Galaxy beat Rapids, transfer to high of West standings

Joseph Paintsil recorded one goal and one assist to help the Los Angeles Galaxy produce a 3-2 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at Carson, Calif.

Diego Fagundez and Riqui Puig added goals and Gabriel Pec had two assists as the Galaxy (13-5-7, 46 points) bounced back from a 2-0 road loss against FC Dallas on Saturday.

The win, combined with Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC playing to a 1-1 tie on Wednesday, moved the Galaxy into first place in the Western Conference. The Galaxy haven’t lost at Carson this season; their lone “home” loss came on July 4 to LAFC at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Kevin Cabral and Cole Bassett scored goals for the Rapids (11-9-5, 38 points), who fell to 5-2-1 over their past eight matches.

The setback was just Colorado’s second to the Galaxy since the start of the 2018 season. The Rapids hold a 7-2-3 edge during the span.

The Galaxy prevailed despite being without leading scorer Dejan Joveljic (hamstring) for the second straight match.

Los Angeles goalkeeper John McCarthy made seven saves. Colorado’s Zack Steffen had six stops.

Neither team scored in the second half after the Galaxy led 3-2 after a wide-open first half.

Los Angeles opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Pec delivered a pass toward Fagundez, who collected the ball with his chest, had it drop to his feet and then smacked a right-footed shot past Steffen. It was Fagundez’s fourth goal of the season.

Colorado knotted the score in the 32nd minute. Jonathan Lewis had the ball to the left of the net and sent a soft pass to a charging Cabral, who reached back with his left leg and knocked the ball past McCarthy. It was Cabral’s fifth goal of the season.

The Galaxy moved back ahead in the 38th minute as Pec started a long run on his own side of the field. As he closed in on shooting position, he sent the ball over to Paintsil, who booted a right-footer into the net for his seventh goal of the season.

Five minutes later, Los Angeles made it 3-1 and this time, it was Paintsil delivering a stellar pass. Puig got the ball and sent a right-footer into the side netting just inside the left post for his seventh goal of the season, as well.

The Rapids cut their deficit to one in the 10th minute of first-half stoppage time. Rafael Navarro lined up for a penalty kick and McCarthy made the save on his shot but Bassett headed in the rebound for his eighth goal of the campaign.

Los Angeles outshot Colorado 16-13 with both squads putting nine on target.

–Field Level Media