KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Talk about timing.

Ezra Hendrickson has five goals this season for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and all of them have been game-winners -- including the one he scored in the sixth minute of sudden-death overtime of Wednesday night's 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Wizards.

After a foul on Kansas City's Kerry Zavagnin, the restart from Los Angeles' Sasha Victorine found a streaking Hendrickson alone in the Wizards' penalty area. Hendrickson scored past Tony Meola from 10 yards.

"We caught them sleeping just a little bit," said Hendrickson, who is tied with Miami's Alex Pineda Chacon for the league lead in game-winning goals. "We took the quick restart, I made the run and Sasha found me. My instinct was to shoot, to just one-time it."

The win pulled Los Angeles (11-6-5) within a point of Western Division-leading San Jose, which was idle Wednesday.

"This was very important, because we knew it was going to be a six-point swing," Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said. "Either we were going to be two points ahead of Kansas City or eight points ahead. We're eight points ahead and keeping the pressure on San Jose."

Meola, who set a league record with 16 shutouts and was the league's MVP last season as Kansas City won the MLS Cup, has given up four goals in two games since his return from abdominal surgery.

"I'm frustrated," he said. "Last year it seemed like we could play poorly and find a way to win. This year, we're finding ways to lose -- and I thought we played well tonight, especially in the second half."

Meola missed 13 games after the surgery on June 28 to repair a torn muscle, returning for Saturday's 2-2 tie at Colorado.

"He's had to dig the ball out of the net four times in the last two games, and none of those goals have been his fault," Wizards coach Bob Gansler said. "They've all been the result of screwups -- some single, some multiple -- in front of him."

Danny Califf's early goal gave Los Angeles (11-6-5) a 1-0 halftime lead, but second-half substitute Onandi Lowe tied the score on a free kick.

Califf scored in the 12th minute after Wizards defender Brandon Prideaux was called for a handball just outside the penalty area. Simon Elliott curled the free kick toward the 6-yard box, and Califf beat Matt McKeon to the ball and put it past Meola.

"We made mistakes, and they punished us," Gansler said. "Those were our mistakes -- we can't blame them on anybody else."

Lowe, inserted at halftime for Francisco Gomez as the Wizards (9-11-3) shifted to a three-forward alignment, tied it at 1 in the 57th minute after the Galaxy's Mauricio Cienfuegos received a yellow card for holding Kerry Zavagnin.

Lowe's left-footed shot from 35 yards caught Los Angeles keeper Kevin Hartman flatfooted and sailed into the upper left corner of the net.

Hartman finished with six saves, including two quick shots as the Wizards tried to match Califf's goal.

Hartman saved Roy Lassiter's shot in the 14th minute and stuffed Gary Glasgow on a 1-on-1 in the 16th minute.