Logan Farrington and Santiago Moreno converted first-half penalty kicks to lead FC Dallas to a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.
Paxten Aaronson scored for Colorado (5-9-1, 16 points).
In the 12th minute, Dallas (7-4-4, 25 points) took a 1-0 lead on Farrington’s penalty kick. Aaronson clipped the right foot of the Dallas striker and sent him tumbling to the pitch to force the PK.
Moments later, Farrington buried it in the lower-left corner past Colorado goalkeeper Nico Hansen.
The Rapids leveled the match just one minute later when Wayne Frederick played a stretch pass down the sideline to Georgi Minoungou, whose slick through ball hit Aaronson in stride, allowing him to rifle a shot by Dallas goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Colorado’s high press continued to yield dangerous scoring chances. In the 19th minute, Minoungou again broke wide with the ball, but this time lofted a cross that Frederick couldn’t reach. Colorado tested Sirois in the following minute when the Dallas goalie secured a Rafael Navarro shot that was blocked by a defender.
Aaronson’s shot from 15 yards out was saved in the 23rd minute. Reggie Cannon’s in-swinging cross connected with Darren Yapi in the 28th minute, but his jumping side-foot flick was launched over the crossbar.
Dallas was awarded its second penalty kick in the 45th minute when Minoungou brought down Ran Binyamin. Moreno slow-played the penalty, and his shot snuck under Hansen’s diving attempt to his left.
Just out of halftime, Yapi’s cross found Aaronson, whose bicycle-kick shot in the 47th minute was blocked and stopped by Sirois.
FC Dallas slowed the pace in the second half as it moved into a defensive 5-3-2 formation.
Colorado went a man down when Frederick was assessed a red card in the 87th minute, but still managed a few more scoring chances. Aaronson blasted a shot on frame in the 89th minute that Sirois went to his knees to save.
Dallas heads into the World Cup break with wins in four of its last five matches, while the Rapids have lost four of their last five league matches.
Colorado played without coach Matt Wells who was suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Rapids assistant coach Ally Harris filled in as interim head coach.
–Field Level Media
