Sporting Kansas City fell to the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Dom Dwyer moved to second on the MLS scoring charts with his fourth goal of 2016, but Colorado struck late in each half through Luis Solignac and Shkelzen Gashi to claim the road win.
Wednesday’s match commemorated the 20th anniversary of Sporting Kansas City’s inaugural game, a 3-0 win over the Rapids on April 13, 1996, at Arrowhead Stadium. A 74th consecutive sellout crowd at Children’s Mercy Park saw Colorado (3-2-1) move within two points of Sporting Kansas City (4-2-0) in the Western Conference standings.
Manager Peter Vermes made four changes to the Sporting Kansas City lineup from Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over the New York Red Bulls. Center back Ike Opara earned his first start in more than a year after overcoming an Achilles injury, while 22-year-old Designated Player Diego Rubio spearheaded the attack.
Rubio was on the end of Sporting Kansas City’s best first-half scoring chance in the 40th minute. Graham Zusi spread a diagonal pass to Connor Hallisey, who flashed a low cross into the six-yard area from the left wing. Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath failed to corral the ball, and though Rubio was forced to react quickly, he poked the rebound wide of the post.
Sporting Kansas City would rue the miss a minute later. Colorado midfielder Marco Pappa squeezed a through ball into the path of Luis Solignac, who hammered home just inside the near post. Pappa tallied his third assist of the season on the play, entering tie for second in MLS.
The match burst to life after the break as Vermes wielded offensive firepower from off the bench, introducing Dwyer, Benny Feilhaber and Brad Davis over the course of the second stanza. Sporting Kansas City nearly grabbed an equalizer in the 47th minute when Rubio beat Burling along the left endline, prevented the ball from rolling out of play, and smashed a right-footed blast onto the crossbar.
The hosts stayed on the front foot, with Lawrence Olum firing narrowly wide off Zusi’s cross in the 54th minute. Shortly thereafter, Zusi was on the receiving end of Hallisey’s precise pass into the box, but the U.S. international’s one-time shot was blocked by the sliding Marc Burch.
Colorado survived another scare in the 67th minute when Opara latched onto the end of Feilhaber’s corner kick. The center back’s header was bound of the back of the net, but Gashi was positioned to nod the ball off the goal line.
Dwyer provided the long-awaited equalizer in the 77th minute. Hallisey curled a left-footed delivery into the penalty area from the right channel, where Dwyer glanced a header past MacMath to take sole possession of fourth place in club history with 40 career regular season goals. Hallisey and Saad Abdul-Salaam each recorded their second professional assists since joining the club out of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
Sporting Kansas City appeared to be in the ascendancy – outshooting the Rapids 12-6 with a 78 percent edge in possession in the second half – but it was Colorado who grabbed the late game-winner. Dillon Serna’s swerving attempt from 35 yards rattled the woodwork, but Gashi was on hand to bury the rebound past Melia in the 82nd minute for his first MLS goal.
Davis came agonizingly close to salvaging a point for Sporting Kansas City in the 94th minute. Nuno Andre Coelho sent a long, looping ball into the penalty area that skipped once and eluded MacMath’s grasp before reaching Davis at the far post. The veteran’s thunderous strike pelted the crossbar before bouncing out of play. Referee Robert Sibiga whistled an end to the game a minute later.
A quick turnaround awaits for Sporting Kansas City, who begin a three-game road swing Sunday at FC Dallas (4-1-2, 14 points). The Western Conference clash will kick off at 6 p.m. with national television coverage on FS1 and FOX Deportes.
– Story from Sporting KC