COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The Colorado Rapids locker room on Saturday night after losing their season finale was about as dark as it gets in professional sports. So were their hopes for a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The team had made a Herculean effort, climbing from the depths of their conference to within inches of the final playoff spot over the final third of the season and leading their rival Real Salt Lake side until the 90th minute of a do-or-die match.
RSL finally found the back of the net in those final moments, tying the game and robbing the Rapids of a return to postseason soccer.
"It was like somebody put a set of socket spanners around me guts as the ball went into the back of the net," interim coach Gary Smith said of the leveler. "It's completely deflating for everybody. I don't think you've seen any player in that changing room who hasn't given every ounce of energy, of their heart and soul. Sadly, we just had too much to do. I thought we had enough. Knowing that we conceded it in the 89th minute -- maybe that mountain was just slightly too steep to climb."
As the Rapids waited for their coach to address them following the final bell tolling the end of their season, players sat in front of their lockers, shell-shocked at the sudden turn of events, crushed at having their moment of triumph snatched from their grasp as the last seconds on the clock ticked away.
"It's hard, man," said defender Mike Petke, a veteran of four seasons with the Rapids. "It's hard to swallow. One of the toughest losses I've ever had.
"We fought hard. We came out strong. We did everything right but put more goals in and keep the one goal out. We were doing anything we could to get a goal. I thought until the last second that we were going to get it," Petke continued. "That final whistle blows, and it's like a bullet to the head. I hate to say it like that, but that's what it feels like. I wanted to win this game more than anything. I wanted to win last weekend's game more than anything, and we did that. I wanted that feeling again. I wanted that feeling to get to the playoffs like we deserve since Gary's taken over."
If there were any regrets in the Colorado locker room, they were few and far between. The team took pride in the way they played sudden-death soccer over the season' final two weeks, bringing themselves to a precipice few believed they could reach.
But to get so close after playing so well down the stretch and dominating their opponents to the degree that even RSL head coach Jason Kreis admitted his side probably didn't deserve the point they won Saturday night -- to win so much in their long climb up that mountain only to find themselves swept away in a season-ending landside just steps from the summit, made the pill all the more bitter.
"To be honest with you, I felt like there was only one team on the field today," said Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni. "We initiated the game, we found the game, we maintained the game, we created the better chances. Soccer's a cruel sport. If you don't find a way to get that second goal, there's no insurance. There's no reprieve.
"I think we're on the short end of the stick. That's the game. That's the way it goes. That's why you play the game," he continued. "We did everything we possibly set out to do. Got a goal early in the first half, put pressure on them, didn't let them get into their possession, their flow that they enjoy doing. Made it tough for their forwards up top. Basically we imposed our will upon them. For 89 minutes it was great. But it's a 90-minute game."
A near-capacity crowd was as numb as the team they'd come to root into the postseason when the final whistle blew. It was another frustrating loss on a home field the Rapids feel should be their "fortress," as Terry Cooke put it.
"The first half we took some really good chances," Cooke said. "I was looking at [RSL's] body language, and they looked a bit despondent, because they thought they had it wrapped up last week. They came out the second half throwing everything at us - the kitchen sink, the dog and cat. We got deeper and deeper. It's just the law of averages, the more and more you keep defending for 45 mintues, sooner or later they're going to get a clear chance. The clear chance came in the 89th minute, and there's no way of coming back."
Though the Rapids never let up in their intensity, outshooting their rivals 10-6 in each of the halves and looking like the better team throughout, a momentary lapse after a 45-minute assault at their lead ended up costing them their season. Even those on the field weren't sure how it unraveled so quickly.
"I'm disappointed," said Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul. "We almost made it to the playoffs. They got lucky with the goal. These things happen in soccer. You can dominate the whole game and when there's a little breakdown, they tied the game, and that's all they needed. They needed just to come out here and get a point."
Mastroeni, the team's longest-tenured player, summed up the feeling permeating a clubhouse that had been nothing short of heroic, only to go home empty-handed.
"Playoffs come and go," Mastroeni said. "I've yet to win a championship and the likelihood of me winning one in my career - it's eluded me up to this point. But that's not the disheartening part. The disheartening part is coming to work every day, enjoying what you do everyday, being in the locker room with 28 guys that you really enjoy everyday, putting a result out, putting an effort out in the last game when you have to win, doing that for 89 minutes and then coming up short - that for me is the kick in the [gut]."
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