Galaxy loses player, game

Herculez Gomez scored in the 71st minute to lift the Colorado Rapids to a 1-0 victory over the Galaxy on Saturday night.

Gomez, acquired from the Galaxy in December along with defender Ugo Ihemelu in a trade for goalie Joe Cannon, had several scoring chances before breaking through with the game-winner.

Gomez took a cross from midfielder Terry Cooke just inside the top of the penalty area on the right side and headed the ball past Cannon.

“I was getting text messages all week. Phone calls. This is a game I really wanted to win,” Gomez said. “Everyone knows I grew up a fan of L.A., but I think [getting traded] was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

Gomez also drew a red-card ejection on Kyle Martino in the 25th minute.

Things went from bad to worse for Los Angeles (1-3-2) after Martino’s ejection, as Colorado (4-2-3) dominated the first-half possession even before Gomez and Martino were tangled up around midfield.

The referee whistled the play dead and signaled a foul on Martino, who rolled on top of Gomez and appeared to attack him while still on the ground. Both squads quickly came to their teammates’ aid, and, when order was restored, Martino was sent off and Gomez picked up only a yellow card.

The Galaxy’s best scoring chance came in the 82nd minute when Nate Jaqua shot at Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, who got just enough of the ball to whisk it to the left of the net.

The game drew a record crowd of 18,458 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium.