The last time the Colorado Rapids and L.A. Galaxy saw each other, the former was celebrating a trip to the Western Conference finals and Bruce Arena was talking about his team's missed opportunities.
Seven months later, Arena is coaching the USA national team and the Rapids have climbed out of the cellar in the Western Conference thanks to a four-game winning streak and trail L.A. by just three points. The teams face each other at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday night.
The Rapids (5-8-1) kept their streak alive with a thrilling comeback against the Portland Timbers on Saturday night. They scored two second half goals, the last by Alan Gordon in the 89th minute to give them the victory.
He ripped off his uniform and celebrated with the fans behind the goal.
"It was a conscious decision to go to the fans, because the connection with the fans is huge," Gordon told The Denver Post.
The Galaxy played to a 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo in their last match despite the absence of striker Giovanni dos Santos.
Romain Alessandrini had a goal and an assist in the match, picking up some of the slack. L.A. hopes he can keep it going while dos Santos is gone for the next few weeks while playing for Mexico in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
"I was a little bit tired -- I felt a little pain from the last week," Alessandrini to the team's website after the Houston game. "But I got an assist and scored one for the team, so everyone is happy tonight and we have to a good recovery and be focused for the next game."
The Rapids are again without Bobby Burling, who will miss several weeks with a foot injury suffered in Colorado's win in the U.S. Open Cup against Oklahoma on June 13. They also played Saturday's game without Shkelzen Gashi, who was out with a hamstring injury.
The Rapids have found some magic despite injuries and not having goalkeeper Tim Howard for a while when he was playing for Team USA in a pair of World Cup qualifier games. If they can keep their home winning streak going, which stands at four games, they will have momentum going into two road games at Atlanta and FC Dallas.
The Galaxy (5-5-4) have not lost since late April, going 3-0-4 in their last seven MLS matches. They are finding some rhythm under new coach Curt Onalfo, who was named to the position in December. L.A. is sitting seventh, a point behind San Jose for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
