Early in the season, the Colorado Rapids were setting benchmarks for futility with goalless and winless streaks. But Saturday night’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders proved the team’s trajectory has taken a full turn for the better.
The win marked the first ever win for Colorado in Seattle and extended the Rapids’ current win streak to three games, the first such streak since 2011.
“You have to plant a seed and you have to water it,” Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said postgame. “We’ve taken our lumps along the way, but we’ve learned from it.
“I think it’s a culmination of six months of hard work. Coming off of two good performances at home and coming to a place we haven’t won ever, the guys are starting to reap the benefits of the hard work over the course of the season. It’s great to see these guys getting rewarded.”
Rapids Designated Player Kevin Doyle bore fruit for Colorado in the 84th minute, muscling past Sounders defenders Zach Scott and Chad Marshall to beat diving goalkeeper Troy Perkins. It marked his second goal in MLS and the second game-winner for the Irishman over the course of three weeks.
“I think once Kevin acclimated to the altitude [in Colorado], he’s been fantastic for us,” Mastroeni explained. “These first two goals have been a tremendous weight off his shoulders personally, but for us as a team, it’s been tremendous.”
Doyle’s tally proved that the 31-year-old still has what it takes to slip past defenders, but the game itself proved to be a slippery affair, forcing the Rapids’ hands in two substitutions. Dillon Powers was brought on for Lucas Pittinari in the 28th minute when the Argentine appeared to pull a hamstring, while the electric Charles Eloundou was subbed off for Juan Ramirez in the 75th minute with cramping.
“Losing Lucas was obviously difficult, but Dillon Powers came in and did a good job,” Mastroeni said of the conditions. “The [temporary grass] surface was difficult. The good thing was both teams were playing on it. So, for me, it was a non-factor.”
Goalkeeper Clint Irwin was a factor, however. The Rapids netminder tallied three saves against the Sounders, including a critical stop on Seattle forward Thomás in the opening minute to keep the game scoreless.
“Clint has been tremendous for us this year,” Mastroeni said of Irwin, who earned his seventh shutout of 2015, matching his total from last season.
“These guys want to work,” Mastroeni continued. “It would’ve been so easy for these guys to lay down halfway through the season after only two wins. I’m really proud to be a manager of solid men and men of character.”
Marco Cummings covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
