LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Ethan Finlay scored a pair of first-half goals for Minnesota United, but Jonathan Lewis’ third goal of the season early in the second half gave the Colorado Rapids a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night in the MLS is Back tournament.
The draw locked up second place in Group D for Minnesota, which had already clinched a spot in the knockout round of the tournament. The Loons (4-0-1) remained unbeaten on the season and will next play Columbus in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Colorado (2-2-1) had previously been eliminated after losing its first two matches of the tournament. But the Rapids didn’t back down in their final match in Florida.
But Finlay had the Loons back in front by halftime, with a clever redirection off a free kick in the 36th minute and finishing Romain Metanire’s pass just before halftime for a 2-1 lead.
Lewis became Colorado’s super sub during the tournament. He scored in the 84th minute against Sporting Kansas City after coming on as a sub, and did it again against Minnesota. In the scramble off a free kick, Lewis’ half-volley beat Minnesota goalkeeper Tyler Miller to pull Colorado even.
Minnesota had several scoring chances late, but Colorado’s William Yarbrough made a number of key saves. He finished with six in the match.
The draw gave Sporting Kansas City the top spot out of Group D, following KC’s 2-0 victory on Wednesday morning over Real Salt Lake. Minnesota, despite a head-to-head 2-1 win over Sporting to open the tournament, settles for the second spot. Kansas City will next be in action on Sunday night at 10 o’clock, playing the third-place team from either Group B or F in a Round of 16 clash. The match will be televised on Fox Sports 1. Sporting’s opponent should be known by the end of Thursday night, when group stage action is completed.
