Photo credit: Pat Radigan
Morgan Whittaker opens Rapids account with impressive brace, rookie Donavan Phillip scores for first time with first team
A few days after the Colorado Rapids’ offensive engine stalled out in a disappointing U.S. Open Cup loss, manager Matt Wells rearranged the new ‘parts’ to get the motor back into gear.
Unfortunately for the home side, that extra offensive horsepower led to the wheels coming off, and it allowed the Seattle Sounders to score a pair of late goals to split the points in a 3-all draw on Saturday night in Commerce City.
It appeared Colorado had done enough to bounce back from a midweek exit from the Open Cup when summer signing Morgan Whittaker secured a brace and made it 3-1 in the 76th minute. Seattle had other plans, and clawed back a goal just three minutes later before new Sounders signing Caden Clark scored an equalizer in stoppage time to earn a fifth straight draw for the visitors.
Wells focused his postgame comments on his disappointment in the way his team responded to taking that two-goal lead.
“We can use tonight, if we use it wisely, to become a much better team as a result of it,” Wells said. “But right now, I’m not going to say we dropped two points; it feels like we dropped three points, which doesn’t make sense because we got one point this evening, but that’s the feeling. If that game went two more minutes, I’m pretty convinced Seattle would have won.”
The good
Whittaker’s big night started in the first half when the newly minted Designated Player opened his account for the Burgundy Boys. The play started with a driving run from Paxten Aaronson, who drilled a cross from the left wing into the center of the box. That ball fell nicely onto Whittaker’s left foot and was expertly redirected into the side netting at the far post.
The connection between Colorado’s two DPs came thanks to a tactical tweak by Wells, who moved Aaronson to the left wing and deployed Whittaker in a more central role than his previous two appearances.
Donavan Phillip got the start on the right wing and joined Whittaker in scoring his first goal as a Rapid. A Colorado corner kick created an opportunity for Loic Williams to send a header toward goal that drew a sprawling save from Seattle’s Andrew Thomas. The rebound fell to Phillip, who poked his shot over a recovering Thomas and into the roof of the net in the 56th minute.
Aaronson moved to the right flank when Phillip came off as a substitute, and it took just four minutes in his new role to set up another Whittaker goal. This time Aaronson slid a pass along the ground to Whittaker’s feet. The first touch from Whittaker caused the ball to bounce up and create the perfect angle for Whittaker to swing his foot through the ball and blast a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
The bad
Despite the revamped offensive output from Colorado, the Sounders refused to go away and got a dose of payback after Colorado stormed back from a three-goal deficit last year to draw 3-all in Seattle.
Seattle’s first equalizer came off of a set piece in the 49th minute. Albert Rusnak dropped a cross into the center of the box where he found the head of Christian Roldan, who flicked a header into the same side netting as Whittaker’s first-half strike.
It took the Sounders just three minutes from Colorado taking a two-goal lead to respond. A Sebastian Gomez slide tackle left the ball at the feet of Dejan Jovelic, who spun toward goal and took a touch toward the top of the box. Jovelic found a window of space outside of the box and curled a shot within inches of both the crossbar and the post to leave Nico Hansen with no chance to make the save.
Seattle brought on Caden Clark to make his club debut in the 83rd minute, and a minute later Colorado answered by bringing on defender Noah Cobb in place of Aaronson. As the Rapids sat back and absorbed pressure, it was Clark who delivered the final touch on the comeback.
The ugly
Following last week’s win over CF Montreal, Colorado set a club record with six consecutive clean sheets at home, but has now allowed three goals in each of the last two contests at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Wells spoke extensively about the team’s mindset and identity after the draw, and specifically focused on Colorado’s effort and mentality without the ball. Although there were positives on the offensive end, Wells expressed concern about whether the team will address recent issues in time to make a run at the playoffs.
The Rapids currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference table and are three points clear of the play-in game. Next up for Colorado is a trip to face the LA Galaxy, the team currently in eighth place. With time running out on the regular season, Wells said he’s hoping his team can find a “better version” of itself during next weekend’s trip to Los Angeles.
“I’m pretty good at not getting seduced by the short-term result; I’m always thinking long term. Are there behaviors we’re showing as a team synonymous with a team that’s going to go and have a deep run in the playoffs, or even make the playoffs?” Wells said. “My overriding emotion is that I saw a lot tonight that says no, we’re not there yet. We have to have more clarity than what we had tonight in terms of who we are and our identity.”
