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Colorado ties Chicago in home opener
Conor Casey readies to fire a penalty kick into the back of the net Saturday against the Chicago Fire. Casey's goal, his first of the year, gave the Rapids a 2-1 lead before settling for a 2-2 tie. (Photo by Jessica Taves/Coloradosoccernow.com)
The Colorado Rapids stood on the precipice of history Saturday, and the ground promptly slipped away to a 2-2 tie in the home opener against the Chicago Fire.
The Rapids, returning home after dispatching Chivas USA 1-0 in the season opener on March 26, took a 2-1 lead into halftime before surrendering a “soft” penalty kick to the Fire in the second half. The end result, a 2-2 tie, left the Rapids with four points from the first two games of the season (not bad), and gave the Fire a one-point escape on the road in a game in which the referees were notable for second-half calls and non calls.
The afternoon started with promise as Omar Cummings continued his hot streak with a goal in the 13th minute. Cummings, who scored the only goal and the game winner in the season opener, sent a screamer into the top right corner. And, for a moment, it seemed that the Rapids would start 2-0-0 for the first time in the club’s 15-year history.
A defending lapse resulted in a corner kick, and Collins John tied the score with a header off the kick in the 26th minute. However, the Rapids righted the ship as Conor Casey scored on a penalty kick in the 40th minute.
As active as both teams were, a one-goal lead didn’t seem like enough going into the halftime, and it wasn’t. In a call that resulted in more head scratching than satisfaction, referee Terry Vaughn awarded a penalty kick to Chicago in the 51st minute. Brian McBride calmly smashed it high to goalkeeper Matt Pickens left — where he had guessed — and evened the score.
The call that led to the PK was a classic example of a forward letting his touch get away from him, clambering into the nearest defender and hoping for a call. Defender Marvell Wynne was whistled for tripping Patrick Nyarko in the penalty box; the only call would have been a yellow card for diving or a PK. It was the latter.
From there, neither side was particularly dangerous, and Chicago seemed content to play for a point.
The desultory finish was far removed from the first half. The Rapids had several near misses — midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Mehdi Ballouchy each put a long distance shot just wide of the post—and they could have easily finished the game with more than two goals. However, the Chicago backline clamped down in the second half, limiting chances.
Rapids Starters: Pickens, Kosuke Kimura, Wynne, Drew Moor, Danny Earls, Ballouchy, Pablo Mastroeni, Larentowicz, Colin Clark, Omar Cummings, Casey.
Rapids Moves: Wells Thompson came on for Ballouchy in the 66th minute. Julie Baudet made his first appearance of the season subbing for Earls in the 84th minute. Both did well, but neither was able to influence the outcome.
What Call?: Cummings went sprawling on a collision in the 89th minute. Despite the presence of the ball in the area, the interation resulted in no call and no reaction. The crowd provided lusty boos, and it certainly looked more menacing than Nyarko’s trip to the ground ealier, but Vaughn’s whistle stayed silent.
Starting: Officially 11,641 attended the home opener at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., on a sunny Saturday afternoon. In the previous three home openers at the soccer-only facility, the Rapids had outscored opponents 8-2 in running up a 3-0-0 record.
good grief! from the look of jess’s picture, that’s an awful lot of empty seats. and that attendance total sure seems like it could’ve been higher. how did the new terrace seating look?
The stands might have been a little empty, but the fans were sure loud!
Yes, I was disappointed in the crowd totals, but I have to agree with Jessica on the noise. It was one of the loudest crowds I have experienced at DSG Park.
The terrace looks fantastic. They were standing the entire game. It has eliminated that dead space behind the north goal. I actually wanted to be over there with the rowdies.
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Bill Hempen Bobby Muuss Colin Clark Colorado Force Colorado Rapids Colorado School of Mines Columbus Crew Conor Casey Dick's Sporting Goods Park Drew Moor Fort Lewis College Gary Smith Jamie Smith Jeff Larentowicz Julien Baudet Kosuke Kimura Landon Donovan Major League Soccer Matt Pickens Mehdi Ballouchy Metro State Nick LaBrocca Nikki Marshall Omar Cummings Pablo Mastroeni Real Salt Lake Scott Palguta Seattle Sounders University of Colorado University of DenverAbout ColoradoSoccerNow
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About Jonathan: Jonathan Ingraham is a Colorado native, sports hound, outdoors enthusiast and Metropolitan State College student, working on a journalism degree. Outside of school, he works as a freelance photographer and is available for photographing places, people, events, games or artistic shoots for businesses or personal collections.
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About Tom: Tom Auclair remembers watching the New England Tea Men when he was younger and thinking what a terrible name that was for a sports team. He has worked for the Rocky Mountain News, Longmont Daily Times-Call and several newspapers in New Hampshire. He's currently working as an editor and photographer for a collection of Web sites. He can't believe how quick Omar Cummings is.
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