PASADENA, Calif. -- Ezra Hendrickson said the Los Angeles Galaxy won despite playing without finesse.

	Los Angeles' Carlos Hermosillo, left, and Dallas' Ted Eck battle for the ball in the first half.

"I don't think we played that well, but what we're able to do is fight," said Hendrickson, who scored with 40 seconds left as the Galaxy defeated the Dallas Burn 2-1 at the Rose Bowl. It was Hendrickson's second game-winner in the Galaxy's three playoff victories.

Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 Major League Soccer Western Conference final series.

Simon Elliott, inserted with 17 minutes to play, sent a pass to Hendrickson, who drove toward the goal on the right wing. His shot deflected off Dallas midfielder Brian Haynes and trickled past goalkeeper Matt Jordan into the net.

Mauricio Cienfuegos gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute when he put a free kick just inside the left goal post, over the head of 5-foot-8 midfielder Oscar Pareja and out of Jordan's reach. The Galaxy were awarded the free kick after Jason Kreis fouled Roy Myers just to the left of the penalty area, 10 yards from the goal.

Dallas tied the score with 15 minutes to play when Ariel Graziani moved past two Galaxy defenders to take Paul Broome's pass, then put a shot past goalkeeper Kevin Hartman from 10 yards out. The goal was Graziani's third in four playoff games.

Dallas was more aggressive in the second half. Graziani's shot in the first minute of the second half rolled wide of the net, and Hartman made a save on Ted Eck's shot three minutes later. Hartman also stopped Kreis' shots in the 59th and 69th minutes, and deflected shots by Kreis and Sergi Daniv in the 66th.

Hendrickson said the Galaxy didn't lose heart.

"Even when they had the momentum in the second half, we didn't give up. We were very fortunate to get that goal in the last minute," he said.

Los Angeles outshot Dallas 16-12, including 6-5 in shots on goal. Hartman and Jordan both made four saves.

"I thought we gave every ounce of effort we had," Dallas coach Dave Dir said. "It was one of those games that we gave ourselves a chance to win in L.A. We haven't done that very often."

The Burn have lost seven of 11 matches at the Rose Bowl, including all three this season.

Game 2 of the series will be played next Sunday in Dallas. A third game, if necessary, would be played Nov. 11 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

The winner will face the winner of the D.C. United-Columbus Crew Eastern Conference final in MLS Cup '99 on Nov. 21 at Foxboro, Mass.