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Late collapse leaves Union with a tie

The foot of Union midfielder Michael Lahoud met the face of Colorado Rapids midfielder Jared Watts in the box in the 76th minute. The Union held a comfortable 3-1 lead at the time, but it dissipated soon after.

Sheanon Williams (25) heads the ball during the first against the Colorado Rapids at PPL Park. (John Geliebter/USA Today)
Sheanon Williams (25) heads the ball during the first against the Colorado Rapids at PPL Park. (John Geliebter/USA Today)Read more(John Geliebter/USA Today)

The foot of Union midfielder Michael Lahoud met the face of Colorado Rapids midfielder Jared Watts in the box in the 76th minute. The Union held a comfortable 3-1 lead at the time, but it dissipated soon after.

The Rapids (7-5-6) came back to tie the Union (4-8-7), 3-3, Saturday night at PPL Park as Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers converted the ensuing penalty kick in the 79th minute and Rapids forward Deshorn Brown netted the equalizer in the 87th minute with the Union playing a man down because of the penalty on Lahoud.

The misery didn't end for the Union when the final whistle blew. Midfielder Amobi Okugo was given a red card after the match for a comment he made on the field. Neither he nor Lahoud will be available Wednesday when the Union host the New York Red Bulls.

"Any time you're up, 3-1, at home, you should close out a game," Union interim manager Jim Curtin said. "You can talk about the ref, the calls, all we want, but at the end of the day we should still close that game out."

Moments before Lahoud's red card, things couldn't have been better for the Union. Curtin pumped his fists in the air when forward Andrew Wenger dove and knocked in a goal in the 75th minute to give the Union what looked like a decisive 3-1 lead.

The Union led for much of the game, scoring first in the 16th minute when defender Raymon Gaddis had space on the right flank and played the ball to forward Conor Casey, who launched the ball into the net while it was still in the air. After a Rapids goal by Dillon Serna, the Union's Sheanon Williams broke the deadlock in the 31st minute with a header off a Cristian Maidana corner kick.

"A lot of really good performances by guys went to complete waste," Curtin said.

Brown joins team

The Union announced the acquisition of Jamaican international Brian Brown on Saturday. The 21-year-old striker, on loan for the rest of the MLS season from Harbour View FC, was available as a substitute but did not enter the game.