Ten-Man Galaxy Falls to Rapids for First Loss of the Season
MLS LA Galaxy

Ten-Man Galaxy Falls to Rapids for First Loss of the Season

Published on March 8, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


COMMERCE CITY - The LA Galaxy (1-1-1, 4 points) fell 4-1 to Western Conference foe Colorado Rapids (2-0-1, 6 points) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. After entering halftime down 1-0, the Galaxy pulled level when João Klauss met a back-post cross with a well-placed header, marking his third straight MLS regular season match on the scoresheet to open his Galaxy career. Colorado then took advantage of their extra man, pulling away following the red card shown to Gabriel Pec.

Goalscoring Plays

COL - Darren Yapi (Paxton Aaronson), 23rd minute: Yapi drove into the box following a long counter-attacking run down the left side of the pitch and pinpointed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

LA - João Klauss (Gabriel Pec), 56th minute: After sustained pressure following a corner kick, Gabriel Pec floated a cross to the back post, where João Klauss rose to head home the 1-1 equalizer.

COL - Alexis Manyoma (Darren Yapi), 76th minute: Yapi received the ball on the right side of the box and squared a pass into the center, where Manyoma arrived to score and put the Rapids ahead 2-1.

COL - Rafael Navarro, 85th minute: Novak Mićović parried Keegan Rosenberry's shot, but Navarro reacted quickest, pouncing on the rebound and tapping it in to put the Rapids up 3-1.

COL - Rafael Navarro (Wayne Frederick), 89th minute: Frederick intercepted a pass deep in the LA half, and Navarro picked up possession and hit a shot into the top corner to extend Colorado's lead to 4-1.

Postgame Notes

João Klauss scored his fourth goal of the MLS campaign in the 56th minute, officially marking his third consecutive league match on the scoresheet.

Erik Thommy made his LA Galaxy debut as a second-half substitute in the 71st minute of the contest.

Mauricio Cuevas made his 2026 MLS Regular Season debut as a second-half substitute in tonight's match, replacing Joseph Paintsil in the 50th minute due to injury.

Gabriel Pec was dismissed from the match after being shown a second yellow in the 60th minute. The subsequent red card shown was both the first as a member of the Galaxy for Pec, and the first of his professional career.

Next Up

The LA Galaxy will return home for the first leg of the club's Round of 16 match in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup against Mount Pleasant FA on Wednesday, March 11 (6:30 p.m. PT, FS2 & TUDN). The team returns to MLS Regular Season play on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 6:30 p.m. PT (Apple TV) against Sporting Kansas City at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Match Information

Match: LA Galaxy at Colorado Rapids

Date: March 7, 2026

Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, CO

Weather: Clear and 42°F

Scoring Summary

1 2 F

Colorado Rapids

1 3 4

LA Galaxy

0 1 1

COL: Darren Yapi (Paxton Aaronson), 23'

LA: João Klauss (Gabriel Pec), 56'

COL: Alexis Manyoma (Darren Yapi), 76'

COL: Rafael Navarro, 85'

COL: Rafael Navarro (Wayne Frederick), 89'

Lineups

LA Galaxy: GK Novak Mićović; D Julián Aude (John Nelson 81'), D Maya Yoshida, D Jakob Glesnes, D Miki Yamane (Lucas Sanabria); M Edwin Cerrillo, M Elijah Wynder, M Marco Reus (Erik Thommy, 71'); F Joseph Paintsil (Mauricio Cuevas, 50'), F Gabriel Pec, F João Klauss (Matheus Nascimento, 71')

Substitutes not used: JT Marcinkowski, Harbor Miller, Justin Haak, Ruben Ramos Jr.

Colorado Rapids: GK Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen; D Jackson Travis, D Lucas Herrington, D Rob Holding, D Reggie Cannon (Keegan Rosenberry, 65'); M Hamzat Ojediran (Connor Ronan, 58') (Alexis Manyoma, 68'), M Josh Atencio (Wayne Frederick, 58'), M Paxten Aaronson; F Darren Yapi, F Dante Sealy (Ted Ku-DiPietro, 58'), F Rafael Navarro

Substitutes not used: Zack Campagnolo, Noah Cobb, Miguel Navarro, Alex Harris

Stats Summary

COL LA

Shots

11 15

Shots on Goal

6 5

Saves

5 2

Corner Kicks

2 5

Fouls

10 5

Offsides

0 0

Possession

61.1% 39.0%

Misconduct Summary

LA: Gabriel Pec (caution) 45+1'

LA: Gabriel Pec (caution, dismissal) 60'

LA: Jakob Glesnes (caution) 88'

Officials

Referee: Allen Chapman

Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt

Fourth Official: Ricardo Fierro

VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

Postgame Media Assets

LA Galaxy stats, match photos and postgame media soundbites may be accessed when available below. Please credit LA Galaxy for any use.

LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes

LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney

On the game-changing red card:

"Gabe got into a situation where he was chasing and he has to know he's on a yellow card and he can't take that kind of risk and that kind of tackle. He has to keep running and run the guy into a one vs two and we can recover the ball. He's got to make a better decision because the decision becomes a second yellow and that becomes we lose all momentum."

On the outlook on this season despite tonight's scoreline:

"Looking at New York City, looking at Charlotte and looking at tonight, for large stretches of those games we defended really well, again, I think we attacked really well in the Charlotte game, I thought we were nice and controlled by and large tonight and we were creating really good chances and I think there was more there for us to take. We have to remember that the last twenty minutes, and while it hurt and we took a lot of goals, its not the twenty minutes for us to focus on."

On the positives in the first sixty minutes:

"Well, I thought our defensive shape and structure was good. I think, you know, they've evolved over with the new coach in possession, they've got their pivots really close, they're very calm on the ball, and because of that, they made good choices with the ball and they're competent in possession, but I just didn't think they were hurting us at all. And so I thought our patience, our decisions, we were starting to understand how to get pressure to them, who to release and where to release from, and I felt like that was what was gaining, adding some momentum for us, especially as we got into the second half. So, I thought we defended well. I thought some of our attacking moments were good."

LA Galaxy Defender Jakob Glesnes

On tonight's match:

"First of all, it was a tough game for me personally. It's never fun to see 4 goals in a game like this. We have to get better at finishing the games with 11 guys. On away games like this, it's tough to get points in, especially the first point, and then we're down 1-0. I felt like we had momentum in the second half when we scored the goal. But, when we're down to 10 men, you know, it's going to be tough. We are trying to survive out there, but then when they get 2 and 3, then I feel like we have to stop the bleeding because then the game is almost already finished. We have one less guy and it's going to be tough, so we have to find a way to not concede anymore, because conceding 4 goals is too much."

On the lessons he can take from tonight:

"It's not fun to just chase the ball, but again it's better to just let it play around us and just kill the game off. It is not a good feeling to sit here now after conceding 4 goals, especially like, we have been really good in the first games and now, probably people out there are saying like, 'OK, are we back like to conceding a lot of goals again' but again, we are the people that can change it and we have shown that we can do it in the two first games, so we just have to get back on track there."

On the new and exciting feeling around the Galaxy this season:

"I can't talk too much about the past because I haven't been here before now, but from what I have seen now, in the whole preseason, and what we have been doing up to now has been really good. So I'm really excited for what's to come."

Check out the LA Galaxy Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from March 8, 2026


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