Whitecaps quell Rapids; Timbers, Sporting KC draw

By foxsports
Published

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 -- Colorado Rapids 0

Octavio Rivero and Cristian Techera scored 4 minutes apart in the second half and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Wednesday night to move into first place overall in Major League Soccer.

Vancouver (15-10-3) pulled two points ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Rivero scored in the 73rd minute, heading home his 10th of the season off a ball over the top from Techera. Rivero tore off his jersey in celebration - a reaction that earned him a yellow card - before being mobbed by teammates.

Techera buried his sixth past a helpless Clint Irwin in the 77th.

Colorado (8-10-9) had won three straight.

Goalkeeper Tim Melia fended off a flurry of Portland shots and Sporting Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak with the draw.

Melia had a career-high seven saves for his seventh shutout of the season, and first since a 1-0 victory at Vancouver on July 12.

Sporting KC (11-7-8) and Portland (11-9-8) are locked in a battle for playoff position, knotted in a three-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference with Seattle with 41 points apiece. Portland extended its home unbeaten streak to 10 games.