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Colorado aims to halt losing skid against L.A.

Aug 19, 2014 - 9:17 PM Commerce City, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - The Colorado Rapids will aim to put their recent struggles in the rearview as when the club welcomes the Los Angeles Galaxy to Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday.

Colorado has dropped its last four league games to slip out of the playoff picture, most recently falling in a humiliating 4-2 to D.C. United.

But as if the loss to United was not enough misfortune, the Rapids were dealt a further blow with the news of Drew Moor suffering a torn ACL while attempting to defend Luis Silva on the opening goal.

The club will attempt to fill the defensive void by giving chances to promising players. Jared Watts, Grant Van De Casteele and Gale Agbossoumonde are in the mix to replace Moor, but Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni has said that it's more about mentality than personnel.

"You can take our arms, you can take our legs, you can take our captain, but what you cannot take is our will to fight," Mastroeni told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. "In losing such a critical piece of the team, you hope that there's a response."

To make matters worse, it appears as though Shane O'Neill - Moor's preferred partner in the center of Colorado's defense - will be out for the remainder of the season with a sprained knee.

"My expectations are (that) we won't see Shane for the rest of the year," Mastroeni continued. "If we do, I'm shocked in a positive light."

The Galaxy, meanwhile, enter Wednesday's clash on the back of a disappointing defeat, though they are in slightly better form than the Rapids.

After marching to a 12-game run with just one league defeat, Los Angeles suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Columbus Crew at the weekend.

And like Colorado, the Galaxy left the affair with some concern as Robbie Rogers exited the match with a quadriceps injury.

Rogers is listed as day-to-day, meaning that veteran defender Todd Dunivant could deputize in his absence.

"It's a great opportunity," Dunivant told Galaxy Insider on Monday. "Let's see what Bruce (Arena) decides. I'm ready to go and anxious to get back on the field. We've been on a great run, and I want to continue that."

Wednesday's affair is quite important for the Western Conference playoff picture as Los Angeles (34 points) sits in fourth place while Colorado (30 points) comes into the game in seventh.