The Colorado Rapids are getting hot at the right time but take a big step up in class against the visiting Los Angeles FC on Wednesday in Commerce City, Colo.
The Rapids (8-10-1, 25 points) have moved to eighth place and inside the Western Conference playoff cut line with a 3-1-0 stretch in their last four matches, while LAFC (10-6-4, 34 points) is in pursuit of its first win since a 4-0 home decision over Sporting Kansas City on July 25.
Colorado has won three straight home matches, though all three victories came against teams below the Rapids in the Western Conference table. The match vs. Los Angeles marks the second leg of a three-game homestand.
“This is ultimately a chance to make a statement,” Rapids defender Reggie Cannon said. “Going back-to-back-to-back home wins would be an exceptional thing for this team.”
LAFC has just one goal and is 0-1-1 in a pair of August MLS matches, and is 0-6-1 when league opponents score first. In a 1-0 home loss against San Diego FC on Saturday, Denis Bouanga had an apparent goal in the 22nd minute overturned when video review declared a handball.
Even though LAFC didn’t come away with the result against San Diego, coach Marc Dos Santos is looking at the big picture as his club prepares for a quick turnaround.
“It’s all about taking it one day at a time, one game at a time, one training session at a time, one rep at a time,” Dos Santos said. “That’s the most important thing. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We know what our objectives are. We know what our goals are.”
Youssef Maziz, who came over from the Belgian Pro League, made an impact in his MLS debut, contributing an assist on Cannon’s header that broke a scoreless tie in the 65th minute of the Rapids’ 2-0 win over SKC on Saturday. Maziz continually probed Kansas City’s backline as the Rapids scored multiple goals for the first time since a 3-2 home loss against Inter Miami on April 18.
“He showed his quality straight away,” Colorado coach Matt Wells said. “His general play and set quality is outstanding.”
–Field Level Media
