A rainy night in Commerce City pitted a hungry Loons side against the middle-of-the-table Rapids as the Black and Blue tried to break their winless streak with only six games remaining in the regular season. Unfortunately, they couldn’t quite pull off the full three points, as a high-tension, action-packed match ended in a second consecutive 2-2 draw for Minnesota.
With Joaquín Pereyra coming off the bench as he returns to fitness, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Tomás Chancalay took to the wings in Minnesota’s 4-4-2, providing support to the attacking unit of Kelvin Yeboah and birthday boy Marcus Caldeira.
The first half was a push and pull as Colorado maintained majority possession and Minnesota turned up their pressing efforts. A handful of strong runs from Yeboah and creative combination play from Chancalay, Hlongwane, and Caldeira provided promising moments, but a series of small mistakes and a bit of bad luck continually thwarted their efforts. A good block by Donavan Phillip in the 24th minute cut off Chancalay’s pass into the box. Ten minutes later, his close-quarters shot off a Yeboah short pass was thwarted by a Loïc Williams slide. An inch-off long pass from Jefferson Diaz just escaped Yeboah’s reach in the 42nd minute. Overall, Minnesota spent the majority of their first 45 minutes hovering in “almost” territory.
With nine shots to Minnesota’s three, the Rapids controlled play but struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. Morris Duggan in particular excelled on the back line, doing well to hold off powerhouse striker Morgan Whittaker on multiple occasions.
Just as it seemed the half was about to end scoreless, the Rapids pulled off a last-minute moment of brilliance to secure the lead. Midfielder Paxten Aaronson combined with captain Keegan Rosenberry to send a well-placed cross into the box, where Darren Yapi was ready with a single touch to send the ball right past Drake Callender in the 45’+1. Minnesota’s back line was a few paces too late, and the Loons went into the locker room down by one.
The Loons came back swinging in the 52nd, when an attempted pass from Whittaker to Hamzat Ojediran was intercepted by Yeboah to set up a breakaway into the box. Outpacing three Rapids defenders and sending a smooth ball into the bottom right, he extended his single-season scoring record for the club with his 16th of the season.
In the 60th minute, Matt Wells shook up his formation with a double substitution. Rosenberry and Aaronson made their way off the pitch, seeing Wayne Frederick shift back to make room for Josh Atencio and Sayed Abu Farkhi. It was a credit to Minnesota that Aaronson, generally one of the star players for the Rapids, struggled to make a tangible difference in his hour on the field. The changes on Colorado’s side of the field meant Minnesota was doing enough to make them uncomfortable.
The changes didn’t last long, though, as a tangle between Abu Farkhi and Michael Boxall on the sideline ended in the Loons captain taking a hit to the face. Just a handful of minutes after getting subbed in, Abu Farkhi was sent off with a red. One man up with 20 minutes left on the clock, the odds seemed tipped in the Loons’ favor.
Then Colorado took back their lead in a chaotic struggle in the box. In the 75th minute, Whittaker sent a wide ball right in front of the goal, and Georgi Minoungou took advantage of the moment to put the ball away. Despite the Rapids essentially playing with no center forward, they managed to put on the pressure up high.
Frustration mounted when a promising set piece chance yielded no results, and Cameron Knowles opted for a last-chance triple substitution with 10 minutes remaining. Pereyra, Nectarios Triantis, and AZ Jackson came on for Chancalay, Hlongwane, and Wil Trapp, and dividends were immediately paid.
Pereyra sent a ball up to Yeboah, who managed to salvage the ball in a one-on-one with keeper Nico Hansen, who came off his line. Taking the ball out to the endline, Yeboah sent it to the goal line for arguably one of the strangest own goals ever. The Rapids’ Loïc Williams fumbled on the goal line, tapping the ball right over to equalize for the Loons.
From there, it was a series of increasingly nail-biting shots as Minnesota did everything they could to hold onto the match. A powerful Yeboah shot in the 85th went just wide. Shortly after, González found Yeboah with a pass across the box, but Yeboah’s shot found the side of the net in the Loons’ last major scoring attempt of the night.
Ibrahim Sadiq made a near-uncontested run up the right to fire at goal in the 90’+5 minute, and Callender’s huge save saved the scoreline for the Loons, who walked away from the night with a point. Though their last two performances have improved upon their previous run, tonight wasn’t the three-point result the Black and Blue needed in this home stretch of the season. Something will need to change for Minnesota to have a shot at the postseason, and fast.
