Colorado Rapids 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 - It All Clicks

Right before the World Cup break, the Rapids had looked very good for a few games and then stumbled for the next few. With the Vancouver Whitecaps next on the docket, the Rapids had to know this was of the biggest games of the year. Fortunately, the home side was up to the task at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, taking down the Whitecaps 2-0 thanks to some very nice free-flowing offense and an underrated defensive performance.

The first half was about as good a half as we've seen the Rapids play all season long. Dillon Powers and Vicente Sanchez were easily the two best players on the field for those first 45 minutes, and it made sense that they would both find the scoreboard before the half finished. Powers got the first goal of the match in the 20th minute after a filthy turn in the box left him with all the space he needed to slip one into the lower corner. Sanchez scored in the 36th minute off a penalty -- what else? -- but the two goals didn't fully tell the story of the half.

It wasn't just that the Rapids got a pair of goals in the half, they dominated everything from start to finish. Vancouver did essentially nothing of note in the half, and the few attacking moments they did have ended in shots off target. If you were looking for a Colorado Rapids team at its peak, that first half was about as good as you could come up with.

The second half was quite a bit more boring than the first, but that was somewhat to be expected. The Rapids remained the superior team, but were more than happy to just hold the possession instead of trying to add a third goal to the tally. A few big attacks by Vancouver nearly cracked through them, but nothing was good enough for the seemingly toothless Vancouver offense going forward.

The two goals the Rapids scored were all they needed for three points after the second 45 zipped by.