SEATTLE — After conceding a goal in the eighth minute Sunday night against Sounders FC, Colorado placed itself in an inauspicious position.
Entering the match, the Rapids were 0-47-16 over the last four years in games when the opposing side scored first.
That trend continued as Seattle claimed a 2-1 win in front of announced crowd of 36,333 at Qwest Field.
“The disappointment was, in the opening 10 minutes, we were second-best,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said. “The game plan for them is pretty straightforward and simple: high pressure, lots of energy and they got some joy from that. Three times they got in behind us, twice they scored.”
With the loss, Colorado has gone winless over its last six matches, while Sounders FC picked up its first victory against a Western Conference opponent.
“To come away from home and concede two goals, really and truly, you’re not expecting to win a game of football,” Smith said.
Steve Zakuani put the Rapids in an early hole when he fired a shot off the post that hit goalkeeper Matt Pickens before finding the net. Prior to that goal, Colorado was the only MLS team that hadn’t allowed a score in the first 15 minutes.
The Rapids kept things interesting. The lead lasted less than a minute when Omar Cummings found some space near the top corner of the 18-yard box and fired a shot to the upper corner of the far side of the net.
Seattle then regained the lead in the 17th minute when Sanna Nyassi fed a cross to Zakuani right in front of the net for his second goal of the game.
Despite trailing by a goal at the half, Colorado outshot Seattle 7-3 but couldn’t find the net after its ninth-minute tally.
The Rapids kept the pressure on Sounders FC in the second half and came close to tying the game in the 62nd minute, when Jamie Smith hit a shot off his back heel that required an impressive diving stop by Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
“I’ve got to give the guys a lot of credit,” Smith said. “Away from home, in a very difficult environment, after a bad start, to get themselves back in the game really, on the balance of the play, should have gotten something out of it.”
The last time the Rapids played Seattle on May 29, Conor Casey scored the only goal of the match, giving Colorado its only win against second-year Sounders FC. Casey butted heads with Patrick Ianni in stoppage time of Sunday’s loss and walked off the field with a towel pressed against his head.
Colorado 1 0 — 1
Seattle FC 2 0 — 2
First half — 1, Seattle FC, Zakuani 7, 8th minute. 2, Colorado, Cummings 5, 9th. 3, Seattle FC, Zakuani 6 (Nyassi, Montero), 17th.
Second half — None.
Goalies — Colorado, Matt Pickens; Seattle FC, Kasey Keller.
Yellow cards — Scott, Seattle FC, 28th; Smith, Colorado, 58th; Alonso, Seattle FC, 90th. Referee — Yader Reyes. Assistant referees — Chris Strickland. Kermit Quisenberry. 4th official — Landis Wiley. A — 36,333 (32,400)
