LAFC's struggles in Colorado continue with second straight shutout loss

· Yahoo Sports

Before last Saturday, LAFC had only been shut out on one occasion in league play since April 22. Now, the squad has failed to find the scoresheet two matches in a row, falling 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

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Head coach Marc Dos Santos elected to deploy a starting XI lacking a main chunk of its firepower, leaving both Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min on the bench to open the contest. Their lack of presence was certainly felt, with LA failing to see many solid scoring chances materialize throughout the night. 

Meanwhile, the lone Colorado score came as a result of a Jeremy Ebobisse own goal. Colorado's Youssef Maziz crossed a 22nd-minute free kick towards the net, where Ebobisse misplayed a clearance attempt and deflected the ball to the back of the net.

"The result is disappointing," Dos Santos said following the match. "The last two losses, the two goals we conceded, were soft. Conceding a goal like this is very soft. It's naive of us."

22-year-old Cabral Carter, making his first MLS start on Wednesday for LAFC, had no time to react to the awkward bounce. Carter, an LAFC Academy product, still managed to produce a solid performance defending the net despite the loss.

His biggest moment came at the 42-minute mark after Nkosi Tafari was caught shoving in the box to gift the Rapids a penalty kick. With Rafael Navarro looking to double the lead, Carter managed to deny him with a diving swat to his left.

"Good game from Cabral...that's why we have our second team," Dos Santos said of his goalkeeper's performance. "Hugo needed a break, Thomas was injured and it was a great way to answer from Cabral. I'm happy for him...it's going to be exciting to see how he progresses."

Carter remained proud of his showing despite the result. He noted his pride in finally making an MLS start after spending such a large portion of his life in the LAFC Academy.

"Individually, I'm proud of my performance," he said. "I'm proud of the PK save, and I thought for the most part I had a fairly clean game. I'm disappointed in how unlucky the goal we conceded was, but I'm proud of being able to make a longtime dream come true."

While Carter worked to hold Colorado at one, Dos Santos elected to bring on both Bouanga and Son in minute 64 with hopes that they could provide a spark for the LAFC attack. The offense remained stagnant, however, and neither of the two could manufacture a much-needed scoring moment for the club.

"I thought they would come in and make a difference," Dos Santos said. "I thought the game was there for us, but unfortunately it didn't happen. There are nights like that."

The Black & Gold are now 10-7-4, with historic struggles on the road against Colorado continuing to linger. LA is now 1-6-2 all-time in the regular season playing away against the Rapids, with its only victory coming during the club's inaugural season in 2018.

A chance to break the scoreless streak and return to the win column awaits on Saturday as LAFC returns home to host the Portland Timbers. At 8-9-3 this season, Portland currently holds the ninth spot in the Western Conference table and defeated LA 2-1 at Providence Park earlier this season on April 11.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.

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