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It was only one goal in a season of plenty, but it might make all the difference if the Galaxy is to reach the Major League Soccer championship final in Texas next month.

Not surprisingly, it was Landon Donovan who scored it, running beneath an excellent pass from Cobi Jones on Sunday afternoon, beating San Jose Earthquake goalkeeper Pat Onstad to the ball, poking it up and over him and then heading it into the empty net.

The goal, in the 87th minute of the teams’ playoff opener, was Donovan’s second of the game in the Galaxy’s 3-1 victory at the Home Depot Center.

The two-game series ends Saturday at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, where the Galaxy has a two-goal lead to protect in the total-goals series rather than the tenuous one-goal advantage that looked likely.

Those involved all had a different take on the goal.

Onstad, the league’s goalkeeper of the year, rushed out of his penalty area to try to get to the ball before Donovan.

“If I’ve got 10 yards to cover and Landon’s got 40, it’s always going to be close,” he said.

Jones, who was playing despite a stomach strain that reduced his mobility, said he had spotted Donovan making a run and hit the ball from about the halfway line.

“We talked about it before the game,” he said. “It was a good ball that I hit and it was right in the perfect spot to draw the keeper out and for Landon to get a great run at.”

Donovan is 23 and Onstad is 37. It was no race.

“Pat’s old, man,” Donovan joked.

“To be honest, when I first looked up I was a little surprised to see him come. I almost thought that I was going to be in by myself.

“It’s one of those things. On another day, my touch isn’t good and it just hits him and bounces out. I don’t say it’s lucky, but it worked out my way. Another day, maybe it doesn’t.”

San Jose’s Danny Califf was the only defender anywhere near the play.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit at the end.” he said. “I just think we got caught up in trying to level it instead of just being happy with 2-1.

“But anything can happen at Spartan. It’s all about attitude and who wants it more. We’ll find out.”

The Galaxy, with Jones, Donovan, Chris Albright, Peter Vagenas and Kevin Hartman leading the way, showed more intensity throughout the game than San Jose, which had beaten the Galaxy, 3-1, in the regular-season finale a week earlier.

Herculez Gomez gave the Galaxy the lead in the 13th minute, slamming a free kick through the defensive wall and to Onstad’s left after a foul on Jones.

Donovan made it 2-0 in the 39th minute when Gomez lofted a cross in from the right, with the ball bouncing off Kelly Gray and into Donovan’s path, only 10 yards from the net.

Between the two goals, Hartman made an extraordinary save, scooping a close-range header by Brian Mullan up and over the crossbar while in midair and falling.

San Jose came out stronger in the second half and cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 68th minute when the Galaxy failed to clear a Mark Chung free kick and Ricardo Clarke powered a shot through the crowded penalty area and into the net.

San Jose continued to attack, but paid the price when Donovan scored again.

The two goals brought Donovan’s playoff goal total to 12, tying him with D.C. United’s Jaime Moreno for second on the all-time list and leaving him one behind Roy Lassiter.

“We’ll see how important it is on Saturday,” Earthquake Coach Dominic Kinnear said of the Galaxy’s third goal.

“It could be an important goal, we’ll see. At 2-1, you do feel better about going back home. At 3-1, it makes the job that much more difficult, but it was going to be difficult anyway.”