Building on a solid 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend, the Colorado Rapids steamed into the nation's capital confident they could once again challenge D.C. United -- especially after defeating them 2-1 at Invesco Field at Mile High on May 6.
While the Rapids did not come away with a victory, they did earn a well-fought tie in a back and forth encounter that belied the hot and humid Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C., featuring 26 total shots from both teams.
A first-half header from Kyle Beckerman -- having easily the most prolific campaign of his career with five goals and two assists -- was enough to stave off a second-half United onslaught and a Christian Gomez equalizer to seal the 1-1 tie and capture four points from United on the season series.
"At the beginning of the year, if you think you can get four points from D.C. United, you'll definitely take it," said Beckerman. "I thought we played some of our best soccer of the year, especially away from home."
United, who has easily been the class of the league during the 2006 campaign with only two defeats in 24 contests, has had marked trouble putting away the Rapids, unlike recent foes Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas, both of whom torched the Colorado club 4-1 in the past month.
"D.C. United are a really good team, with a lot of good players and are well-coached," said Rapids skipper Fernando Clavijo. "[But] we played well today and managed the game well."
"D.C. has a great work rate. They hold themselves accountable for everything, especially defensively. They are a tough team to play; they are always on the same page together, said Colorado goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "Even on their goal, a lot of players would shoot that and be selfish, but Jaime [Moreno] looked up saw Christian [Gomez] coming and fed him pretty well.
Beckerman, who consistently gave the United defense fits all afternoon with three shots on net, including his goal, acknowledged that though D.C. is still the class of the league, a good team effort can stymie their attack.
"We definitely know how to compete with them. If we are going to compete, we are going to frustrate them -- sometimes their individual brilliance, though, you can't do anything about," said Beckerman.
Clavijo does not think that the Rapids have United's number, though.
"Every game is different," he said. "I told my players we played well today, but we could have come out with a different result [because] D.C. created enough chances in the second half and it could have gone the other way around."
Cannon made a string of brilliant saves in the second half on United's fearsome strike partnership of Moreno and Alecko Eskandarian to keep United from taking the lead.
"I am not going to say we have them figured out, but we match up pretty well against them, especially when we bring our effort," he said. "The problem with D.C. is that if you don't play your 'A' game against them you could be in for a long day.
"D.C. United are a great team because they work hard defensively and they have some creative offensive players, but you have to give us credit for matching up with them."
Thiago Martins, a former United forward himself, had an excellent day as the lone Rapids striker, holding onto the ball when necessary to allow his teammates to join the attack and often getting in behind the United back three -- though he was caught offside four times. Martins managed five shots on the day, including one from 15 yards out that was somehow deflected wide by diving D.C. 'netminder Troy Perkins.
"I am playing by myself at the top, and if I don't have support from other players, I can't do too much. Today, everyone stepped up and it was a great result on the road," the Brazilian-born forward said.
All the Rapids' players had the same sentiment, though. It was just one more solid game towards their goal: the MLS Cup Playoffs, where anything can happen in the short-term format.
"We played against two good teams in a row and we got good results. A point on the road is always a good result. Now we need to forget about D.C. and think about the next game," Martins said.
Jordan Brown is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
