CARSON, CALIFORNIA - Ante Razov scored twice, including the game winner in stoppage time, to propel Chivas USA back into the Western Conference lead with a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night.

Razov's pair of goals moved him to 109 for his career, leaving him trailing Jaime Moreno by one for the most career goals scored in MLS.

Having used up all of their late game heroics in last Saturday's 3-2 stoppage-time comeback win over the Columbus Crew, the Wizards had the tables turned on them at the Home Depot Center when Razov tallied in the extra minutes, clinching a playoff spot for Preki's club with a month left in the season.

Less than two minutes into the game, the Wizards got a good look at goal when Davy Arnaud sprung Ryan Pore behind the Chivas back-line with a perfect through pass into space. With Brad Guzan coming off his line to cut down the angle, Pore was forced to hurry his shot, and fired well wide of the far post from the top of the box.

A routine Chivas corner kick in the fifth minute became trouble when it was spilled by Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman in traffic. With the ball trickling dangerously away from the former Galaxy netminder, Sacha Kljestan stepped up to fire with Hartman still out of position, but his line drive blast was turned away by a defender in front of the net and caromed out of play.

The Wizards threatened again moments later when Eddie Johnson was left alone to battle Shavar Thomas. After getting around the defender as he entered the box, Johnson was pulled to the turf from behind by Thomas, drawing an irate reaction by the US international as referee Shane Moody waved play on.

The next scoring chance for either side came as Maykel Galindo led a Chivas counterattack just past the half hour mark, taking on three Wizards defenders while running the length of the pitch. Opting to test Hartman at the near post, the Cuban's shot ended just off target, rattling the side netting on the wrong side of the post as Nick Garcia shoved him to the ground.

Despite outshooting their opponents 5-2 in the opening half, Chivas went into the break without registering a single shot on goal.

Things would pick up early in the second half as Kansas City would come out firing. Johnson led the Wizards offensive explosion, sending a shot just over the bar in the 53rd minute and again penetrating Chivas' defense a minute later. With nobody left to beat but the keeper, Johnson's low shot at point blank range was denied by Guzan, who dove to his right to make the save and keep the Wizards off the board.

Taking advantage of the open game play, Kljestan stepped up at the other end in the 55th minute to launch a 30-yard shot at the Wizards net. Bouncing right before reaching Hartman, the awkward short-hop made for an interesting save, with the netminder falling to his left as he punched the ball away.

In a situation similar to Johnson's in the first half, Galindo was taken down in the box in the 63rd minute by Garcia, but no penalty would be signaled for on this occasion either.

Chivas would gain the upper hand in the 69th minute as second-half substitute Ramón Núñez fed the ball to Francisco Mendoza who was streaking down the left side of the field.

Seeing Ante Razov making a run at the back post, Panchito slotted the ball across the front of goal with pinpoint accuracy, enabling the forward to bury his shot into the roof of the open net for his 10th goal of the season.

"Sometimes those are the hardest ones that are close like that," Razov told American Soccer Daily after the match. "You start thinking about it… but I was able to get it in."

The advantage would be erased in the 72nd minute as Johnson again created chaos with his speed. Running onto a ball over the top, he slammed onto the brakes to shake veteran defender Claudio Suárez in the box to hit a left-footed shot that deflected off the former Mexico star and hit the crossbar before coming back into play. The rebound fell right to Eloy Colombano, who avoided Thomas in the mouth of goal to put the ball into the back of the net for his first career MLS goal.

"Colombano can provide an excellent spark for us off the bench," said head coach Curt Onalfo of the goal-scoring Argentinean after the game. "He was one of the few players always looking to get in behind the defense and that's a good thing."

In the 76th minute, Razov nearly tallied a second goal when he unleashed a left-footed volley from just outside the box, but his effort was smothered by Hartman.

Halfway through stoppage time, however, Razov would not be denied. Controlling the ball in midfield, Kljestan served the ball wide to Lawson Vaughn, who cut the ball back for Razov. With space and time to pick his spot, the striker hit a brilliant arcing shot past Hartman and into the upper corner of the net, giving Chivas the lead with career goal #109.

"It'll be big once I'm done playing," commented Razov on his potential to become the all-time leading scorer in MLS history. "Certainly it's special, but I'm more interested in rings than those kinds of awards."

Kansas City would be unable to mount a comeback in the remaining time, suffering their first ever loss to Chivas. The defeat leaves Kansas City in the second-to-last postseason spot in the league, meaning they would meet Chivas in the first round of the playoffs if the season ended today.

"I'm very disappointed that we didn't walk out of here with at least a point," said Onalfo. "We had a good performance. It's extremely disheartening to walk out of here losing 2-1."

Chivas USA used the three points to catapult over the Houston Dynamo for the top spot in the West, and moved to within two points of DC United in the race for the Supporter's Shield, given to the team with the best record at the end of the regular season.

"That's a big goal for the team," midfield maestro Kljestan told ASD after the match. "We want to win out and we want to win the Supporter's Shield. There's no reason why we shouldn't think that we can win every game out and go to the MLS Cup. As a team right now we have a lot of confidence."

ASD's Three Stars
#1 Ante Razov
#2 Eddie Johnson
#3 Eloy Colombano

Scoring
CHV - Ante Razov 10 (Francisco Mendoza, Ramón Núñez) 69'
KC - Eloy Colombano 1 72'
CHV - Ante Razov 11 (Lawson Vaughn, Sacha Kljestan) 90+2'

Line-ups
KC - Kevin Hartman, Jose Burciaga, Nick Garcia (Tyson Wahl 80'), Jimmy Conrad, Jack Jewsbury, Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington (Sasha Victorine 53'), Davy Arnaud, Carlos Marinelli, Ryan Pore (Eloy Colombano 27'), Eddie Johnson

CHV - Brad Guzan, Jonathan Bornstein, Claudio Suárez, Shavar Thomas, Alex Zotinca (Ramón Núñez 59'), Paulo Nagamura, Lawson Vaughn, Francisco Mendoza, Sacha Kljestan, Ante Razov, Maykel Galindo (Jason Hernandez 90+)