Rebuilt Colorado settles for a draw John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or @johnmeyer
COMMERCE CITY» In the moments between the national anthem and the first kickoff of the Rapids’ home season opener, members of their “Centennial 38” supporters group unveiled massive banners at the north end of the stadium pledging loyalty to an overhauled team coming off a horrendous 2017 season.
“I give my heart to you,” read the message, known as a Tifo in soccer circles, “Burgundy and Blue.”
The Rapids didn’t wait long to show their appreciation, scoring twice in the first eight minutes en route to a 2-2 tie with Sporting K.C. in front of a sellout crowd of 17,427 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. It was Colorado’s second game of the MLS season, following a road opener two weeks ago in New England that resulted in a 2-1 loss.
New coach Anthony Hudson deployed his team in a 3-5-2 formation designed to feature an aggressive attacking style, and it paid off early on.
Dominique Badji, one of three holdovers from the 2017 squad in the starting lineup, started the scoring on a quick strike set up by newcomers Jack Price and Edgar Castillo.
Price played a ball from central midfield to Castillo on the left wing, who saw Badji making a run through the middle. Castillo found him with a precision cross as Badji got behind the back line and he scored from the edge of the 6-yard box in the fifth minute.
Four minutes later Joe Mason, one of the team’s new striker signings, took a long ball from defender Tommy Smith and beat a double-team by center back Matt Besler and goalkeeper Tim Melia, juking both to find the net from 8 yards out.
“In the first 10 minutes, we executed to perfection,” Castillo said.
But after the first 20 minutes, the visitors began to dominate possession, keeping Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard busy. He made a couple of big saves before halftime to preserve Colorado’s 2-0 lead.
SKC pulled a goal back in the 57th minute on a tally by Felipe Gutierrez. Over the final 20 minutes, SKC attacked Colorado’s three-man back line in waves and Howard had to make several outstanding saves.
Finally SKC beat him in stoppage time on a goal by late sub Diego Rubio. SKC finished the game with 62 percent of the possession and Howard finished with seven saves as a game that began with so much promise ended with frustration.
“We are disappointed, very disappointed,” Hudson said. “But as we’ve been saying, this is a process in the sense of so many new players. It’s still another step in the right direction. Certainly a lot to build on from tonight.”