Rapids U-17s Finish Third in Group A
The Rapids U17 team played to a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire in Sum Cup action on Monday night in Houston. Chicago then took the bonus point for beating Colorado in penalty kicks and earned second place in the group.
Colorado got off to a strong start in the contest winning early possession and seeing a long range left-footed strike from Karsten Hanlin get tipped over the bar.
The persistent Rapids were able to take the lead the 11th minute. James Rogers picked up a ball in midfield and raced past two Chicago defenders before playing Dillon Serna into the box. Serna’s effort was blocked for a corner, Serna’s delivery on the corner was won by Jordan Spring whose initial header was cleared off the line, but his second effort was not denied
The Rapids increased the lead in the 21st when Ricardo Perez beat the high Chicago line with a well timed ball to Rogers who slotted home the breakaway.
Fire goalkeeper Sam Euler did well all night to keep his team in the game, and it paid off when the Fire pulled a goal back through Kellen Gulley with 15 minutes to play..
Colorado had a chance to finish the game in the 65th minute when Santiago Velez found himself alone on the end of another Rogers run into the box but could not tuck the ball past Euler.
Chicago pressed for the equalizer in the last 5 minutes and were rewarded when the referee called for a controversial penalty in the 68th. Again it was Gulley who calmly pushed the penalty past goalkeeper Andrew Epstein to earn the 2-2 draw.
All five Chicago shooters scored in penalty kicks, with Colorado missing just once.
Colorado's next game will be Tuesday, July 27 at 6:00.
Scoring Summary:
COL -- Jordan Spring 1 (unassisted) 11
COL -- James Rogers 3 (Ricardo Perez 1) 21
CHI -- Kellen Gulley 2 (unassisted) 55
CHI -- Kellen Gulley 3 (penalty kick) 68
Colorado Rapids -- Alex Chapin (Andrew Epstein 55), Andrew Rodriguez, Jason Prichard, Christopher Gurule, Jordan Spring (Juan Carlos Regalado 70), Dillon Serna, Avery Ball, Kartsen Hanlin, Ricardo Perez (Isaac Martinez 53), Rojesh Shrestha (Santiago Velez 32), James Rogers.
Chicago Fire -- Sam Euler, David Caban, Filip Dyminski (A.J. Jeffries 29), Peter Beasley, Daniel Lojek, Jesus Medina (Luis Medina 36), Keaton Albert, Andrew Conner, Charlie Oliver (Joseph Laboy 50), Jabri Danzy (Kellen Gulley 36), Cody Wittowski (Manny Rios 36).