COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - Call it masterful strategic planning. Or call it luck. The Colorado Rapids will take their recent results either way, alternating between patting their teammates on the back and knocking on whatever wood they can find.
Colorado is quickly obliterating the memory of its 10-game winless streak, playing their best soccer of the year against the respective conference leaders in back-to-back victories at home.
Thursday it was a relentless attack on the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution, blanking them 3-0 while outshooting them 17-5 overall and 7-1 with shots on goal.
"We're not afraid of anybody," said striker Jovan Kirovski. "The last two games we played the two best teams in the league, and we outplayed them both. We're confident."
Whatever they're eating for their pregame meal, they've finally found a winning recipe. They struck early Thursday, taking the lead in the 10th minute on the first of Kirovski's two goals.
But the key for the Rapids was in refusing to relax their grip on Revolution's jugular at any point in the 90 minutes. They kept the pressure on for the full 90 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead to the locker room at halftime thanks to Kirovski's penalty kick in the 41st minute and still refusing to back off the attack, scoring a third goal in the 76th minute through Omar Cummings and pushing for more.
"Everyone says a two-goal lead is the most dangerous lead in sports," said Colorado native Colin Clark, who earned an assist on the third goal with his second standout performance in as many matches. "We wanted to press and get the third goal. As soon as you relax against a good team, they're going to come at you and get chances and chances. So we said, 'We don't want to sit in, just keep pressing.' If we put pressure higher up the field it's easier for our backs to win the ball."
The three goals were a season-high for the Rapids, who before Thursday had scored a total of three goals since June 16.
"We kept putting pressure on, we forced mistakes instead of waiting for them to make mistakes, and I think the end result was very clear," said head coach Fernando Clavijo. "We played probably the best soccer of the year today. We created chances, we didn't allow, we controlled in the back, we controlled the game, we managed the game well, and for the first time this year, in the last 10 minutes we could pretty much relax, which had never happened so far. This is something we need to keep building from."
Clark has quickly established himself as a dynamic force on the left of Colorado's midfield since making his MLS debut against D.C. at the end of June, and he has clearly come into his own over the last two games, bringing an unyielding approach to the field and energizing his teammates.
"Colin Clark just dominated tonight," said veteran defender Mike Petke. "That's important. He's got his confidence."
His coaches have been pushing Clark to be more aggressive in challenging defenders, and according to Clavijo, "tonight he listened." Acknowledging that he is feeling more comfortable with his role, Clark also stressed the team effort that helped confound Revolution.
"At first they started with three backs, and Conor [Casey] and Jovan are both great at holding the ball with their backs to the goal," Clark said. "I play with great players out there. If I make a run, the ball's going to be on my foot. I just keep running and the ball gets there.
"Then they switched to four backs to try and defend us even more, and it didn't really work. Conor did great at holding the ball, laying it off to Pablo [Mastroeni] and Jovan, then getting it out to [Terry Cooke], getting behind. It was just - you run, you get the ball on your foot. It's fun to play."
The early goal helped the Rapids maintain momentum, forcing New England to try and press forward while constantly responding to the pressure in their own backfield. But the defense's ability to shut down the league's top-scoring team is nothing to sneeze at.
Revolution's only shot on goal came from Taylor Twellman, who leads the league in both total shots and shots on goal, but Petke and fellow defenders Facundo Erpen, Brandon Prideaux, Dan Gargan and Tony Sanneh, a 23rd-minute substitution for the injured Gargan, took the danger out of Revolution's game.
"I have so much respect for Taylor Twelllman," Petke said. "He's not only a great player, he's a classy guy. To limit his scoring opportunities is an accomplishment for all of us. He's a guy that just makes a career out of getting behind people and not stopping, he keeps going. It's a testament to us to stop a player like that tonight."
The severity of Gargan's knee injury is unknown, but the Rapids took extra precautions, fearing the potential for ligament damage. He'll get an MRI Friday, and the Rapids will continue to knock on wood as they try to build on Thursday's victory and salvage their season.
"We did what we had to do tonight," Petke said. "And it's about time. This league is about hitting your stride at the right time. I hope we're not at our peak yet, but we're definitely, over the last two games, getting into our stride, going toward the playoffs."
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
