HISTORY HAS GALAXY OPTIMISTIC.

Byline: NICK GREEN

SOCCER

During a span of 15 games the Galaxy picked up just three wins, its leaky defense conceded 21 goals and there were calls for the coach's head.

The year: 2005, when the Galaxy had only one win away from Home Depot Center and improbably scraped into the eighth and final playoff spot by the slimmest of margins.

And then went on to raise the MLS Cup on the back of a stunning overtime strike by the much-maligned Pando Ramirez, who didn't return in 2006.

Fast forward to this season, and it's difficult not to draw parallels between then and now.

Heading into the Sept. 23 game against FC Dallas, the Galaxy had just one win in its last 12 MLS games, were the worst team in MLS, and fed-up fans were calling for Coach Frank Yallop to be replaced.

Today the Galaxy has reeled off three straight wins and is unbeaten in its past four games. L.A. sits just six points behind Chicago, which occupies the eighth and final playoff spot, with four games to play and a game in hand over the Fire as well as close rivals the Colorado Rapids and Columbus Crew.

The Rapids have the easiest schedule, with home games against Toronto and Real Salt Lake -- two teams with just five wins apiece all season -- as well as a road game against Western Conference co-leaders Chivas USA.

Galaxy fans: start rooting for Chivas USA.

Still, even with three wins Colorado can achieve a maximum of 38 points, while the Galaxy could reach 39 points.

Next up for the Galaxy is a daunting Sunday trip to Houston, which is now tied with Chivas USA for the conference lead, but L.A. also faces hapless Toronto and New York at home.

A potentially pivotal Oct. 21 trip to Chicago concludes the Galaxy's regular season. By then it's conceivable that David Beckham -- who, with his father recovering from his heart attack, reportedly flew back to L.A. Sunday -- could be back on the field.

Both the Crew and Chicago, by the way, must face New England and D.C. United, which boast the best records in the Eastern Conference.

Before the victory over the Crew, Yallop had said that if the team won it had a "great" chance of making the playoffs.

That may be pushing it -- the Galaxy's last four games will be played in a span of just 21 days -- but the Galaxy is in the thick of the playoff race, something few thought possible four games ago.

Want more parallels with 2005?

Two years ago, when the Galaxy belatedly took control of its season, suffering just two losses in its last six games, its core of veterans led the way.

This year, the Galaxy's injured veterans may also start filtering back.

Fullback Ante Jazic saw action Sunday for the first time since Aug.18, while the likes of defenders Chris Albright and Abel Xavier could theoretically return in addition to Beckham.

It's not as if the Galaxy is dominating opponents during its current run. Just one goal has been the difference in the trio of wins, while Real Salt Lake managed to muster a late equalizer Sept. 19 to secure a 2-2 tie.

But the Galaxy went into that game having lost eight of nine games, so the road draw was a turning point of a sort.

Now the Galaxy has momentum, and conventional wisdom says that in MLS, its what you do in September and October that matters, not April and May.

Every Galaxy game now is a playoff game, the margin for error virtually nonexistent.

Bored Galaxy fans had yawned at the MLS regular season for most of the team's existence as the playoffs were reached seemingly automatically. With the once unthinkable possibility the Galaxy could fail to reach the playoffs two years in a row looming, the remainder of the regular season now has deep resonance.

Making the playoffs, let alone winning the MLS Cup, still seems far- fetched. Yet the late season weirdness of 2005 means a precedent has been set -- just ask Guatemalan Ramirez, who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door before scoring the spectacular winning MLS Cup goal.

Today the Galaxy has another Central American -- Honduran striker Carlos Pavon with just two goals in 14 MLS games -- who has a chance to salvage his season.

The Galaxy's season has yet to enter a season-ending black hole, and a glimmer of hope remains.

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Photo:

Led by players such as Alan Gordon, left, the Galaxy has rebounded from a poor start to put itself back in playoff contention.

Dick Whipple/Associated Press