The Rocky Mountain Cup was contested between the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake for the first time in 2015, but nothing separated the two sides in Sunday’s 0-0 draw.
The visiting Rapids had the game’s best chance to take home three points in the 89th minute when Luis Solignac went down in RSL’s box, prompting a penalty call. But Colorado midfielder Dillon Powers missed the shot wide right, leaving the Rapids frustrated after the match.
“It goes without saying -- we’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of decisions,” Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “That being said, you want to score those.”
Mastroeni attributed the miss to a lack of confidence from an offense that’s scored just 11 goals in 14 games.
“When it’s hot, everything falls in,” the Rapids coach said. “When you’re still lacking that confidence as a group, it’s evasive.”
It was the first penalty miss for Powers in four MLS attempts. And despite the missed opportunity, Powers’ teammates still remain steadfast in their faith in the third-year playmaker.
“We want Dillon in that spot any day of the week,” Rapids defender James Riley said. “We’re going to keep his head up and we’re going to move to the next one.”
Riley and the Rapids’ backline had their work cut out for them in the first half, as Colorado was outshot 8-7 in the stanza, including three from RSL forward Álvaro Saborio.
“To get a shutout, we were a bit fortunate. We had guys putting their bodies on the line,” Riley said. “We dealt with it as best we could. We definitely want to start better.”
Colorado flipped the script in the second half, eventually earning the penalty. But, in the end, they were left without a goal to validate the effort.
“At the end of the day we fell short, but it wasn’t for lack of creating a couple of good opportunities,” Mastroeni said. “We were very unfortunate today to not come away with three points.
“It’s no secret that the fans get into the [Rocky Mountain Cup]. It would’ve been nice to get a result here.”
