Sounders And Rapids Seesaw Into 2-2 Draw

A good show between two of the top-half teams in the Western Conference took place at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park as the Seattle Sounders made their first-ever trip to Denver to take on the Colorado Rapids.

As was to be expected, it was a hotly contested match between two squads with aspirations of climbing up the table. It was a back and fourth battle with each side earning and then losing one goal leads, but in the end the 2-2 draw was a well-deserved result.

First Half

The visitors' hopes of churning out a result took an immediate hit. Entering the match without midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was bad enough, but in just the second minute, holding midfielder Osvaldo Alonso had to leave the match with an injury and the Sounders would have to deal without having either of their key starters in the middle of the pitch.

But Major League Soccer’s newest franchise showed no signs of missing their two central stars and would take a lead in just the 17^th minute through Fredy Montero. The young striker got a bit lucky after hitting the post with his initial attempt off of a cross from James Riley, but collected himself well and popped home the game’s opening goal with his head.

It took only eight minutes for Colorado to respond with a nice goal off the foot of Colin Clarke.  Omar Cummings was set free down the right and had plenty of time to pick out his pass. Clarke broke diagonally through the box and one-timed home into the bottom corner.

Sounder ‘keeper Kasey Keller never had a chance to stop the goal, but for the remainder of the first half the early season frontrunner for MLS goalkeeper of the year was spectacular.

His first big save came in the 35^th when Conor Casey had a good look with his head after Cummings broke down the right again. The whipped cross was spot on and Casey couldn’t have done much better with his sharp header, but Keller was superb in his reaction and tipped the ball wide of the post to keep Seattle in the match.

Keller would be called on for more heroics just before the end of the half when Nick LaBrocca found tons of space in the middle of the park as the Rapids broke forward. A defensive error left LaBrocca completely unmarked and it looked certain that midfielder would make it 2-1, but Keller got a foot on the ball and dealt with the danger.

Despite a clear advantage in chances, the home fans would have to be content with a 1-1 score heading into the break.

Second Half

However, the home fans would be elated just moments into the second half. Casey turned well after receiving a ball 40 yards from goal and immediately went at the defense. Keller seemed to have the shot well read, but a nasty deflection off of a defender saw the left footed effort drift into Seattle’s net.

As the second half moved forward the absences of Alonso and Ljungberg became a major issue. The Seattle midfield, normally a well organized, possession-oriented group that does well to control the pace of the match, was completely outclassed by the Rapids in the middle of the pitch.

The pressure from Colorado nearly paid off in the 70^th but LaBrocca was foiled again by Keller. The midfielder was played into a good position by Casey and took his chance nicely, but Keller had the angle and got a hand on the ball just at the last moment to send it up and over the bar.

The missed chances came back to haunt the Rapids in the 75^th when Nate Jaqua was the beneficiary of Riley and Montero’s set-up play. Riley, who was one of Seattle more dangerous options down the flank, found space to knock in a cross for Montero. The diminutive striker was never going to win the ball cleanly, but did just enough to knock it down into Jaqua’s path mere feet from the Colorado goal. Jaqua finished calmly and the match would head into the final half-hour on level pegging.

The goal clearly energized the visitors and Seattle nearly snatched the match in the 86^th, but Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens showed that Keller was not the only shot stopper on the pitch. A nice ball through the middle of the park somehow found rookie forward Steve Zakuani, who split the Colorado center backs with his run and was in alone on goal. Zakuani tried to pick his spot, but Pickens read him well and made the save to keep Colorado level.

Montero had another decent look at goal in the 90^th when a ball came to his feet just outside the box. But the shot didn’t have quite enough bend to find the corner and sailed just wide of the mark on what would prove to be the final chance of the match for either side.

Allen Ramsey, Goal.com

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