COMMERCE CITY – One of the newest Major League Soccer expansion clubs New York City FC made their first visit to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 17,692. New York’s biggest stars in David Villa and Mix Diskerud faced off to a 0-0 draw against the Rapids.
Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers didn’t waste anytime putting shots on goal, his first came inside the penalty box two minutes into the contest. The Rapids tested NYCFC goaltender Josh Saunders in the first half with shots from Gaby Torres (8’), Vicente Sanchez (13’) and Marc Burch tested his luck from just under 40 yards out in the 16th minute.
Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin almost had a shot squeak by in the 11th minute from Adam Nemec but the ball was forced to the touchline and no damage was done.
The first half came to an end with a 0-0 score and a 7 to 1 shot advantage for the home team Rapids.
The second half started just like the 1st, Powers put a header on goal from Burch but it was low just 2 minutes in (47’). David Villa made his first real shot on goal, an attack in the 54th minute, Irwin made a nice save.
Colorado continued their attack in the 63rd minute when Torres received a pass in stride from Lucas Pittinari, but the ball was blocked and forced a corner kick.
Powers was asked postgame if there was just that little bit missing today for the Rapids. Powers responded, “We had some good chances there. Gabby had a great chance to put one away. I think all it took in this game was one goal”. He added, “But more often than not we are going to score goals if we play like we did today.”
The second half was filled with numerous fouls; five in all. Rapids rookie striker Dominique Badji had the first with a handball in the 49th minute. The next four were all by NYCFC and they found themselves a man down after Shay Facey’s sending off 82 minutes into the match.
Even after the one-man advantage to close out the match and three substitutions to bring in fresh bodies for the Rapids, the team remains scoreless to start the 2015 season and are winless in 16 contests dating back to last season.
Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni was pleased with his team’s effort after the game: “The guys are going forward and everything was great,” He said. “Unfortunately today just lacked that final shot and final pass”.
Next up for the Rapids is a trip to Houston next Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium at 6:30 PM. You can catch that game on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1550| FM 94.1|96.9 in Boulder.
Jesse Trujillo is a producer and writer for Mile High Sports. He can be emailed at jtrujillo81@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @Jtrujillo1981
