Jose Villarreal makes his mark for Galaxy

With time slipping away in a hostile environment and the Galaxy about to fall further behind the fourth-place Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night, an unlikely hero emerged to tie the score in the 87th minute and secure a point in the standings.

Eighteen-year-old Inglewood native Jose Villarreal notched his first Major League Soccer goal under dramatic circumstances to salvage a tie and help the Galaxy avoid digging a deeper hole in the Western Conference standings.

“I don’t know,” the midfielder said of whether he can top that moment. “It’s going to be tough.”

Villarreal, who has played mostly for the Galaxy’s reserve league team since signing last year, was mobbed by teammates in the postgame celebration.

“Everyone was hugging me and joking around with me,” Villarreal said. “Going in I expected to get some minutes and I’m happy to have the chance and, after I scored that goal, I couldn’t believe it. I have no words to describe it. I was very happy going into the locker room.”

The goal saved the team, which had rallied from a 2-0 deficit.

“Obviously, he scored a great goal,” Coach Bruce Arena said. “No question about that. It was great to see.”

For Arena, the team’s struggles early in games have been perplexing.

“I don’t know how you explain that. It’s not a conscious effort on our part to fall behind in games, but it’s happened too often,” Arena said. “If it was that easy to correct, it would be done by now.”

With the Galaxy in such a hectic stretch — four games in an 11-day stretch, counting Tuesday’s friendly against Tottenham Hotspur — fresh legs like Villarreal’s can play an integral role in preventing fatigue.

“Now that I’m playing, I feel good, and just glad to help the team,” Villarreal said after recording a career-high 19 minutes Wednesday.

Villarreal said support from the team’s veterans — including Robbie Keane, David Beckham and Landon Donovan — has helped him gain an advantage over other players his age.

“They just tell me to keep going and train hard,” Villarreal said. “Almost everyone starts after college, but I’ve had the chance to start at 18. It’s a great group of guys — Robbie, David, Landon — that help me out.”

Although Villarreal’s minutes from game to game are not set in stone, he said he is savoring the moment and was especially excited by the prospect of contributing during Saturday’s Galaxy-Chivas USA matchup, a rivalry he grew up watching, at the Home Depot Center.

Only this time, Villarreal is enjoying the action from a much different perspective.

andrew.owens@latimes.com