Joao Klauss is cheered by St. Louis City fans after scoring Saturday against the LA Galaxy at Energizer Park. Klauss scored a hat trick and helped City tie LA 3-3.St. Louis City SC

It took a historic performance by Joao Klauss to avoid a disappointing loss at home and earn a 3-3 draw against the defending MLS Champion, LA Galaxy, at Energizer Park on Saturday afternoon. The 28-year-old veteran was one of the first original players to score the first goal in the match in the 35th minute as the Brazilian forward connected with a pass from Marcel Hartel and slotted the ball past Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy to give City SC a 1-0 lead. The lead electrified the 22,000 fans in St. Louis, but Galaxy midfielder Gabriel Pec tied the game in the 41st minute after a one-touch finish off a centering pass played by teammate Marco Reus.

City SC took the lead in the 47th minute when Celio Pompeu intercepted a pass off a LA Galaxy player down the right side to a running Klauss, who blasted a rising shot inside the near post and under the crossbar to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead. LA Galaxy forward Matheus Nascimento scored his first goal of his career in the 51st minute to tie the game at 2-2. Then, in the 87th minute, Gabriel Pec scored his second goal of the match to give the Galaxy a 3-2 lead. A dejected St. Louis crowd began leaving in droves, assuming yet another late-game collapse had cost City. But in the 95th minute of the match, deep into stoppage time, City SC Goalkeeper Roman Burki pushed the ball forward to Timo Baumgartl into position downfield in the LA penalty area, where Joao Klauss bounced on a loose ball and scored the franchise’s first hat trick and, most importantly, tied the game at 3-3. While Klauss saved City SC from a second straight losing streak, the game did little for both teams, who currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference. City SC hopes to translate a victory on Wednesday when they host Orlando City and move up in playoff position.