COMMERCE CITY, Colo.- Insanity ensued as the Atlanta Silverbacks knocked the Colorado Rapids out of the U.S. Open Cup by a 2-1 count on Tuesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. But soccer was far from the story.
Four red cards were handed out by referee Juan Guzman as absolute chaos broke out just past the hour mark. After Drew Moor went down from a hard challenge, he appeared to be stomped on by Silverbacks forward Kwadwo Poku, setting off a five-minute brawl that ended with Colorado’s Marc Burch and Atlanta’s Poku, Borfor Carr and Jaime Chavez all being sent off.
Coaches Eric Wynalda (who also argued with a fan) and Pablo Mastroeni were also dismissed in the ugly incident, which featured what appeared to be punches and plenty of shoving and yelling.
On the field, Chavez had a brace for Atlanta as they progressed on the road over an MLS side for the second straight match.
Dillon Powers converted from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, but the Rapids could not convert on a slew of opportunities in the game’s waning minutes.
Oh, and there was also a 55-minute stoppage for severe weather, with lightning in the area, on a night when sparks certainly flew.
The Silverbacks now play the winner of Wednesday’s Columbus-Chicago match on July 8th or 9th.
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com
