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American Will Bruin was the star of the show on Fourth of July, scoring both goals for the visiting Seattle Sounders as the Colorado Rapids were defeated 2-1 Wednesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Here are three takeaways from Colorado’s loss.

Good while it lasted

Colorado’s three-game unbeaten streak heading into Wednesday’s match was a welcome change to what has largely been a disappointing season for the Rapids in 2018.

After an eight-game losing streak all but decimated Colorado’s playoff standing, the seven points earned in three matches rekindled those playoff hopes as Colorado was just seven points below the playoff redline with two games in hand over most Western Conference teams.

“I think the guys, we’ve shown a professional attitude over the last three games,” Rapids midfielder Sam Nicholson said of the unbeaten run. “We got something out of the games where we needed to.”

But the loss to Seattle marked a further setback and bungling of a prime opportunity to make up ground against a Western Conference opponent on what is emphasized as one of the most important home games of the year for the club.

Yellow Submarine

The Rapids have been sunk by yellow cards this season, and it had a tangible effect on the team Wednesday as midfielder Jack Price faced his second suspension for yellow card accumulation this season. Price currently leads the league in yellow cards with seven on the year, and the Rapids have four players in the top five for yellow cards accumulated, including Price (7), Dominique Badji (5), Danny Wilson (5) and Edgar Castillo (5).

Rapids head coach Anthony Hudson attributed a great deal to Price’s absence as an underlying cause to the Rapids’ lack of possession in the first half and inability to control the game the way they wanted to.

“I think we got overrun in midfield, really,” Hudson said. “It was a poor start and too many of us were not at the level we need to be from the start. There’s nothing other than it was just a poor start to the game from us.”

As Colorado travel to face Montreal this weekend, they’ll similarly be without Castillo due to card accumulation. Castillo been one of the Rapids’ best talents on both ends, so an ability to adjust and deal with adversity will be vital.

Freedom Frei

Goalkeepers made the difference in this game, for better or worse. Colorado had only five shots on target against Seattle, including Nicholson’s first half equalizer. Despite conceding, Stefan Frei came up huge for the visitors with four saves and one punch of the ball away from danger, including a crucial save late on Shkëlzen Gashi’s effort in the 82nd which would have tied the game.

It was the inverse for Rapids Designated Player Tim Howard. Seattle had just two on-target efforts in the full 90 minutes and both found their way into Colorado’s net. On the second goal, Howard’s poor decision to kick the ball short to Gashi resulted in a quick turnover and the second goal for the Sounders.

Games like Howard’s 10 save effort last Sunday in a 1-0 win against Vancouver show his worth, but in the 2-1 Fourth of July loss, it showed why most front offices don’t opt to spend big dollars on an aging ‘keeper.

The post Three takeaways from the Colorado Rapids’ 2-1 loss to Seattle Sounders appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – For the second consecutive year, the Seattle Sounders brought the fireworks to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, as a Will Bruin brace resulted in the visitors taking home all three points against the Colorado Rapids in a 2-1 win on Wednesday night.

“It wasn’t a good night,” Rapids head coach Anthony Hudson told reporters postgame. “We started poorly and gave ourselves too much to do. We gave way soft goals.”

With a striking combination of Dominique Badji and Yannick Boli, Colorado was unable to generate much offensively – the striking duo only managing a shot apiece and one shot on target through the first half hour of play.

Seattle opened the scoring in the 19th minute as Bruin collected the through ball from Victor Rodriguez in traffic, slotting his shot past Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead.

“We were just very slow to transition,” explained Rapids centerback Kortne Ford, who played his first 90 minutes since going down with a knee injury in early March. “It was a bit of an unfortunate deflection that kept him onside that he could put away.”

Rapids midfielder Shkëlzen Gashi came up with Colorado’s best opportunity to equalize in the first half with a booming shot from outside the 18-yard box in the 34th minute, but the effort was wide.

In the midfield, Colorado was missing the presence of Jack Price, who didn’t feature in the match due to suspension (yellow card accumulation).        

“I think it was a huge loss,” Hudson said of Price’s absence. “He’s so important. He’s been one of our best players all season. That’s what we lacked in the first part of the game – our ability to hold the ball. When you go behind, most games when we’ve needed people to step up, he’s been the one that drives the team and I think we lacked that tonight.”

Despite being out-possessed for much of the half, Colorado would eventually find the equalizer in the 40th minute when Edgar Castillo’s cross from the edge of the box found the head of Sam Nicholson, leveling the score at 1-1.

Seattle would take back the lead in the second half with another goal from Bruin. Following a restart from Tim Howard, Christian Roldan stripped the ball from Gashi, sending the pass through to Bruin who finished for the easy goal, giving Seattle a 2-1 advantage in the 59th minute.

“It was just a mental mistake on a number of us,” Ford said of the second goal from Seattle. “We’re not pointing fingers. We’ve got to be better a s group. We could have been tighter, we could have been higher. At the end of the day, we can’t make those mental mistakes, but credit to him.”

Despite a late push from Colorado which included late efforts from Gashi and Badji in the dying minutes, Seattle was able to hold on to the win.

“As the game wore on we tried to change as many things as we could to be as positive as we could,” Hudson said of the second half push. “I don’t know what else we could have done. We created some very good opportunities to score. We have to take one of those chances.”

The loss ended a three-game unbeaten streak for Colorado, which now sits just three points and one spot ahead of last placed San Jose in the Western Conference table. Colorado will now embark on a road trip to face Montreal this Saturday, while Seattle will embark for New England to face the Revolution.

The post Will Bruin brace leads Seattle Sounders to 2-1 Independence Day win over Colorado Rapids appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.