TUCSON, Ariz. (Wednesday, February 26, 2014) – The Colorado Rapids played out a goalless draw with Chivas USA on Wednesday afternoon in Tucson, as part of the Desert Diamond Cup. Goalkeepers Joe Nasco (62 minutes) and John Berner (28 minutes) combined to keep shutout in the match, which was the fourth shutout for the Rapids this preseason.
The Rapids controlled the bulk of the action, especially as the match wore on, with Colorado earning several good late chances. Gabriel Torres, Deshorn Brown and Marvin Chávez all had opportunities to score the winning goal, but the Chivas USA goalkeeper was able to keep Colorado off the board.
Nathan Sturgis also had a chance in injury time, when he got free to win a header on a corner kick, but could not quite direct his header on target. Throughout the second half, the Rapids had more possession and more opportunities in what was the second meeting between the two clubs this preseason.
The first 30 minutes of the match was more in Chivas’ favor, and goalkeeper Nasco was busy for the Rapids, having to come off his line several times to collect dangerous crosses. Nearly every one of Chivas’ corner kicks in the first half was snagged by Nasco, who came off his line aggressively. He was also forced into a good save early in the second half.
Colorado will now face New England Revolution in their fourth and final game of the Desert Diamond Cup, which will be held on Saturday, kick-off 3.30 p.m MT. With the tie, the team’s record sits at 4-2-1 (W-L-T) in preseason. Wednesday’s match was the first time the Rapids had failed to score in 2014.
COLORADO RAPIDS 0:0 CHIVAS USA
Preseason Exhibition – Kino Sports Complex; Tucson, Ariz.
Scoring Summary:
None
Rapids Lineup: Joe Nasco (John Berner 62’); Albert Edward (Nathan Sturgis 62’), Jared Watts (Drew Moor 62’), Grant Van De Casteele (Marvell Wynne 62’), Chris Klute (Dillon Serna 46’); Juan Guzman (José Mari 62’), Marlon Hairston (Nick LaBrocca 62’); Charles Eloundou (Marvin Chávez 46’), Vicente Sánchez (Dillon Powers 46’), Gabriel Torres (Samuel Galindo 71’); Edson Buddle (Deshorn Brown 46’)
Rapids Misconduct Summary:
COL – Vicente Sánchez (yellow card) 32’
COL – Jared Watts (yellow card) 45+’
COLORADO RAPIDS – PRESEASON MATCHES 2014
DAY DATE OPPONENT (LOCATION) RESULT (SCORERS)/TIME
Sun Feb 2 Houston Dynamo (Houston, TX) W, 3-2 (Serna, Brown, Torres)
Thu Feb 6 Houston Baptist University (Houston, TX) W, 3-0 (Brown, Serna, Galindo)
Fri Feb 14 UNLV (Las Vegas, NV) W, 2-0 (Chávez, Sánchez)
Sun Feb 16 Chivas USA (Las Vegas, NV)^ L, 2-1 (Brown)
Wed Feb 19 Chicago Fire (Tucson, AZ)# L, 2-1 (Torres)
Sat Feb 22 Real Salt Lake (Tucson, AZ)# W, 1-0 (Brown)
Wed Feb 26 Chivas USA (Tucson, AZ)# T, 0-0
Sat Mar 1 TBD (Tucson, AZ)# TBD
^Las Vegas ProSoccerChallenge
Desert Diamond Cup presented by FC Tucson
