I’m most proud of.”