COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – After conceding just two goals over the course of five games to start the season, the Colorado Rapids conceded three in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders; a drastic contrast to the defensive mentality the Rapids have tried to establish this season.
“I don’t think Seattle is 3-1 better than us, but they were better than us 1393083113" tabindex="0">tonight. They finished their chances and we were too loose at the back,” Rapids captain and central defender Drew Moor told reporters postgame. “We just gave them too much joy and freedom. They want to transition, pick balls up and go at you. The back four had difficulty recognizing when to get tight and when not to.”
After Dillon Powers’ shot hit the post in the 4th minute, the Rapids found themselves playing from behind for most of the game, with Lamar Neagle giving Seattle the 1-0 lead just a minute later.
“It was disappointing, we hit the post and they come down and hit the first goal,” said Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin. “It’s just one of those games where you can’t get a little bit of luck to get you started.”
Colorado eventually equalized with a goal by Gabriel Torres in the 22nd minute, but Neagle put Seattle back in front again just minutes later. It would be the Rapids’ only goal of the night, despite outshooting the Sounders 27-17 and putting as many shots on target (nine) as the visitors.
“We were really loose with our shooting. To not be able to finish some of those was really the story of the day,” Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni told reporters postgame. “There was a lot of hopeless shot selections. It wasn’t really cultured. It wasn’t with precision.”
Colorado’s attacking woes were compounded by Seattle's desire to kill the Rapids' momentum in the second half.
“Coming out of the second half, I feel like Seattle did a great job of really slowing the game down and taking the zip out of the game,” Mastroeni continued. “When they want to slow it down, you begin to slow down. It’s a part of the energy of the game. We didn’t do a good enough job of moving the ball in the early part of the second half to dictate the flow like we did in the first half.”
Despite suffering their second straight home defeat, and with only one win in their first six games to start off the season, the Rapids’ head coach remains level-headed following the loss.
“This is a process. I look at it overall," Mastroeni said. "We’re not as good as we were last week and we’re not as bad as we were this week. There’s a lot of things we need to get better at and work at. A lot of hard work this week and a great game to come back to 1393083114" tabindex="0">next Friday.”
Marco Cummings covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
