King Keane Nets Hat Trick as Galaxy Throttle Toronto FC 4-0

Robbie Keane provided the fireworks on the field as the Galaxy captain scored a hat trick and Los Angeles throttled Toronto FC, 4-0 on the Fourth of July.

Keane scored in a multitude of ways throughout the game. First in the ninth minute on a penalty kick, at the end of the first half with a dazzling touch in front of the net, and at the start of the second half after a mistake by goalkeeper Chris Konopoka left the net wide open.

"I certainly feel a lot better than I did," Keane said of his performance. "There were signs in the last few weeks, but I've worked hard in the gym and have continued to work hard on the training field, and when you do that, it pays off."

Newcomer Sebastian Lletget got the start in the midfield on Saturday as he continues to provide a spark to the offense. Lletget scored in four consecutive matches before being held scoreless in a 3-1 homecoming loss to the San Jose Quakes.

Lletget helped get the Galaxy on the board in the ninth minute, when he was taken down in the box by Toronto defender Warren Creavalle. It was the second penalty Lletget has earned for Los Angeles in his five starts with the team. Lletget added a late goal in the final moments, his fourth of the season.

"I felt contact, and I went down because of that," Lletget said of the penalty. "I'm focused on getting another goal, and we're going to use training, to get prepared."

Keane's second goal came in the waning minutes of the second half when Baggio Husidic sent a brilliant ball into the center of the six-yard box that Keane simply tapped with his left foot into the bottom left corner of the net.

At halftime, the sellout crowd at StubHub Center witnessed a historic moment as one of the greatest central midfielders in soccer history was introduced to fans. From Liverpool to Los Angeles, the Galaxy's newest member of the team, Steven Gerrard had arrived.

"I hope we can have some good times together," the longtime English Captain said.

Gerrard will be eligible to play for the Galaxy on Wednesday when the summer transfer window officially opens, but he is expected to make his debut on Saturday, July 11th in an International Champions Cup friendly against Liga MX's Club America.

"When you insert a player of Gerrard's caliber, thing's are going to look different," LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. "He's obviously a first class player. He's going to make us better. He's going to improve our passing. He can score goals and he's outstanding on set pieces; there are a lot of things that he should add to our team."

Keane capped off his hat trick in the 59th minute after a long pass by Stefan Ishizaki was erroneously misplayed by Konopka. The Toronto goalkeeper came charging out to intercept the pass, but Keane got to the ball first, quickly blowing by Konopka to find himself alone in front of the empty net. Keane softly tapped it into the back of the net for the easiest goal of his career.

"There's no such thing as an easy hat trick," Keane joked. "I wish it was, if that was the case I'd score a hat trick every week. You still have to finish them. I'm delighted by the hat trick, but it was more about how I felt more than anything else."

Brian Rowe started in goal for the Galaxy as starting keeper Jaime Penedo was away with the Panama National team. Rowe made three big saves and denied Toronto star Sebastian Giovinco who was on fire entering the match with eight goals and seven assists.

Both teams were undermanned for the match as the LA Galaxy were missing stars Omar Gonzalez and Gyasi Zardes who were away with the United States Men's National Team as they prepare for the Gold Cup in three days.

Toronto FC was also missing two of its biggest stars as midfielder Michael Bradley and forward Jozy Altidore were also away with the USMNT. The lack of star power clearly affected Toronto more so than Los Angeles, who still had the reigning 2014 MLS MVP in Keane.

After the game, it was announced that midfielder Stefan Ishizaki had played his last game with the LA Galaxy. Ishizaki is expecting twins with his wife Helena later this year, and requested a transfer back to Sweden so that he could be closer to his family.

"This is one of the hardest decisions that I've ever had to make," A tearful Ishizaki said after the game. "I'm leaving a great, great, club, leaving great friends, and great athletes. I want to thank everyone. It has been a great year and a half, and I'm going to miss it. It's going to be one of those memories I'm going to have with me for the rest of my life. I'm going back to Sweden as a champion."

Game Notes:
The Fourth of July game which featured postgame fireworks, was a sell-out as over 27,000 were in attendance to watch the match.

Galaxy defender Dan Gargan was injured in the match and came off the pitch in the 60th minute with a lower back injury.