• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

FCD, Rapids lock horns at DSG Park

Apr 23, 2015 - 8:30 PM Commerce City, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of Western Conference rivals will clash on Friday as FC Dallas travels to Dick's Sporting Goods Park to face the Colorado Rapids.

FC Dallas has been in decent form since the start of the season and enter play on Friday in second place in the Western Conference with 13 points following a nervy 3-2 win over Toronto FC last time out.

Forward Fabian Castillo turned in a Player of the Week performance against TFC with a pair of goals inside the first 10 minutes and Blas Perez added a third goal to hand FCD the points despite a weather delay of over three hours due to heavy rain and lightning.

It took just 29 seconds for FC Dallas to get on the board as Moises Hernandez sent one down the left wing. Castillo did well to beat his man, get to the ball and send a cool finish past Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

It was 2-0 for the home side in the 10th minute as Blas Perez sprayed the ball out wide to the left for Castillo, who cut inside with his first touch and ripped it into the bottom right corner.

FC Dallas made it 3-0 prior to the half-hour mark as Perez took the ball off the feet of a Toronto defender at the edge of the area and slid it past Bendik.

Sebastian Giovinco struck twice in the final six minutes to make things interesting, but Oscar Pareja's men held on for the points.

FC Dallas will be hoping to exact some revenge on Colorado as the last time these sides played, Colorado thumped Dallas, 4-0, at Toyota Stadium.

The Rapids, meanwhile, will be aiming to put in a better performance after suffering a 3-1 loss to Seattle Sounders FC on home soil last week.

It took just five minutes for the Sounders to open the scoring as Lamar Neagle collected the ball on the left side of the box, cut inside and ripped a high dipping strike into the bottom right corner, leaving Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin with little chance.

Colorado pulled it back level in the 22nd minute when Dillon Powers slid it through to an on-rushing Gabriel Torres, who finished with ease for his third goal of the campaign.

The visitors took the lead back just three minutes later as Neagle timed his run into the box perfectly to get on the end of a pass from Clint Dempsey for an easy tap-in.

Seattle widened its lead to 3-1 with 17 minutes to play when Obafemi Martins easily beat his defender and fired it past Irwin for his fourth goal of the season.

After three consecutive scoreless draws to open the season, Colorado will be aiming for just its second win of the year, while FC Dallas will go for its second straight victory, and second away from home.