Colorado Wins MLS Cup With OT Own Goal

Colorado 2-1 FC Dallas

There may not have been many star players in the MLS Cup final, and the teams were not the first choices to make it this far, but this year’s game made up for it with quick pace, physical play and attacking soccer that lasted the full 120+ minutes needed to decide a champion. The Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas were looking to win their first championship since the league started in 1996, and for most of the game it looked like either team could have added their name to the trophy.

The game got off to a quick start with the first chance on goal coming just over 15 seconds into the game. FC Dallas’ Jair Benitez sent an early ball into the box where Atiba Harris rose up to get a head on the ball and direct it towards the far post. The early shot may have surprised Rapids’ keeper Matt Pickens, but the goalie was able to get down to his left at full stretch only to watch the ball go just outside of the post.

The Rapids had an early chance of their own in the 7^th minute when Pablo Mastroeni sent a through ball to Brian Mullan, who was making a diagonal run from the center of the field towards the left corner of the penalty box. Mullan collected the ball inside the 18, but was still moving away from the goal and could not get a solid hit on the ball as he tried to shoot across his body towards the far post and sent it straight to keeper Kevin Hartman.

In the 27^th, Conor Casey got involved in one of the many physical battles that would come up in a Cup final where both teams combined for 27 fouls and a handful of cautions. However, when Casey got himself tangled up with Benitez inside of Dallas’s penalty box, there was no foul called or yellow cards shown despite both players committing fouls during the play and continuing to go after each other after the ball went out for a throw-in.

A few minutes after the physical play of Casey, FC Dallas responded with something beautiful. In 35^th minute, Benitez sent another of his dangerous diagonal balls to Marvin Chavez. Chavez settled the ball on his chest with yards of open field around him and began to move forward. Just before Chavez reached the penalty box, he sent in a dangerous ball right to the top of the 6 yard box where MLS MVP David Ferreira was making a run in between the Rapids center backs. Ferreira beat Pickens to the ball and sent home a volley that gave Dallas the lead.

The Rapids nearly pulled level just minutes after Dallas took the lead. In the 37^th minute Omar Cummings had the ball on near the right touch line deep in Dallas’s half. Cummings took on two players as he easily got around Benitez and then nutmegged Brek Shea. Cummings then ripped a shot from the right of the box. The ball missed the goal, but looked dangerous enough to get a reaction from Hartman.

Despite a few flashes of skill, it was the Rapids’ hard-nosed play that evened the score line. In the 56^th minute Jamie Smith took the ball into the 18 and easily got around his defender. Smith continued towards the goal line and sent in a low cross where Hartman, Casey and Benitez all converged and ended up on the ground. Hartman lost sight of the ball and Benitez was too tangled up to react, leaving Casey to swipe the ball into the net while still on the ground. It was not the prettiest of goals, but it rewarded the physical and tenacious play of the game’s MVP.

In the next few minutes the score could have moved into either team’s favor. Dallas’s Dax McCarty found himself on the end of an attempted defensive clearance by Rapids centerback Drew Moor in the 59^th minute. McCarty fired a one-timer on net from well outside the 18, but the shot went straight to Pickens. Three minutes later Colorado’s Jeff Larentowicz sent in a dangerous shot of his own from a deep free kick. Larentowicz drove a low shot towards the far post, but Hartman’s reflexes allowed the keeper to dive to his left and push the ball past the post despite initially taking steps the wrong way.

As the game neared full time, the physical level of play did not diminish as Casey once again found himself clashing with Benitez during play and after the whistle was blown. However, this time around both players were booked. Rapids’ sub Wells Thompson also decided to get himself into the physical nature of the game shortly after entering it. Thompson was sent to the ground by a challenge from Dallas’s Daniel Hernandez. Hernandez and Thompson continued to tussle with each other while Thompson was on the ground, but once again the ref let play continue.

With the game tied at full time, two 15-minute overtime periods were needed to decide which of the teams would win their first ever MLS Cup Final. In the 107^th minute of overtime, Colorado took the lead when Casey played a ball similar to those from Dallas’s Benitez. The crossing ball found the chest of Macoumba Kandji inside of the box. Kandji then took Benitez 1v1, slipping the ball through his legs and getting around him. Kandji was able to poke the ball towards goal where it hit defender George John and went into his own goal, leaving no chance for Hartman to react. In addition to giving the Rapids the lead, Kanji also forced the team to play a man down for the rest of the game after suffering an injury during his goal. Kanji never re-entered the game, and the Rapids had used all three of their substitutions.

In the last few of minutes of the game, Dallas had two chances to tie the game back up. The first came in the 121^st minute when George John was able to get a shot off in the box while the ball had been bounced around inside the 18. The shot was well directed, but Pickens reacted quickly and dove to his right to deny the defender his chance at redemption. Dallas’s last chance came in the 123^rd minute when Jeff Cunningham got on the end of a long throw in the box from the left sideline. Cunningham beat a rushing Pickens to the ball and sent a shot on goal, but Moor was there to clear the ball out of danger and seal the Rapids victory.