IT'S A STARRY, STARRY NIGHT FOR GALAXY IN VICTORY MLS: BECKHAM, DONOVAN LEAD L.A. PAST SAN JOSE FOR FIRST WIN OF SEASON IN HOME OPENER. GALAXY 2, SAN JOSE O.

Byline: Phil Collin

Staff Writer

Well, who in their right mind needed to see any more than the first 37 minutes of Galaxy soccer Thursday night?

Flashbulbs popping, girls screaming, Kobe smiling (yes, that Kobe, not just Cobi).Twice, in electrifying fashion, the stars lit up Home Depot Center for the Galaxy in their 2-0 win over San Jose before an announced sellout crowd of 27,000.

It was David Beckham, taking perfect pass from Landon Donovan in stride and effortlessly guiding it through goalkeeper Joe Cannon's legs for a 1-0 lead only eight minutes into the game.

Finally, in his seventh game with the Galaxy, Beckham had his first MLS goal, and timing it for a night that MLS Commissioner Don Garber happened to be in the house. The guy might be worth a couple million after all.

It was Donovan beating defender Ryan Cochrane to Beckham's perfectly chipped lob pass from midfield, then flicking a shot over Cannon and into the net in the 37 th minute, that kept the crowd roaring.

A goal and assist from their two luminaries wasn't the only big news for the Galaxy. They erased the taste of the Ruud Awakening they received in the opener in Colorado, a 4-0 loss to the Rapids that made the visitors look like a dumbfounded expansion team.

This time, it was expansion San Jose getting the treatment in the Earthquakes' rebirth two years after the original franchise hiked off to Houston.

The Earthquakes have former Galaxy coach Frank Yallop leading them, but about all he could say in this game would have been something like "Why couldn't Becks have done that for us last year?"

Instead, the Galaxy fans were the opposite of frustration. In Beckham's luxury box, the Kobe Bryant family enjoyed themselves.

On the sidelines, first-year coach Ruud Gullitt, sitting alongside first-year assistant Cobi Jones, were far more relaxed as they found some structure after a dreadful opener.And the Galaxy were without defender Abel Xavier (suspension) and forward Carlos Ruiz, who underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a knee ligament.

They seem to be OK without the attacking Ruiz, considering the 1-2 punch they fielded in the home opener.

In resuming the rivalry with San Jose, the Galaxy moved to 22-12-5 in the all-time series in MLS games. It was the first meeting between the clubs since Oct. 29, 2005, in a Western Conference semifinal series won by the Galaxy.

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LA GALAXY

APRIL 13 vs. Toronto FC, noon, Home Depot Center.

TV: FSN West

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) David Beckham, who scored his first MLS goal and assisted on the other, even had time to argue a call with the ref Thursday.

(2) Galaxy's David Beckham, second from right, celebrates his goal Thursday with Landon Donovan.

Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press