For the third straight game, Sporting KC were outmatched and could not close the deal as they fell 2-1 at the Colorado Rapids. Dom Dwyer had a goal for Sporting KC, but it was not enough to counter the Rapids' two goal second half.
The first half was poor for Sporting KC as they were on their back heels for most of the half. The Rapids were dangerous on the counter and the Sporting KC back line had several close calls as the Rapids looked to take an early lead.
In the 24th minute, Chance Myers won a footrace to clear a ball before the Rapids attack could get to it but, in the process, came up lame holding his hamstring. Peter Vermes decided not to take any chances and subbed Myers out with Saad Abdul-Salaam coming on for Sporting. Myers missed more than a year after tearing his achilles tendon in May 2014.
The Rapids continued to control the first half, however Sporting's back line resolved itself in the last fifteen minutes or so of the half to keep it level going into the break.
It didn't long in the second half for Sporting KC to take the lead. In the 47th minute, Krisztian Nemeth, who was controlling the attacking all match, rolled down the left flank and cut inside with the ball before sending a quick little cross inside the box to Dom Dwyer, who fired it to the near post for the goal. It was Nemeth's sixth assist of the year and Dwyer's ninth goal of the year.
The lead, however, was short lived. In the 52nd minute, a defensive breakdown and an unfortunate deflection left Maynor Figueroa alone in the box. He fired near post over the arms of Tim Melia and into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season. This made it all tied up at one with about forty minutes to play.
The Rapids swung the match back to their favor in the 76th minute when, after an onslaught of chances, Kevin Doyle got on the end of a cross at the far post that he headed in to give the Rapids the lead. It was Doyle's fourth goal of the season.
Sporting KC had a couple more opportunities in the second half, including a golden one in the 86th minute. Dom Dwyer had a shot from four yards out that was parried away by Clint Irwin and then he got a piece of the rebound before pouncing on it. The Save of the Week candidate kept the Rapids in the lead and would hold them through to the final whistle.
The match was notable for Sporting KC for a couple of reasons outside of the result. For one, it marked the return of Seth Sinovic to the starting lineup, who had been out for nearly four months with concussion symptoms and working to get back in shape. He went the full 90 in the loss. Midfielder Jordi Quintilla made his Sporting KC debut in this match, coming on for Mikey Lopez in the second half.
This was Sporting KC's third straight loss and second straight match in which they gave up a second half lead. They have a week and a half off before their next match, a midweek trip to Portland.