COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids aren’t making things easy on themselves.
Pretty chances and beautiful soccer amounted to a frustrating 2-2 draw with the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Colin Clark and Conor Casey scored to cap stunning moves, but in the end there was nothing to celebrate but missed opportunities.
“Even with the opportunities they had toward the end, we still should have won the game,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said. “We were in a good enough position. We created enough to do that. We need to be more clinical in their box and more frugal in ours. At the moment, we’re treading a very fine line.”
The Rapids hammered the Sounders on the edges, playing direct balls down the flanks and getting behind their rear guard.
Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller showed off his four World Cups of experience by denying Nick LaBrocca’s breakaway just before halftime and somehow managing to glove away Casey’s air hammer of a header in the 35th.
“He got down real quick,” said Casey, trying to shake the replay from his eyes. “It was a great save.”
Colombian international Fredy Montero put the visitors on the board in the 17th minute when he popped up in time to head his rebound past goalkeeper Matt Pickens. Nate Jaqua ensured the Sounders one point when he equalized in the 76th minute as the Rapids were flailing like an unattended garden hose.
“Everything shut down,” Cory Gibbs said of the goal.
Defender Scott Palguta fell to the ground with a cramp, Clark lost the ball and appealed for a hand ball rather than pressure the turnover, Kosuke Kimura got beat on the cross and was knocked to the ground, and Gibbs lost the ball as it was played behind him and to the feet of Jaqua.
Smith, always one for a boxing analogy, called it a “sucker punch.” Smith knows, how-ever, his MLS team has a habit of dropping its left.
“It’s nice to see some of the positive things that are happening, but at the moment we’re just unable to see it out,” he said.
Seattle FC 1 1 — 2
Colorado 1 1 — 2
First half — 1, Seattle FC, Montero 4, 17th minute. 2, Colorado, Clark 2 (Cummings, Ballouchy), 25th. Second half — 3, Colorado, Casey 6 (Clark), 47th. 4, Seattle FC, Jaqua 2, 75th.
Goalies — Seattle FC, Kasey Keller; Colorado, Matt Pickens. Yellow cards — Jaqua, Seattle FC, 28th; Hurtado, Seattle FC, 57th; Vagenas, Seattle FC, 61st; Ihemelu, Colorado, 67th.
A — 16,528.
