The Colorado Rapids (7) fell on the road to the LA Galaxy (2), 5-0, at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. Goals from Riqui Puig, Dejan Joveljic, and John Nelson led the Galaxy to a 1-0 series lead as the two sides will head back to Colorado for Game 2 of the Best-of-3 series. That match will be on Friday, November 1, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park with a kickoff time set for 7:30 p.m. MT.
In a highly-anticipated first round of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, two MLS charter clubs were set for their sixth clash all-time in postseason play. With the Rapids earning the victory in their last playoff match against LA in 2016, this year’s side was looking to follow in their footsteps.
The Galaxy brought pressure to start, earning chances that were eventually stopped by the Rapids defense. As both sides settled in, they began to trade opportunities in the final third more regularly, leading to the eventual first goal of the match from the home side.
After drawing a corner, Galaxy midfielder Puig played a cross to find Joveljic. The forward sent in a headed shot, finding the far post to put his side up in the 32nd minute.
Despite being down, the Rapids kept their pressure up to try and find an equalizer. The club created opportunities but were unable to get a clear look at goal for the remainder of the first half.
The Galaxy went into the halftime break with the lead as the Rapids looked to create more chances in the final third as they headed into the second half of play.
Colorado came out with energy, but it would be the Galaxy who would double their lead in the 52nd minute.
After finding the ball at the top of the eighteen, Miki Yamane sent in a pass with the outside of his foot across the box to Nelson. The defender curled a shot into the top-right corner to give LA a 2-0 lead with over a half-hour to play.
The home side would find another, after a transition attack led by Puig ended with the midfielder finding the back of the net following a link-up play with Joveljic.
LA managed to add two more to their tally before the final whistle, with both Jovelic and Puig securing braces to bring their final total to five goals.
After the match, captain Keegan Rosenberry talked about the series heading back to Colorado for Game 2:
“This format is one that gives us a home game in the first round of the playoffs no matter what seed we are, and we're really excited about that. We've been a really good team in our stadium with our fans. Even if the results don't go our way, we put a lot of pressure on teams. We make it uncomfortable. It's difficult to play at altitude and we're looking forward to that.”
Colorado will shift their focus to the must-win game at DSGP on Friday, November 1. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.
