By Will Kuhns, senior editor BEST GOAL: Bobby Convey exorcised demons for himself and D.C. United by rising above Los Angeles defenders in the 98th minute to head home Ivan McKinley's curling cross from the left wing. Marco Etcheverry fed McKinley an aptly weighted ball into space and his service allowed Convey to score his second career goal, his first in 21 league matches. The goal also gave United a cathartic 1-0 victory over Los Angeles. The Galaxy had won its previous four visits to RFK Stadium by a combined score of 11-2 behind the support of Washington's Salvadoran fans, who still find it amusing to vociferously root against United whenever a Salvadoran player, such as L.A.'s Mauricio Cienfuegos, comes to town. At least a third of the 18,859 on hand Saturday seemed to cheer for the Galaxy. BAD BOYS? Two of the league's nicest guys were sent off for a nasty exchange early in San Jose's 2-1 comeback victory over Kansas City. The ugliness started when Wizards defender Mike Burns nicked the heels of Earthquakes midfielder Richard Mulrooney and tugged at his shoulder. Mulrooney stopped short as the whistle blew, blocking Burns' path, and brought his right elbow up to Burns' chin. Burns grabbed Mulrooney by the chest and shoved him to the turf. From the ground, Mulrooney kicked both cleats into Burns' stomach before others intervened. Referee Richard Heron appropriately dealt each a red card in the 27th minute. As tempers seemed to cool, Burns extended a conciliatory hand to Mulrooney, who slapped it, and the two walked off side-by-side. Their conversation took a turn for the worse, however, and Burns pushed Mulrooney one last time as they exited the field. … While San Jose's Ramiro Corrales deserves props for setting up his own gamewinner by forcing a turnover deep in Wizards' territory, did he have to stoop to the throat-slashing celebration of NBA infamy? KUDOS FOR A CHANGE: As quick as everyone is to attack poor refereeing these days, it should be noted that Heron and his officiating crew did an excellent job calling the intense Wizards-Earthquakes game. The toughest call of the day came when Kansas City's Carey Talley used spectacular reflexes to redirect Ariel Graziani's 13-yard blast out of the goal mouth. In good position to see it himself, Heron glanced to his assistant before swiftly ruling a goal had been scored. Replays revealed that Talley's left foot was on the goal line and his right foot, which made contact, was well behind the line. CREW-EL ENDING: Led by goalkeeper Tom Presthus' eight saves, Columbus had a magnificent defensive performance in Dallas until a 98th minute sequence rendered it all for naught. Burn defender Jorge Rodriguez launched a cross into the box for countryman Ronald Cerritos, a late substitute. Presthus came out and bumped Cerritos at about 16 yards, but both missed the ball, which dropped and caromed off the Crew's Mike Clark. Dallas' leading scorer, Jason Kreis, lunged past a stationary Brian Dunseth and beat Chad McCarty to the slide tackle to score the game-winner.