The Colorado Rapids (11-13-4, 37 pts., 8th West) earned a point in a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes (13-8-7, 46 pts., 4th West) on Saturday night at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park.
Following a week-long break in the schedule due to the recent FIFA international window, Colorado returned to play looking to help secure their positioning in the Western Conference as the regular season begins to wind down.
The Rapids started the match with all of the momentum, dominating possession and creating chances early in the attacking third. The visitors thought they grabbed the match’s first goal in the early stages of the match, but VAR would call the goal back, leaving the two sides scoreless.
Colorado returned back to their ball-dominant play, directly leading to their first of the night in the 27th minute.
After drawing a corner kick, Designated Player Paxten Aaronson stood over the ball and weighed his options in the middle of the box. The midfielder then whipped in a cross that perfectly found the head of a rising Donavan Phillip, who sent home a header to put Colorado up 1-0.
The goal marked the third of Phillip’s MLS career, with all three coming within his last three appearances. The forward's three consecutive games with a goal make him the youngest player in club history to do so at 21 years and 279 days old. Also of note on the goal was Aaronson’s assist, which brought him to six goal contributions within his last five MLS appearances (3g, 3a).
That would be all the scoring for the first half, with the Rapids holding a one goal lead.
San Jose came out of the break on the front foot, eventually leading to their equalizer in the 57th minute off the foot of Dave Romney. The Rapids fought back with a flurry of chances including an opportunity in the 86th minute of the match, when Aaronson sent a corner kick into the box and Wayne Fredrick’s strategically placed header just nicked the goalpost, bouncing out of the box. San Jose earned three free kicks in the final six minutes of the match, as the Rapids denied all three late attempts to maintain the draw.
After back and forth play following the San Jose goal, the match would end there with the two sides each earning a point in the league standings.
Colorado looks to continue its home-streak with a mid-week match again Minnesota United at 7:30 p.m. at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park before hitting the road to take on the Portland Timbers. Rapids coverage is available on Apple TV, Altitude Sports Radio, the Colorado Rapids app, and ColoradoRapids.com.
Colorado Rapids vs. Minnesota United FC
Wednesday, October 14 at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park | 7:30 PM
