Washington – Christian Gomez scored off a free kick in the 65th minute Saturday night to break a scoreless tie as D.C. United blanked the Rapids 2-0 in a foul-filled match.
Working from the left wing, Gomez curled a ball toward the goal on a set play. Rapids goalkeeper Byron Foss, who entered in the 59th minute when starting goalie Joe Cannon left with a left abdominal strain, was late leaping to the left post and the ball squirted past his fingertips.
The Rapids said the team’s medical staff would evaluate Cannon on Monday.
United goalie Nick Rimando made three saves for his 11th shutout of the season.
Jaime Moreno also scored for United (14-9-5), notching his team-high 13th goal in the 80th minute. Dribbling on the right side of the goal box, Moreno drew Colorado’s Ritchie Kotschau to the ground, then flicked a soft shot across the goal line inside the unprotected left post.
Referee Hilario Grajeda handed out nine yellow cards in the chippy match, six to Colorado. When Rapids midfielder Alain Nkong was whistled for a caution in the 87th minute for a hard tackle in front of the D.C. bench, Colorado coach Fernando Clavijo had to be restrained from chasing Grajeda along the sideline.
Colorado (9-13-4) has lost two straight games after going 4-0-1 in its previous five matches. The Rapids fell to 1-9-3 on the road.
Colorado 0 0 – 0
D.C. 0 2 – 2
First half – None.
Second half – 1, D.C., Gomez 10, 65th minute. 2, D.C., Moreno 13 (Kovalenko, Quaranta), 80th.
Goalies – Colorado, Cannon, Foss; D.C., Rimando.
A – 21,875 (24,603).
