Player ratings Colorado Rapids vs. Seattle Sounders

Well, Colorado Rapids, that was quite a July you served up.

On Independence Day you laid down your American honor — in front of a hometown capacity crowd, no less — and were fricasseed by a bunch from Canada.

From there you were flagellated, fleeced and flayed by nearly every team in the West. Oh, and a second Canadian team — an abysmal one — just for good measure.

The misery was capped by yet another loss to Seattle on Saturday.

At least the Rapidos displayed fight and sustained waves of attack in this one. Sitting in the south stands I thought my eyes deceived in the number of burgundy jerseys swarming the final third. i saw corner after Colorado corner. I saw cross after cross.

Too bad it came to no avail. Thanks, yet again, to a couple boneheaded plays in the defensive zone.

Scoring Guide
0 - Awful, horrible, why is he even on the field!?
1-3 - Poor. Why is he starting?
4-6 - Decent. Played a reasonable game, but could have done much more.
7-9 - Great game! Did nearly everything right with few mistakes
10 - Perfect game.

Starting XI
Defense
Matt Pickens — 6
Pickens had a few stellar punch-outs and at least one on-rushing save that deadened Sounder attacks. As usual, he was helpless on the two goals. You have to wonder if he seeks solace in a dreamworld where every opponent, for 90 minutes, is covered by a burgundy jersey.

Drew Moor — 5
Credit Moor for getting forward and in the far post position when Brian Mullan sent the early cross. That quick answer to Seattle's second-minute stunner reignited the 'Pids and kept the Dick's loyalists, at least for a while, from seeing red. Moor could have been a bit more creative, though, in his flank play in the second half.

Tyrone Marshall — 4
If you're a center back you can't allow a guy to get central position on net on a corner kick. That's what happened on Eddie Johnson's goal just after the starting whistle. After that, Marshall was pretty steady. Kudos on a stunningly precise long ball to Luis Zapata on left wing that turned into a dangerous attacking sequence by the Rapids midway through the first half.

Marvell Wynne — 4
Generally decent performance, but bears at least partial responsibility on the Johnson goal. Center backs should at least be yapping up a storm on corners, especially when Seattle has shown time and again they can shred Colorado on set pieces. Highlight was Wynne's breakup of a Brad Evans goal-ward rush late in the first half.

Luis Zapata — 5.5
Zapata showed as much offensive flair as he has all season, repeatedly moving into the offensive third. Got frustrating, though, watching a couple of his late surges and crosses find nobody in front of net.

Midfield
Brian Mullan — 6.5
The best Rapid on the night. Mullan was feisty down the right wing and contributed the most to keeping the Sounders on their heels for much of the night.

Martin Rivero — 6
Rivero decently marshalled the Rapids' attack through the midfield and was skillfully kept alive threats in front of the Seattle goal. His 74th minute free kick rapped off the crossbar, and his nifty pass to Conor Casey in the 76th should have ended in a goal (Casey feather-footed it into the Michael Gspurning's hands).

Jeff Larentowicz — 5.5
Took a couple long-range bombs on net, but they soared above net. Was iron-tough in the midfield, helping to keep Fredy Montero out of rhythm.

Joseph Nane — 4
Didn't seem to catch the groove like he did against Salt Lake. Nane didn't play much of a catalyst role on offense and at times moved slowly to get back into defense.

Forwards
Omar Cummings — 4
Getting tired of just enjoying Cummings for his fleet-of-feet play. His job is to score goals at the end of those quick-foot sequences. And he didn't score.

Conor Casey — 3.5
While Casey got himself into the mix as his way, his finishing was abysmal. A rocket shot early in the first half missed the target, as did a couple other efforts (both by foot and head). His errant back-pass sparked the sequence that produced Seattle's game-winner. In the late-going, he received nice service from Rivero and juked a defender to open space, but his feckless shot got gobbled up by the tall man in yellow.

Substitutes
Kamani Hill (61) on for Cummings — 4.5
Decent speed in the final third, but didn't put any potent pressure on the Seattle goal. Vexing to not see him take a crack in the waning minutes.

Wells Thompson (61) for Nane — 4.5
Had a decent opening in the late-going but took a touch instead of one-timing the ball on net. The outcome: a defender blocked Thompson's shot. Generally more lively in the midfield than Nane was.

Andre Akpan (81) for Mullan — N/A