The Colorado Rapids have been stellar at home and have had a knack for bouncing back from losses. They’ll need both trends to continue on Wednesday night when they face the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Galaxy in Commerce City, Colo.
The Rapids (15-11-5, 50 points) are 10-2-3 on their own pitch this season. Only the Galaxy have more home wins (12) in all of MLS. Colorado is 8-0-2 at home following a May 11 loss in Commerce City.
Currently sitting at fourth in the West, the Rapids have gone 7-1-2 in matches following a setback. They are currently coming off a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United on Saturday.
“I can tell you that our group responds, they respond when we have losses,” Colorado coach Chris Armas said. “We’ve done it all year in a big way, so we’ll look to do that again.”
Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic has enjoyed a career year in his return to MLS, with 11 goals in 26 matches. His 13 assists lead the team, and he is three shy of matching his personal best set in 2021 with CF Montreal.
Los Angeles (17-7-7, 58 points) enters the match looking to inch closer to clinching the top spot in the West. The Galaxy are six points ahead of rival Los Angeles FC, who hold a match in hand.
“We’ve got a tough finish in the season and we’ll take anything that we can get to try to finish on top,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said.
Like Colorado, the Galaxy have been dominant at home (12-1-3), but it’s been a different story on the road. They’ve gone 5-6-4 outside of Carson, Calif.
Los Angeles is coming off a 4-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps on Sept. 21. Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil scored his 10th goal of the year in that match, giving his squad four players with at least 10 tallies in a single season — Los Angeles is the first team in MLS history to accomplish that feat.
Dejan Joveljic (14 goals), Gabriel Pec (13) and Riqui Puig (11) also helped make history.
“Kudos to everyone involved bringing us together as a team,” Paintsil said. “We did it as a team. It’s really an amazing thing that the four of us have 10-plus goals. It’s a plus for us and for the team. It will also give us the confidence to do extra more and to also write our name in the history book of LA Galaxy at the end of the season.”
–Field Level Media
