Philadelphia Union 3, Colorado Rapids 3 | MLS Match Recap

CHESTER, Pa. – For the fifth time in their last eight league games, the offensively resurgent Philadelphia Union scored three goals.

But it wasn’t enough to beat the Colorado Rapids, who rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 road draw with the 10-man Union in an entertaining interconference battle at PPL Park on Saturday.

Conor Casey, Sheanon Williams and Andrew Wenger all scored for the Union (4-8-7), with Dillon Serna, Dillon Powers and Deshorn Brown bagging goals for the Rapids (7-5-6),

With the Union looking like they’d come out on top, Brown stunned the sellout crowd, tying the game at 3-3 in the 86^th minute with a terrific turn on a Gabriel Torres pass and a rocket just inside the post.

Seven minutes earlier, Powers converted a penalty kick to slice the Union’s lead to one after Michael Lahoud was shown a red card for kicking Jared Watts in the face while both went for the ball in the Union box.

• FULL BOXSCORE AND STATS

In the 74^th minute, Wenger put the Union up 3-1 when he scored his first goal since April, tapping one in through traffic after Amobi Okugo made a determined run to the endline while draped by a defender and snuck a cross through the box.

Long before the second-half drama unfolded, Williams broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 31^st minute when his glancing header off a Cristian Maidana corner kick was placed perfectly in the side netting, freezing Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin.

The assist was the eight of the year for Maidana, tying him for the league lead with fellow Argentines Diego Valeri and Fabian Espindola.

Just moments earlier, Irwin made a monster save on Danny Cruz, whose downfield run and close-range shot created the corner kick.

Earlier, the teams exchanged goals in a two-minute span with the Union striking first in the 16^th minute when Casey burned his former team with his sixth goal in his last eight games in all competitions.

Casey also started the scoring sequence with a smart ball out wide to Ray Gaddis, who picked up just his second assist in nearly 6,000 MLS minutes with a perfect cross to Casey.

• OPTA CHALKBOARD: Plenty of chances in PPL goalfest

Just two minutes later, the Rapids found their equalizer off the foot of Serna, who made two cuts to the inside following a ball from Powers, beating Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath with a low, driven shot just inside the post.

Colorado nearly tied it up again late in the first half but Williams made a sliding stop in the box to disrupt an open look from Brown in the box.

Early in the second half, the Union had a goal called back when Sebastien Le Toux was called offside when he chased the rebound of a Lahoud shot from distance.

Of note for the Union, Ethan White made his first start of the season at center back with Maurice Edu suspended and Jamaican forward Brian Brown made the 18-man lineup on the same day he was officially acquired. Okuogo was also shown straight red while walking off the field after the final whistle.

The Union have a quick turnaround before playing host the New York Red Bulls in a nationally televised game Wednesday. The Rapids’ road swing continues against Portland on Friday.

Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com. 
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