Someone finally slowed down the Los Angeles Galaxy, but the Colorado Rapids bid to be the first team to beat the Galaxy in seven weeks fell short.
Rapids midfielder Jaime Castrillon scored a 16th minute equalizer to negate an early strike from Marcelo Sarvas and help give Colorado a 1-1 draw against the Galaxy on Sunday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The draw snapped the Galaxy's four-match winnning streak.
Sarvas opened the scoring with a 20-yard blast in the 10th minute, but Colorado responded with a quality build-up that finished with Hunter Freeman blazing a low cross into the penalty area that found a streak Castrillon, who beat Saunders for the game-tying finish.
Goalkeepers Josh Saunders and Matt Pickens made sure those were the only goals of the match as both made outstanding saves to keep the score at 1-1.
The Galaxy dealt with a scary moment late in the first half when centerback A.J. De La Garza suffered a knee sprain that forced him to leave the match. Rookie Tommy Meyer replaced De La Garza and held his own in central defense.
The match marked David Beckham's return to the Galaxy starting lineup and he put in a solid effort in midfield.
The draw places the Galaxy in third place in the Western Conference, with their final three matches of the regular season coming against the top teams in the West. That run begins on Saturday at Home Depot Center against Real Salt Lake.
Here are the match highlights:
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