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Burpo shines as Rapids eliminate Galaxy again
Goalkeeper Preston Burpo stopped Chris Klein and Mike Magee in the penalty-kick phase as the Colorado Rapids defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy on Tuesday in Carson, Calif., in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game.
The Rapids will face the winner of a play-in game between Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders, scheduled for April 28 in Tukwila, Wash. The date and location of the Rapids’ U.S. Open Cup match has not been announced yet.
The Rapids and Galaxy were facing each other for the second time in four days.
On Saturday at the Home Depot Center, Burpo played the full 90 minutes without making a save in a 3-2 Major League Soccer victory against the Galaxy. On Tuesday at the same venue, he came up big, shutting out the hosts through 90 minutes of regulation plus overtime.
When the game reached the penalty-kick stage, Omar Cummings converted the first opportunity for Colorado.
LA followed with a goal from Alan Gordon for a 1-1 tie, then Mehdi Ballouchy buried his chance to put the pressure back on the Galaxy.
Burpo stopped Klein, and the Rapids led 2-1 after each team had two chances.
Colin Clark put the Rapids ahead with a confident shot to the back of the net, and Bryan Jordan kept pace for the Galaxy, making the count 3-2.
Ugo Ihemelu scored using a two-step approach and gave Colorado a 4-2 lead, setting up Burpo’s heroics. As Magee became Burpo’s second victim, the Rapids rushed the pitch.
The Rapids played with only 10 men for much of the contest. Greg Dalby was shown a red card for a hard foul on Galaxy midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi in the 36th minute of regulation.
Two of Colorado’s best scoring opportunities came from Jacob Peterson.
In the 13th minute, Peterson carried the ball down the left side of the pitch turning the corner at the end line before feeding a perfect pass to the penalty spot for rookie Ross Schunk, playing in his first game for the Rapids. Schunk pushed his shot wide right.
In the 31st minute, Peterson stole the ball from Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter at the edge of the box, but his shot sailed wide left.
Near the end of regulation both teams created excellent scoring chances, but Gordon chipped high over the crossbar for L.A. and Terry Cooke missed to the left for the Rapids.
The Galaxy controlled the first 15-minute overtime session. Colorado created several quality scoring chances in the second OT, earning the team’s first two corner kicks of the match.
The game marked the second consecutive year the Rapids eliminated the Galaxy from the U.S. Open Cup during a play-in game.
Colorado returns to regular-season MLS action on Saturday, traveling to face Columbus at 5:30 p.m. MT at Crew Stadium.
LINEUPS
Colorado Rapids: Burpo, Kosuke Kimura (Ihemelu 75), Ty Harden, Scott Palguta, Ivan Guerrero, Clark, Cooke (Jordan Harvey 90), Dalby, Nick LaBrocca (Ballouchy 46), Peterson, Schunk (Cummings 63)
Substitutes Not Used: Steward Ceus, Michael Holody, Gregory Richardson
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders, Omar Gonzalez (Josh Tudela 91), Berhalter (Magee 74), Yohance Marshall, A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Jovan Kirovski, Miglioranzi, Kyle Patterson (Klein 61), Tristan Bowen (Gordon 61), Bryan Jordan
Substitutes Not Used: Miguel Benitez, Todd Dunivant, Julian Valentin
Misconduct Summary
COL- Dalby (serious foul play) 36
LA- Gonzalez (reckless tackle) 41
LA- Marshall (reckless tackle) 63
LA- Magee (dissent) 109
Referee: Abiodun Okulaja
Referee’s assistants: Ian Anderson, Brandon Whitson
Fourth official: Kevin Scott
Attendance: 6,219
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an associate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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I think I speak for all of America when I say ‘Screw the Galaxy.’
Well done, Rapids.
Burpo has been playing well.
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