FC Dallas scored three unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes to grab a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on MLS Decision Day on Saturday in Frisco, Texas.
The victory assured Dallas (16-8-10, 58 points) of a second-place finish in the Western Conference. FC Dallas will face the seventh-place Portland Timbers in a best-of-three series during the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Colorado (12-15-7, 43 points) entered the match in ninth place in the West and would have clinched a postseason berth with a victory. The Rapids instead finished in 12th place, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
The Rapids were undone by a 1-3-5 record in their last nine regular-season matches and a season-long struggle on the road. Colorado finished 2-11-4 in away matches, logging the second-fewest road points (10) in MLS.
Morgan Whittaker’s 47th-minute goal gave the Rapids a 1-0 lead that stood until Joaquin Valiente’s equalizer in the 75th minute.
Kaick’s brilliant rainbow pass on Valiente’s goal earned the midfielder an assist, and Kaick then tallied the game-winning goal in the 88th minute. Kaick took a long pass while entering the box, and he found space amid four defenders to fire a right-footed shot under the bar.
Santiago Moreno scored an insurance goal for FC Dallas two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
FC Dallas goalkeeper Daniel didn’t make a save. Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen had a much busier night, stopping seven of 10 shots on target from an aggressive FC Dallas attack.
Dallas outshot Colorado by a whopping 27-6 margin, with a 10-1 edge in shots on target.
Whittaker finished his first MLS season on a four-match scoring streak, and with six goals in 10 regular-season matches since signing with the Rapids in early September.
Dallas defender Sebastien Ibeagha left the match in the 57th minute with an apparent leg injury, creating a lineup concern for the Toros heading into the postseason.
–Field Level Media
