The Colorado Rapids held their own in the Bayou City, outlasting the Houston Dynamo 3-2 to clinch a berth in the MLS Western Conference semifinals. Photo: Victor Araiza
Could the Houston Dynamo have let themselves get beat so that rival FC Dallas doesn’t win the Supporters’ Shield? The answer to that is no, but if there’s a caveat to the Dynamo’s official elimination from the playoff race it’s that FCD’s stranglehold on the top spot in the standings is in jeopardy.
With the 3-2 win in Houston on Saturday night, the Colorado Rapids clinched a spot in the Major League Soccer playoffs and assured themselves one of the top two seeds, giving them bye to the Western Conference semifinals with home-field advantage in that series.
As far as the MLS Supporters’ Shield race, a trophy that comes with a CONCACAF Champions League berth, Colorado is now within two points (and a match in hand) of the leader FC Dallas. The Rapids could jump to the top of the league with a win on Thursday in San Jose.
For the Houston Dynamo, the dreaded truth became a reality. This will be the third straight season the once back-to-back MLS Champions will miss the playoffs, mathematically eliminated with the loss on Saturday.
The biggest positive for Houston was the performance of 21-year-old Mauro Manotas. The Colombian forward scored a brace in the match, making him the Dynamo’s top scorer this season in MLS play.
What’s Next?
The Houston Dynamo will head to Seattle to face the Sounders on Wednesday night at CenturyLink Field (7:30 p.m. PT). Houston will return to BBVA Compass Stadium for their last home match of the regular season the following Sunday when they host the LA Galaxy (4:00 p.m. CT).
Colorado returns to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Thursday to host the San Jose Earthqueakes (7:00 p.m. MT). The Rapids will then travel to the Pacific Northwest to face the Portland Timbers on Sunday (2:00 p.m. PT/ESPN) at Providence Park.
Highlights
Boxscore
Houston Dynamo (7-13-11; 32 points) vs. Colorado Rapids (14-5-12; 54 points)
MLS Regular Season
October 8, 2016 – BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, Texas
Attendance: 18,400
Scoring Summary:
COL: Dominique Badji 5 (Dillon Powers 3, Sebastien Le Toux 7) 12
HOU: Mauro Manotas 5 (Sheanon Williams 1, Ricardo Clark 4) 45
COL: Dominique Badji 6 (Dillon Powers 4) 54
COL: Shkelzen Gashi 8 (Micheal Azira 1) 79
HOU: Mauro Manotas 6 (unassisted) 81
TEAM 1 2 F
Colorado Rapids 1 2 3
Houston Dynamo 1 1 2
Colorado Rapids: Tim Howard; Eric Miller, Jared Watts, Axel Sjoberg, Marc Burch; Dillon Powers, Sam Cronin ©; Micheal Azira, Shkelzen Gashi (Dennis Castillo 88), Dominique Badji (Joseph Greenspan 94); Sebastien Le Toux (Caleb Calvert 73)
Unused Substitutes: Zac MacMath, Conor Doyle, Marco Pappa
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Shkelzen Gashi 3, Dominique Badji 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Dominique Badji 3); FOULS: 10 (Michael Azira 4); OFFSIDES: 4 (Dominique Badji 3); CORNER KICKS: 1 (Shkelzen Gashi 1); SAVES: 1 (Tim Howard 1)
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; Sheanon Williams, Raúl Rodriguez, Jalil Anibaba, DaMarcus Beasley ©; Collen Warner, Ricardo Clark (Andrew Wenger 59); Boniek García (Jose Escalante 77), Cristián Maidana (Will Bruin 71), Alex Lima; Mauro Manotas
Unused Substitutes: Calle Brown, Eric Alexander, David Horst, Abdoulie Mansally
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Mauro Manotas 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Mauro Manotas 2); FOULS: 8 (Jalil Anibaba 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4 (Cristián Maidana 3); SAVES: 1 (Joe Willis 1)
Misconduct Summary:
COL: Sam Cronin (delay of game) 83
COL: Michael Azira (unsporting behavior) 90+1
HOU: Alex (dissent) 90+2
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Brian Poeschel
Fourth Official: Kevin Terry, Jr.
Victor Araiza is a beat writer covering the Houston Dynamo for Prost Amerika.
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Colorado Rapids
