A talented Portland roster put all their skills on display Wednesday night in Providence Park, overwhelming the Rapids early. Portland used implements far finer than a chainsaw to carve open the Rapids time after time in the attack; deft dribbling from Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri; a fabulous hooking shot from Darlington Nagbe; and put-it-through-a-pinhole crossing from Vytautas Andriuškeviu010dius. And despite a solo steal-and-shoot for a goal from Mohammed Saeid, in the end, it was too, too much, as Colorado fell, 2-1.
After a tense first 20 minutes for both teams, with the Rapids conceding possession and looking to erupt on a counter-attack, it would be the Woodsmen that struck first.