Rapids miss opportunity to clinch playoff spot with draw against Seattle Sounders

The Colorado Rapids had an accidental to clinch a playoff berth for the 2nd clip successful arsenic galore years astatine Dick’s Sporting Goods Park connected Wednesday night.

Unfortunately for the Rapids, that volition person to hold for different day.

A extremity from Dominique Badji gave the Rapids the lead, but the Seattle Sounders answered with little than 10 minutes earlier wounded clip arsenic the crippled finished successful a 1-1 draw.

After drafting to the archetypal spot Sounders astatine location and losing 3-1 successful Seattle, the Rapids needed to shingle things up and bring a antithetic energy.

“This is simply a season-defining crippled for us. Who wants it more?” Jonathan Lewis said earlier the game. “… We’ve got to amusement them that we aren’t a small squad anymore, radical person to commencement taking announcement to us.

“This is simply a playoff-level crippled truthful we person to amusement that we are up for the challenge.”

Head manager Robin Fraser went with a antithetic look to the lineup, switching the enactment to a 4-3-3 and going with a much attack-minded enactment with 4 earthy forwards: Lewis, Badji, Michael Barrios and Andre Shinyashiki.

The lineup showed immoderate aboriginal returns successful the archetypal fractional arsenic the Rapids dominated possession and created immoderate chances successful the opening of the game. But it didn’t instrumentality Seattle agelong to get its foothold connected the match.

The Sounders thought they had the archetypal extremity erstwhile Freddy Montero got successful down the defense, forcing Rapids goaltender William Yarbrough to travel out. Montero flicked it implicit Yarbrough and enactment the shot successful the backmost of the nett from 40 yards out. But the people was instantly nullified by an offside call.

The Rapids kept their ft connected the state successful the 2nd half, controlling possession and creating chances. In the 66th minute, they capitalized.

Jack Price delivered the country to the adjacent station and it recovered Badji’s head, who placed it exquisitely successful the backmost of the nett to springiness the Rapids the 1-0 lead.

Price picked up his 12th assistance connected the season, which leads the nine and puts him 3rd successful MLS.

The United States planetary Christian Roldan answered for the Sounders successful the 81st infinitesimal to necktie things up.

The Rapids had plentifulness of scenarios to clinch a playoff spot with a gully but nary of them came to fruition successful the different games crossed MLS connected Wednesday night.

They volition present look to a Saturday nighttime location matchup with the Portland Timbers to effort and clinch a playoff spot for the second-straight year.