D.C. ties New England, Kansas City beats Colorado late, Minnesota ties RSL in MLS tournament

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Veteran Federico Higuaín scored as a second-half substitute for a second straight match, and D.C. United rallied for a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution on Friday night.

New England missed out on a chance to book a spot in the knockout round of the MLS is Back tournament thanks to a defensive blunder midway through the second half.

Higuaín was able to chase down an awful back-pass by New England defender Antonio Delamea. The pass was short and left New England goalkeeper Matt Turner out of position. Higuaín got to the ball first, dribbled around Turner and scored his second goal of the tournament.

The draw left New England tied with Toronto FC on top of Group C with four points, while D.C. United earned its second straight draw. D.C. United (1-1-2) will close the group stage facing winless Montreal next Tuesday, while the Revolution close out against Toronto.

Adam Buksa gave New England (1-1-2) the lead early in the second half. Buska was first to react to a deflected shot and his header beat D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid in the 51st minute.

But New England's attack was mostly missing after Buksa's goal. Cristian Penilla had his breakaway shot saved by Hamid in the 61st minute, but most of the possession in the final 30 minutes belonged to D.C. United.

New England finished with 18 total shots but only five on goal. Hamid had four saves. D.C. United managed just six total shots and only three on goal.

Graham Zusi scored in stoppage time to give Sporting Kansas City a wild 3-2 victory Friday night over the shorthanded Colorado Rapids in the MLS is Back tournament.

Jonathan Lewis scored in the 84th minute to pull the Rapids into a 2-2 draw after Alan Pulido's penalty kick put Sporting up in the 72nd minute. The match was contentious, with two second-half red cards taking the Rapids down to nine players.

The Rapids took the early lead when Kellyn Acosta scored with the inside of his left foot in the sixth minute.

Colorado's Nicolas Benezet got a yellow card after an elbow to the face of Zusi, who was treated for several moments after the hit.

Colorado's Danny Wilson pulled down Khiry Shelton as he was sprinting toward the goal. After a video review, Wilson was handed a red card and sent off in the 61st minute.

Minutes later, Shelton evened the game from a difficult angle with a shot that sailed into the top of the net and into the far corner.

A controversial handball call on Diego Rubio gave Pulido the penalty kick, which he buried to put Sporting up 2-1.

Just moments later, Colorado's Jack Price was sent off with another red card after it appeared he said something to the referee. That took the Rapids down to nine players, but Colorado appeared to overcome the disadvantage with Lewis' equalizer.

Sporting was without goalkeeper Tim Melia because of a red card in the last match. Richard Sanchez started in his place.

Rapids also had a change in goal, starting William Yarbrough instead of Clint Irwin, who took a knock in the team's opener. Yarbrough is playing for Colorado from Liga MX club Leon.

Real Salt Lake and Minnesota United played to a scoreless draw on Friday night in the MLS is Back tournament in a match in which scoring opportunities were limited for both sides.

The teams remained at the top of Group D with four points, although Real Salt Lake has the advantage on goal differential. Still, it was a missed opportunity for both clubs as the winner would have clinched a spot in the round of 16 with a victory.

Instead, the match lacked excitement and scoring chances, and was the second match of the tournament to finish in a scoreless draw.

The best scoring chance for either side came in the closing seconds of first-half stoppage time when Minnesota's quick counter-attack finished with Robin Lod's left-footed shot that beat RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath, but rattled off the post.

Lod had another opportunity early in the second half but MacMath got his hand on the shot. Real Salt Lake nearly got a late winner only to watch Sam Johnson's shot in the 87th minute pulled just wide of the goal.

MacMath finished with three saves and Minnesota goalkeeper Tyler Miller had two.

Real Salt Lake (1-0-3) lost some of its offensive attack when Albert Rusnak was helped off the field in the first half with a left leg injury. Rusnak scored RSL's first goal of the tournament in its opening victory over Colorado.

Minnesota (3-0-1) knocked off Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in its opener.

Real Salt Lake will close the tournament against Sporting KC, and Minnesota will finish against Colorado. Both matches are next Wednesday.