Salt Lake City – Fabrice Noel scored in the 87th minute, leading the Rapids to a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
The Rapids (13-13-6) won three of the four games against Real (5-22-5) to claim the inaugural Rocky Mountain Cup.
Noel took a pass from Jeff Cunningham on the left side and lofted a shot just over the outstretched arms of Real goalkeeper D.J. Countess for his first MLS goal.
With the victory, the Rapids, the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, could move up to the third seed if the Los Angeles Galaxy loses to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
Joe Cannon, playing his first game since suffering an abdominal injury Sept. 17, recorded his eighth shutout of the season.
Colorado 0 1 – 1
Real Salt Lake 0 0 – 0
First half – None. Second half – 1, Colorado, Noel 1 (Cunningham), 87th minute. Goalies – Colorado, Cannon; Real Salt Lake, Countess. A – 13,813 (22,000).
