The Colorado Rapids (11-12-3, 36 pts., 7th West) earn a point following a 3-3 draw with Seattle Sounders FC (7-9-8, 29 pts., 13th West) on Saturday night at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park.
Heading into the night, Colorado looked to continue their stretch of positive results at home in MLS play.
The Rapids started the night with all of the momentum, creating multiple chances early in the final third. The club’s effective attacking play led to the first goal of many on the night in the 28th minute.
The play started from around 30 yards out with Loïc Williams looking to find an outlet pass. The defender then played a quick pass to Paxten Aaronson, who took the ball down the left side of the pitch. In a combination play from one Designated Player to another, Aaronson played in a perfect cross to Morgan Whittaker in the middle of the box. The Englishman then redirected a shot right to the far post to notch his first goal as a member of the Rapids.
Colorado continued their attacking rush to close out the half but were only able to put one up on the board before the referee blew his whistle after 45 plus minutes.
Seattle came out of the break with renewed energy in their attack, pressing early to find an equalizer. They managed to find their first of the night in the 49th minute off the head of Cristian Roldan via a set piece opportunity.
The Rapids looked to bounce back quickly and regain the lead, which they managed to do just seven minutes after conceding.
Colorado found their second off a corner kick opportunity when the service into the box took deflections off multiple players from both sides. The ball eventually found its way to Donavan Phillip, who slammed home a shot into the roof of the net to also log his first goal as a Rapid.
After the pair of goals in quick succession, both sides settled in defensively for the next 20 minutes. Despite the defensive play on each end, this match would see three more goals before the final whistle.
Colorado added a third in the 76th minute with one of their most impressive goals of the season up to this point in the year. Whittaker started the play by leading an attacking rush into the final third and played a crisp pass to Aaronson down the right wing. The midfielder then returned the favor with a strong pass of his own back to Whittaker, who popped the ball up with his first touch and ripped a shot that kissed the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net for his second of the night.
Whittaker’s goals marked his first of the Rapids in his first career MLS start. Aaronson’s assists on both goals now give him four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances (2g, 2a).
Despite conceding, the Sounders had their eyes set on salvaging a point.
The road side began their comeback when Dejan Joveljić scored the club’s second of the night in the 79th minute to cut the deficit to one.
Seattle then managed to equalize in stoppage time, with Caden Clark finding the equalizer, eventually leading to both sides sharing a point when the match concluded.
After three straight home matches, Colorado will hit the road for their next contest against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, September 26. Kickoff for the match at Dignity Health Sports Park is set for 8:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on Apple TV, Altitude Sports Radio, the Colorado Rapids app, and ColoradoRapids.com.
