The Colorado Rapids' hopes of defending their MLS Cup title are still alive, and the club can thank Omar Cummings for that.
Cummings scored his first goal in nearly three months to help lift the Rapids to a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew in a wild card playoff match at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Thursday night. The victory advanced Colorado to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where it will host Sporting Kansas City on Sunday in the first leg of the home-and-home series.
Having failed to score since an Aug. 5 match against Columbus, Cummings broke the deadlock in a game that the hosts dominated when Brian Mullan fed Kosuke Kimura with a splendid through ball seconds before halftime. Kimura picked his head up and found Cummings all alone, and the Jamaican forward blasted the ensuing shot past a helpess Will Hesmer.
The Crew's offense didn't manage to make much of a response, with the lone exception coming from an Andres Mendoza shot in the second half that smacked off the crossbar.
The Rapids took advantage of that and could have won by a bigger margin, but poor finishing and solid saves from Hesmer kept the game close.
It wasn't all good news for the defending MLS champions, however, as midfielder Jamie Smith had to be removed from the game after suffering a non-contact injury to his knee in the second half.
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