Caleb Calvert scored his first goal in MLS, and was then sent off for the first time in his MLS career, as the Colorado Rapids slid to a 2-1 defeat at Philadelphia Union inside Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday night.
Calvert’s goal separated the sides at the break, before the Union rallied in the second half to extend their unbeaten stretch to six games and win their fourth game in a row.
The Rapids fell to a second successive road defeat; their cause not helped as Calvert was cautioned twice in the space of a minute to receive his marching orders. His second yellow card came about as he tried to re-enter the game without the referee’s permission. Rapids assistant coach, Conor Casey, was also dismissed from the technical area in the moments following.
After fielding the same lineup in the previous two matches, Pablo Mastroeni made seven changes on Saturday night. Defender Axel Sjöberg returned to the lineup after being sidelined the last two months due to injury. Defender Mike da Fonte and midfielders Sam Hamilton and Joshua Gatt made their first MLS starts, while defender Kortne Ford and forwards Kevin Doyle and Caleb Calvert also got the nod from Mastroeni.
Calvert would give the Rapids the lead 15 minutes into the match with a nifty curling shot at the far post from just outside the box. The 20-year-old’s first tally in Major League Soccer would snap the Union’s four-game and 378-minute streak without conceding a goal.
Minutes later, Tim Howard would be tested for the first and only time of the half following a great build-up play by the home side. A quick give-and-go on the right side of the box ended with a dangerous shot towards goal by Ilsinho forcing a fine save from the USMNT keeper.
Following a pair of changes at the hour mark, Doyle would earn a freekick just outside the penalty area. The Ireland international took it himself and almost doubled the visitors’ lead but his shot rang off the crossbar.
The Union would tie things up via the penalty spot in the 67th minute, after Ford was called for a handball in the box. Forward C.J. Sapong would send Howard the wrong direction and notch his eighth goal of the season. Moments later, Calvert was dismissed, and the Rapids were in a real battle to hang on for their first road point of 2017.
Fifteen minutes from time, a rash challenge from Gatt on the edge of the penalty area handed the Union a freekick, from which Bosnia international Haris Medunjanin curled the ball over the wall and beyond Howard for the winner.
The Rapids return to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for a four-game home stand starting with a Western Conference clash with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night (6:00 p.m. MT).
