The Colorado Rapids Soccer Club closed the 2017 regular season with a 3-0 defeat against the Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field.
The Rapids found themselves trailing just nine minutes into the match, as forward Will Bruin tapped in his 11th goal of the year following a lovely ball across the face of goal by Kelvin Leerdam.
Six minutes later, Bruin came close to bagging the brace. A poor giveaway by Mohammed Saeid in the middle of the park quickly turned into a Sounders FC breakaway. Clint Dempsey played Bruin in on goal, but the forward’s shot luckily bounced off the upright.
Colorado would catch another break in the 24th minute as Dempsey was sent off for an elbow to the face of defender Mike da Fonte. After an initial no-call, referee Chris Penso turned to Video Review before giving Dempsey the straight red.
The Rapids’ best chance of the first half came with five minutes left to play. Eric Miller's in-swinging cross found Stefan Aigner all alone in the box. With no defenders near him, Aigner calmly chested the ball before unleashing a side-volley straight at goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
In the 53rd minute, the visitors were awarded a penalty kick, but forward Dominique Badji was unable to convert his tenth goal of the season, sending Seattle’s faithful into a frenzy.
Desperate for the equalizer, interim head coach Steve Cooke opted for fresh legs in the offensive end, bringing in Alan Gordon and Joshua Gatt in place of Mike da Fonte and Dillon Serna, respectively.
Instead, Nicolas Lodeiro would double Seattle’s lead in the 64th minute from the spot-kick following a foul by Axel Sjöberg inside the six-yard area. After consulting Video Review for the second time, the referee deemed the tackle worthy of another ejection.
Lodeiro would get another deep into stoppage time, ending Colorado’s 2017 campaign for the second consecutive year.
BOX SCORE
Seattle Sounders FC 3-0 Colorado Rapids
CenturyLink Field; Seattle, WA
Sunday, October 22, 2017
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA: Will Bruin (Kelvin Leerdam, Clint Dempsey) 9’
SEA: Nicolas Lodeiro (PK) 64’
SEA: Nicolas Lodeiro (Unassisted) 90’+4’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA: Clint Dempsey (ejection) 24’
SEA: Roman Torres (caution) 29’
COL: Stefan Aigner (caution) 32’
SEA: Cristian Roldan (caution) 51’
COL: Kortne Ford (caution) 60’
COL: Axel Sjöberg (ejection) 62’
SEA: Joevin Jones (caution) 90’+1’
COL: Alan Gordon (caution) 90’+3’
SEA: Nicolas Lodeiro (caution) 90’+4’
Seattle Sounders FC: Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Roman Torres (Tony Alfaro 90’+1’), Chad Marshall, Nouhou Tolo; Cristian Roldan, Nicolas Lodeiro; Harry Shipp (Lamar Neagle 67’), Clint Dempsey, Joevin Jones; Will Bruin (Henry Wingo 85’).
Subs not used: Tyler Miller, Oniel Fisher, Aaron Kovar, Jordy Delem.
Colorado Rapids: Tim Howard; Eric Miller, Kortne Ford, Axel Sjöberg, Mike da Fonte (Alan Gordon 57’); Nana Boateng (Bobby Burling 68’), Mohammed Saeid; Marlon Hairston, Stefan Aigner, Dillon Serna (Joshua Gatt 59’); Dominique Badji.
Subs not used: Zac MacMath, Mekeil Williams, Ricardo Pérez, Luis Gil.
ATTENDANCE: 44,370
TEAM RECORDS:
Seattle Sounders FC: 14-9-11 (53 points)
Colorado Rapids: 9-19-6 (33 points)
