David, the Goliath on his way

Beckham also notched his first assist on the Galaxy8217;s second goal. He sent a long pass to a streaking Landon Donovan, who scored on a breakaway in the 47th minute for a 2-0 lead.

The Galaxy advanced to the August 29 tournament final in Carson against Mexican club team Pachuca, who tied Houston 2-2, but won 4-3 on penalty kicks. The winning team earns 1 million, which the Galaxy could put toward paying Beckham8217;s 6.5 million yearly salary.

Beckham also earned his first yellow card after fouling United8217;s Jaime Moreno in the 18th minute. Beckham got fouled once in the first half, when he also took two corner kicks.

In all, Beckham played 63 minutes. He had played just 37 minutes in two previous games because of a nagging left ankle injury. He also took over as captain for the match, a title previously held by Donovan, on the latter8217;s suggestion.

The game attracted an announced crowd of 17,223 in the 27,000 capacity stadium.