Calvert has highlight, lowlight in same game
commerce city» Rapids striker Caleb Calvert had an unforgettable game Saturday night in Philadelphia with one memory he will savor but another he would prefer to forget.
Calvert scored his first MLS goal with a sweet shot that caught three defenders and goalkeeper Andre Blake flat-footed, giving Colorado an early 1-0 lead. But in the second half he was sent off after a bizarre sequence of events that turned the game Philadelphia’s way. The Union scored the winning goal six minutes later.
In the 15th minute, Kevin Doyle spotted Calvert with wide-open space in front of him and flicked a header there for Calvert to run down. No one joined Calvert in the attack, so he took on three defenders himself.
“I had so much space in front of me so I decided: ‘Why not? Just attack and go after it,’ ” said Calvert, a fifth-year player making his third MLS start. “I still can’t believe it went in. I’m still in shock.”
Three Union defenders converged on Calvert but then froze.
“They gave me too much space,” Calvert said. “I got a shot off and thankfully it went in. The first thought in my head was, ‘That didn’t happen.’ Then there’s just this overwhelming feeling, because I’ve been working for this for a long time. It’s been five years now as a professional, and finally I got a breakthrough.”
It was Colorado’s only road goal from the run of play this season, the only other road goal being a stoppagetime penalty kick at Sporting Kansas City on April 9. Mastroeni talks a lot about wanting his players to “be brave,” and he cited Calvert’s goal as an example because he wants to see more of that from the team.
“It was a fantastic goal,” Mastroeni said. “He looked up, didn’t have any (teammates) joining in, so he took the team (Philadelphia) on. That’s what ‘being brave’ looks like on the soccer field — having space, driving the space, not having a teammate (nearby), having three defenders, (thinking) ‘I’m going to shoot it.’ If you miss, who cares? But look what you get if you take that risk.”
But Calvert was ejected in the 69th minute after receiving a second yellow card. After being cut down by a Philadelphia player, Calvert stayed down believing a foul would be called. None was, but referee Jose Carlos Rivero gave him a yellow card for complaining about the noncall and sent him to the sideline to see the trainer. When Calvert returned to the field without seeking Rivero’s permission, Rivero sent him off with a second yellow card.
The Rapids blame confusion around Rivero’s handling of the situation more than Calvert’s grasp of the rule book.
“I got up, I asked the sideline ref, ‘How did you miss the foul?’ That’s all I said,” Calvert said. “I’m not sure why I was booked. Then it was just confusion all around. It wasn’t made clear what I was supposed to do. I feel as though the ref could have made it more clear. They never said anything.” Mastroeni agreed.
“I think it was mishandled,” Mastroeni said. “There was no clarity. It cost us the game.”
Mastroeni said the Rapids would learn from the mishap despite whatever confusion might have surrounded it.
“I’ll tell you what, no one’s making that mistake again,” Mastroeni said. “Unfortunately it cost us to learn from it.”