One team is rolling, and the other reeling, after the Colorado Rapids defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Conor Casey, Colin Clark and Mike Petke all scored as the Rapids hit for all three goals in a 17-minute span late in the first half. The Rapids won their third consecutive match and moved into a tie for eighth place overall in the MLS standings (and the final playoff spot), while the Galaxy suffered their fifth consecutive league defeat.
Colorado dominated the first half, playing in front of a sold-out crowd and controlling the ball on both sides of the field for the full 45 minutes. The Rapids executed a strong passing game, possessing the ball throughout the half and keeping Galaxy on the defensive.
The Galaxy's busy schedule, intensified by their ongoing competition in the SuperLiga tournament, seemed to slow them down, and the Rapids took advantage, creating multiple opportunities before initiating a three-goal barrage.
In the 26th minute Casey took the ball a feed from Jovan Kirovski, who flicked on from Mehdi Ballouchy, and charged in the penalty area. In the box, he cut back inside past defender Kyle Veris and fired a shot from the spot between Veris and another defender to the back of the net for the Rapids first goal.
L.A. played with a short bench, missing team leaders Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who both played matches for their national teams Wednesday then played for the Galaxy the following day in a heated 3-0 loss to Chivas USA.
The Rapids were especially strong on the right side, where Ugo Ihemelu, Cooke, Kirovski and Casey consistently combined up and down the field.
Casey started the play that led to the Rapids second in the 34th minute, when he found Cooke in the right corner. Cooke sent in a low cross that bounced off a defender in front of the goal right to Clark, who sent the gift rolling into the far corner over a scrambling Joe Cannon for a 2-0 lead.
Colorado had seven corner kicks in the first half alone, while L.A. managed two. Cooke needed at least a few to get his range honed in as he spent the half running from one side to the other to send in the service. He finally found the right distance in the 43rd minute.
From the left corner, his service was just out of the reach of Cannon, who barely deflected it. It fell to the feet of Petke, who tapped his first goal of the season into the right corner for a 3-0 lead.
The margin made for the second consecutive three-goal match for the Rapids, while also registering as the third consecutive match in which Galaxy has allowed three goals or more. They have accomplished the dubious feat six times on the season, all coming in Galaxy losses.
Galaxy put together a stronger second half, putting a measure of pressure on the Rapids' back line. Colorado sat back a bit, slowing down the pace of the game when they could and using the wide field to spread out L.A.
After failing to get a shot on goal in the first half, L.A. managed one in the second half, a 78th-minute shot by striker Alan Gordon that forced a good save from close range by Bouna Coundoul, well off his line.
There was one final chance for the Rapids as Herculez Gomez was completely free in the area in the 87th minute, but Cannon made a great reaction save to keep the margin at just three.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
