Colorado Rapids 1, Philadelphia Union 1 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

Two defensive midfielders stepped up late, trading goals in a 1-1 draw between the Colorado Rapids and Philadelphia Union at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday.

Sam Cronin stepped up and delivered the lead in the 87th minute, as his angled header off Marlon Hairston's cross beat Andre Blake to open the scoring, and, it appeared, take all three points for the Rapids.

But Brian Carroll made a run to the far post on the other end deep into stoppage time, taking down a pass from Fabian Herbers and beating Zac MacMath with a well-placed shot to tie up the game and divide the points.

The frantic end to the game belied the majority of the match, which was a defensive battle and featured few good chances on goal for either side.

Dillon Powers had a shot that clanged off the crossbar with 20 minutes to go for the Rapids, and 10 minutes later Luis Solignac had a shot of his own off the crossbar. Moments later, Solignac scored, but the tally was waived off by an offside call.

Box Score

87' - COL - Sam Cronin (Marlon Hairston, Mekeil Wiliams)
90+2' - PHI - Brian Carroll (Fabian Herbers, Ray Gaddis)
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Three Things

UNLIKELY SCORERS:
Cronin scored his eighth career MLS regular season goal (212 appearances), his first since May 30, 2015 against Portland. Carroll, meantime, scored his ninth career goal in 354 regular season appearances, and his first since July 12, 2013, against Chivas USA. To say the two holding midfielders were not expected to score, much less on the same night, would be an understatement. But as we know in this sport, anybody can step up at anytime.

RAPIDS' FINALLY DROP POINTS AT HOME: It took seven home games this season for Colorado to drop points at home, and while they remain unbeaten at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, they are no longer perfect on the season in their stadium. Still, taking 19 out of a possible 21 points at home ahead of the Copa America break is not too shabby at all for Colorado.

UNION GET SOMETHING OUT OF ROAD TRIP: There's no question the toughest task in MLS is to play not just two games in a week, but two road games in a week. After drawing Orlando City 2-2 on Wednesday, the Union battled to grab a point against the Rapids to complete the road swing. Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin targeted four points from the trip, but getting something in each game is pretty good, too.

Special Olympics Unified Sports match recap:
The Rapids' Special Olympics Unified team fell to Philadelphia Union’s Special Olympics team 7-5 on Saturday, May 28 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Jehbleh Jah of the Union scored first in the 6th minute, but the Rapids quickly answered with a goal in the 7th minute by Vincent Egan. Rapids Unified goalkeepers Vincent Egan and Dominic Sisneros making several fantastic stops. Ultimately, the Rapids Unified team was unable to stop the Philadelphia Union who scored two back to back goals in the final minutes ending the game 7-5. Rapids’ Team President Tim Hinchey, Sporting Director Padraig Smith, Director of Soccer Claudio Lopez and Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin greeted each athlete with a handshake and a medal following the match. Several Rapids and Philadelphia Union first team players were present as well cheering on both teams. More about Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer matches