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Denis Bouanga, Nathan Ordaz and Javairo Dilrosun lift LAFC to win over Colorado Rapids

Goals by Denis Bouanga, Nathan Ordaz and Javairo Dilrosun carried LAFC to a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, snapping a four-game winless streak in all competition.

The victory, LAFC’s first in more than month, pushed the team into sixth place in the MLS Western Conference standings. Colorado, meanwhile, was undone by a pair of first-half mistakes.

The first came in the sixth minute when left back Jackson Travis drew a red card from referee Jair Marrufo for a reckless challenge on LAFC defender Sergi Palencia, who caught an elbow in the face going for a 50-50 ball. It was the third red card the Rapids have been given this season, tying them with Inter Miami for most in the league. And when Travis left, so did the game plan Colorado coach Chris Armas had for the game.

The shorthanded Rapids chose to cede possession — they had the ball just 13 of the first 39 minutes and were outshot 9-0 over than span – but it took another massive Colorado error to get LAFC on the scoreboard with defender Andreas Maxso tripping Bouanga in the box at the end of a breakaway, setting up a penalty kick Bouanga converted.

The goal, Bouanga’s 50^th in MLS play, was his ninth of the season and his fourth from the penalty spot and it gave LAFC its first lead in more than a month. Ordaz doubled the advantage in the opening minutes of the second half, banging in the rebound of a save from Colorado keeper Nico Hassen.

Dilrosun, a former Dutch international on a short-term loan from Mexico’s Club América, made it 3-0 with his first MLS goal in the 59^th minute. And it could have been worse, but David Martínez hit the left post from the top of the box on a breakaway with 12 minutes left in regulation.

LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris needed just two saves to record his sixth clean sheet in 16 MLS games.

The game was originally scheduled for May 31 but was moved to accommodate LAFC’s participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. The next four weeks will tough for LAFC (8-5-5), which will play seven times in 26 days, part of a fixture crunch that could seen them played as many as 27 times between midway July and the end of November.

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