THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The Colorado Rapids, a team in search of an identity, found one Sunday night.
MLS champions.
The unlikely Rapids, who finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 12-8-10 record, won their first Major League Soccer championship with a tense 2-1 extra-time victory over FC Dallas on a cold, windy night Sunday at BMO Field.
The winning goal came in the 107th minute, on a deflection off Dallas defender George John, completing the Rapids’ comeback from 1-0 down.
Colorado, posting its first win in five tries at BMO Field, becomes the ninth different team in MLS history to claim the championship.
"Obviously not having won in many years, being knocked out of the playoffs the last few (years), it’s been a struggle," said Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni.
"I think we were a club still trying to find an identity and that goes for a lot of the (MLS) clubs, especially the smaller-market teams. It seems like you have to win something, you have to win the whole thing in order to be even heard."
Mastroeni should know. The 34-year-old defensive midfielder had played 286 games, 17th most in the league, without reaching the final.
"The future for this club is now looking brighter," said Mastroeni, who joined the Rapids in 2002 after four seasons with the now-defunct Miami Fusion. "That was dependent on us winning tonight and we did that."
Colorado reached the 1997 championship game, only to lose 2-1 to D.C. United.
FC Dallas was gracious in defeat although the pain was clear to see on the face of captain Daniel Hernandez, a Dallas native who had lost three previous visits with other teams to the MLS championship game.
"There’s always mistakes in the game," said Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman. "You just hope that they don’t end up in the back of the net."
Colorado coach Gary Smith acknowledged the game was not the most stylish affair, noting the "lively" playing surface while calling it "such a cut-and-thrust game."
But MLS Cup MVP Conor Casey had no complaints.
"I’ve never won anything. Ever," said the Colorado forward, who tied the game in the 57th minute. "It’s a fantastic feeling."
"It feels like we really earned it," he added. "Our backs were against the wall for a lot of the game, but we just showed our resolve."
Colorado used pressure and some physical play to knock Dallas off its game. Still Dallas had the bulk of the chances.
Smith and Mastroeni credited Casey and his strike partner Omar Cummings for pressuring the Dallas midfielders, forcing them to send the ball to the defence rather than offensive sparkplugs like league MVP David Ferreira.
The winning goal bounced in off the six-foot-three John after a cross found Macoumba Kandji in the penalty box. The Colorado substitute nutmegged a defender, bouncing off him after sending the ball towards goal where it deflected off John past goalie Kevin Hartman.
Kandji, who ended up on the turf, was swarmed by teammates while a stricken John clutched his head in disbelief.
Asked later what had been said to John, Hernandez replied: "What is there to say? You know, it was a deflection. He didn’t hit the ball in the goal. There was nothing to say."
Dallas had chances late in extra time but Ugo Ihemelu shot high and then Colorado goalie Matt Pickens made a game-saving low stop with time running out in a wild finale that also saw a goal-line Colorado clearance.
"We had a little bit of Lady Luck on our side as well," said Smith, "But I think over the course of the season you earn that."
There were empty seats at BMO Field for the 8:55 p.m. ET kickoff with MLS officials pegging game-time temperature at 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 C). The coldest MLS Cup at kickoff — 44 degrees (6.7 C) — was the inaugural championship in 1996 in Foxborough, Mass.
By the time overtime had started, just prior to 11 p.m., the gaps in the stands were more widespread. Still the game was announced as a sellout of 21,700.
For the record, Toronto tied with Seattle, last year’s host, for the second-coldest final.
A biting wind made it feel a lot colder for those in the lakefront stadium, which was not filled despite the fact that the game was part of Toronto FC 2011 season ticket-holders’ package.
Down 1-0 at the half, Colorado pulled even on an opportunistic goal by Casey. The burly Colorado forward was like a bull in a china shop all night long.
After a poor Dallas clearance, Jamie Smith gathered the ball in and drove towards the box, sending in a cross that led to a goalmouth collision between Hartman, a defender and Casey. The ball popped loose and Casey stuck out a leg to poke it on.
The opening goal came in the 35th minute after Dallas left fullback Jair Benitez launched a long diagonal ball that an onrushing Marvin Chavez chested down on the right flank before sending in a raking cross that Ferreira knocked in.
In the 27th minute, Casey grew tangled with defenders Ihemelu and Benitez in the Dallas penalty box. Casey went down but referee Baldomero Toledo was unconvinced.
Smith insisted it should have been a penalty.
It was the first MLS Cup final for Dallas, the last of the original MLS 10 clubs still around to make it there.
The Dallas players, who tied a league record with a 19-game unbeaten streak during the season, got close.
They walked off the field in single file as the Colorado players celebrated on a stage at midfield.
"The game of soccer is a cruel game," said Hyndman. "Because you play for the 90-plus minutes and it’s a game of inches. It’s a deflection ball that goes in the goal and you’re saying ‘How did that happen?’ And then you have good chances that you don’t put it the goal and you say ‘How does that happen?’
"As I said to the players, I couldn’t be any more proud of them. They gave everything they had and there are just some days that the ball doesn’t go in for you and there are other days they do."