Recap | Rapids post tenth clean sheet of the season in road draw with Portland

The Colorado Rapids (11-13-6, 39 pts., 9th West) took home a point following a 0-0 result on the road against the Portland Timbers (9-14-7, 34 pts., 11th West) on Saturday night at Providence Park.  

Heading into the night, tensions were high with these two Western Conference foes battling for playoff position as the MLS regular season continues to wind down. 

Colorado began the match on the front foot, dominating possession and controlling the pace of play on the road. The club managed to get close on net multiple times through their impressive play early, but were unable to find the back of the net to take a lead. 

Only managing to counter the Rapids’ possessive play on a few occasions, Portland only created a pair of opportunities in the first half. The chances proved to be of little danger and were quickly stopped by the Colorado back line and goalkeeper Nico Hansen. 

The Rapids came back with chances of their own to close out the first half, but the sides would enter the break scoreless with everything to play for in the final 45 minutes of the match. 

With both sides settled into the match after play resumed, the two kept going back and forth into each other’s end with no goals to show for it. 

The second half played out similarly to the first, with each club creating positive opportunities that were ultimately stopped and cleared away. 

A pair of strong saves from Hansen in the second half ensured that Colorado kept Portland off the board, eventually leading to a scoreless draw at full time. 

The clean sheet marked Colorado’s 10th of the season, marking the fifth most of any team in MLS and the fourth most in the Western Conference this season. Hansen recorded his seventh shutout in net this year, giving him the fifth most of any goalkeeper in MLS so far this season.  

As it stands, the Rapids currently sit at ninth place in the final Wild Card spot for Western Conference with four matches remaining in the MLS regular season.  

Colorado will return home for their next matchup against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, October 24. Kickoff at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park is set for 7:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on Apple TV, Altitude Sports Radio, the Colorado Rapids app, and ColoradoRapids.com.