BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Toyota Park hasn’t been a friendly place to play recently for the Rapids, who came into Wednesday night’s game winless in four trips to the stadium. And while the Rapids didn’t earn a victory against the Chicago Fire, they were happy with a draw.
Rapids forward Conor Casey tied the game in the 91st minute in extra time on a header, making it a 2-2 final. The ball sailed into the right side of the goal off a long pass from Jamie Smith as Colorado extended its unbeaten streak to four games.
The Rapids came in with their best start since 2002, and now enter the World Cup break with a 6-3-2 record.
“We didn’t have a very good first half,” said Casey, who has a team-high five goals. “In the second half, we were able to bring a bit more energy and create more chances. It’s a good point on the road for us to go on vacation. The fact that we’re in every game and are close says a lot about where we’re at right now.”
The scoring binge snapped a streak of five straight 1-0 decisions for Colorado, four of them wins.
Omar Cummings put the Rapids on the board in the 21st minute, driving a shot into the upper left corner, assisted by Casey and Mehdi Ballouchy. It was Cummings’ third goal of the season.
But Chicago (3-3-5) struck back two minutes later, tying it 1-1 on a goal by Marco Pappa, and took a 2-1 lead on Pappa’s second goal in the 46th minute.
If not for the play of former Fire goalie Matt Pickens, who made three saves in the first half and five for the game, the damage could have been worse.
“Matt was inspired for us in the first half and kept us in the game,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said.
Although it wasn’t the Rapids’ best performance of the season, Smith was pleased with his team’s effort.
“In the second half, we took more control and had some opportunities,” Smith said. “This is a tough place to come, and we deserved the point. It’s a testament to the group to come away and not get beaten.”
The Rapids’ next game is June 26 at Houston. Their next home game is July 4 against New York.
Footnotes.
Rapids captain Julien Baudet left the game after an injury in the first minute of the game and was replaced on defense by Scott Palguta. . . . Midfielder Pablo Mastroeni did not play because he was serving a one-game suspension after receiving a red card Saturday’s against Columbus.
Colorado 1 1 — 2
Chicago 2 0 — 2
First half — 1, Colorado, Cummings 3 (Casey, Ballouchy), 21st minute. 2, Chicago, Pappa 4 (Husidic), 23rd. 3, Chicago, Pappa 5 (Husidic, McBride), 45th+.
Second half — 4, Colorado, Casey 5 (Smith), 90th+.
Goalies — Colorado, Matt Pickens; Chicago, Andrew Dykstra.
Referee — Paul Ward.
