FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A light rain began only minutes before the Rapids’ visit to Gillette Stadium, but arrived in plenty of time to provide a slick playing surface in a 1-1 draw against the New England Revolution. The match was the first on field turf for Colorado this season.
“We took a long time to adapt to the slippery turf surface,” Rapids coach Greg Smith said. “But, when we did, I thought we were dominant.”
Adapted or not, Colorado scored quickly. In the third minute, defender Jordan Harvey lofted a ball to Conor Casey in the penalty area. Casey smacked a header past goalkeeper Brad Knighton for a 1-0 Rapids lead and his fifth goal of the season.
“You’ll not see too many players score a header like that in this league,” Smith said. “I think we can probably all name them on one hand. He’s one of them.”
Revolution captain Steve Ralston scored on a penalty kick in the 18th minute, beating Matt Pickens to even the score.
Physical play soon replaced early scoring. On a Rapids scoring chance, Knighton left the net to defend the attack, only to be rolled over by Colin Clark and Harvey. Knighton came up clutching his right shoulder, but stayed in the game.
Casey found the turf several times throughout the game and the rain didn’t cool his fiery temper. The forward spent much of the night dueling for position with defender Emmanuel Osei, and Casey was slapped with a yellow card after a takedown on Kevin Alston, a point he argued to referee Shane Moody.
“(Casey) battles away, and I’m not sure he’s getting too many breaks on the physical front. And when you’re dominating a littler guy, it always looks worse,” Smith said.
In the second half, Casey nearly received a second yellow card after grabbing the leg of another Revs player. Smith replaced him in the 77th minute with Jacob Peterson, exiting to sneering Revolution fans, to avoid a potential momentum swing if Casey had been tossed.
New England weathered the storm in the second half as Colorado outshot it 7-2, leaving the Rapids with one point for the tie and a bit of disappointment.
“A point is a good point, coast to coast, with the rigors the players have to deal with, but everybody feels a little deflated that we didn’t manage to take all three (points) away tonight,” Smith said.
Colorado 1 0 — 1
New England 1 0 — 1
First half — 1, Colorado, Casey 5 (Harvey), 3rd minute. 2, New England, Ralston 2 (penalty kick), 18th. Second half — None.
Goalies — Colorado, Matt Pickens; New England, Brad Knighton.
Yellow cards — Phelan, New England, 4th; Casey, Colorado, 41st; Cummings, Colorado, 50th.
A — 10,677 (20,000).
