Missing Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez, Sounders lose 3-1 to Rapids

Seattle kicked off in Colorado without two significant starters, Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez, whose supposedly minor injuries kept them from traveling for Saturday’s match. They were replaced by Herculez Gomez and Oalex Anderson in the lineup. The Sounders played hard but were eventually beaten 3-1 by what was an admittedly excellent Rapids team.

Match stats

Seattle dominated the first half on paper, picking up 58 percent of possession and winning the ball all over the pitch. But the Rapids managed to create four chances to Seattle’s one and picked up the half’s only goal in the 20th minute when Jermaine Jones latched onto Gashi’s free kick and headed it past Stefan Frei. Jones also picked up a yellow card after the goal for foolishly taking his shirt off (an automatic caution) when he was celebrating. Seattle had few chances, and the defense was utterly poor when marking Jones and other Rapids players, especially on set pieces.

The second half was a wild affair, with the Rapids getting their second goal not too long after the restart when Luis Solignac fired one in from close range. The Sounders pushed pretty hard, again dominating on the ball for awhile until they finally broke through when Jordan Morris scored his second MLS goal after a solid cross from Cristian Roldan.

Almost immediately afterwards, the Rapids were awarded a sketchy penalty when Gomez was judged to have pulled Bobby Burling down in the box following a corner kick. Frei managed an excellent save on the penalty, keeping the Sounders’ hopes alive for a little bit longer.

Seattle came close a few more times, but the Rapids put the final nail in the coffin when returning forward Kevin Doyle scored his first goal of the season in the 86th minute. Replays showed that Doyle was clearly offside. Even worse for Seattle, Brad Evans protested the goal because it was offside and was given his second yellow for dissent sent off.

The match finished 3-1 with nothing but a whimper from Seattle.

Man of the match: Hard to give one for Seattle, but Cristian Roldan had a solid night. He created two chances, including the assist for Seattle’s lone goal.

Turning point: The Sounders looked like they could make a comeback, but Colorado’s second goal created a hill that Seattle just couldn’t climb.

Key stat: Seattle had 5/13 shots, while the Rapids had 9/14. Once again, the Sounders’ lack of a cutting edge in front of goal burned them at the end.

One reason to worry: For the first time in weeks, the Sounders’ defense was absolutely horrendous. Evans’ red card means he won’t play against his old team, the Columbus Crew, next week.

One reason to relax: Just as I wondered earlier this week, the Morris floodgates look to have opened. His goal was well taken, and there is every reason to believe that he’ll continue this trend in the coming weeks.

Injures: Andreas Ivanschitz came off early in the second half for Erik Friberg, possibly due to a tight hamstring.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.