Galaxy-FC Dallas Preview

Though Landon Donovan's time as a member of the United States national team has come to an end, he still has meaningful soccer to play.

He'll look to help the short-handed Los Angeles Galaxy keep pace for the Supporters' Shield on Sunday night when they visit FC Dallas, which can clinch a playoff spot with a win.

Donovan played for the U.S. in a 1-all draw with Ecuador on Friday, marking his 157th and final international appearance. He nearly registered what would have been his 58th career international goal, instead having a shot from 12 yards out deflect off the post. The 32-year-old midfielder was limited to 40 minutes to help keep him fresh for Sunday's match.

Donovan, who has announced he's retiring at the end of the MLS season, has already helped the Galaxy (17-5-9) clinch their sixth straight playoff appearance. Their 60 points have them tied with Seattle in the race for the Supporters' Shield and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The race will likely be decided with the teams' matchups Oct. 19 and 25 to close the regular season.

Los Angeles is seeking its league-record fifth Supporters' Shield and first since 2011.

"We've done a great job," Donovan told MLS' official website. "We haven't necessarily been paying attention (to the standings) until the last few weeks, but now it's very realistic to win the Supporters' Shield and that's absolutely our goal."

The Galaxy are 8-0-2 in their last 10, marking their longest unbeaten streak since a 12-match run in 2011. Donovan has keyed that stretch with six goals and 12 assists, and he may need to step up again with leading goal scorer Robbie Keane unavailable due to international play with Ireland.

Keane, who has 19 goals on the season, scored twice in last Saturday's 3-0 win over Toronto FC. Donovan notched his MLS-leading 19th assist and became the league's all-time leader with 136.

Donovan has 21 goals and 14 assists in 35 career games against Dallas, including his most recent hat trick in his last game at Frisco on Aug. 11, 2013.

Galaxy defender Robbie Rogers (hamstring) will be out and linemate Dan Gargan (ankle) could also be unavailable. Midfielder Marcelo Sarvas, whose 11 assists are third on the team, is out due to yellow-card accumulation.

FC Dallas (14-11-6) can clinch its first postseason berth since 2011 with a victory, though the club has dropped four of six and comes off a 2-0 defeat at Vancouver last Saturday. Dallas has not responded well after being shut out this season, going 1-0-3 in the ensuing matches.

"We need to clinch first, and now we are thinking about L.A.," coach Oscar Pareja told the league's official website. "My mind doesn't let me go that far, especially when I have such a big responsibility to play the next game and try to take care of our business, which is to get ourselves into the playoffs."

Fabian Castillo is without a goal in three straight after scoring six in his previous six matches, though he has six goals in eight career games against the Galaxy.

The Galaxy are 6-1-2 in the last nine meetings and took two matchups at home earlier this year, each by a 2-1 score.