Earl Edwards Jr. Makes Nine Saves as Earthquakes Hold Rapids to 1-1 Draw in Colorado

The Colorado Rapids put 10 shots on target on Saturday night. Earl Edwards Jr. stopped nine of them. That is the whole story in two sentences, and it is the reason the San Jose Earthquakes left Dick's Sporting Goods Park with a point instead of a long, quiet flight home.

Donavan Phillip headed Colorado in front in the 27th minute, Dave Romney volleyed San Jose level in the 57th, and the match finished 1-1 in front of a crowd of 15,121, according to the Earthquakes. Neither side won, but only one goalkeeper spent the night doing a full CrossFit class between the posts.

Colorado Grab the Wheel

The Rapids had the ball from the opening whistle and never really gave it back. They finished with 62.9 percent possession and attempted 439 passes to San Jose's 249, which tells you how often the Quakes were defending in their own half in a back five.

San Jose actually struck first, sort of. In the 13th minute, Ronaldo Vieira slid Preston Judd through and Judd finished, but a VAR review ruled him offside and the goal came off the board. Colorado took the reprieve and ran with it. After Edwards saved Phillip's shot from the right side of the box in the 21st minute, the Rapids won a corner in the 26th and cashed in a minute later. Paxten Aaronson swung in the cross and Phillip rose to head it into the bottom right corner from close range.

Colorado says it was Phillip's third MLS goal, all three in his last three appearances, and that at 21 years and 279 days old he became the youngest player in club history to score in three straight games. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

The rest of the half got scrappy. Jack Jasinski and Loïc Williams were both booked, Sayed Abu Farhi kept getting caught offside, and San Jose's only real looks came in first-half stoppage time, when Eduard Löwen dragged a shot wide after a corner and Paul Marie had an effort blocked.

Edwards Goes Full Brick Wall

The second half opened like a shooting gallery. Aaronson forced Edwards into a save in the 46th minute and another in the 49th, and Morgan Whittaker tested him from distance in the 51st. San Jose were hanging on.

Then the Quakes found their goal from almost nothing. Marie drew a foul outside the box, and San Jose's report says Timo Werner floated the free kick to the back post, where Vieira headed it back across goal. Romney met it with a left-footed volley from the center of the box and sent it into the bottom left corner. It was 1-1 in the 57th minute, and it was San Jose's first shot on target of the night, or at least the first one that counted.

Colorado responded the only way it knew how: more shots. Edwards denied Whittaker again in the 59th minute, Wayne Frederick in the 71st, and then Aaronson and Josh Atencio in the same 77th minute. San Jose nearly stole it at the other end when Ousseni Bouda fired just wide from distance in the 78th and Romney headed narrowly past the post a minute later. Nico Hansen made his biggest save in the 82nd minute, keeping out Judd's left-footed shot from the middle of the box.

The wildest sequence came in the 86th minute. Aaronson delivered another corner, Frederick's header from the right side of the six-yard box hit the right post. Seconds later, Ibrahim Sadiq crossed for Darren Yapi, whose header from the middle of the box was heading for the top of the net until Edwards got there. Nine saves, one point.

There was still time for drama. Bouda was flagged offside in stoppage time, and in the final seconds Löwen bent a direct free kick just wide of the left post.

Who Showed Up

Earl Edwards Jr. was the reason this was a draw. Nine saves against a team that kept arriving in waves, capped by the stop on Yapi seconds after the post.

Paxten Aaronson took three shots and put all three on target, plus the assist for Phillip and the corner that hit the post. Colorado says he now has six goal contributions in his last five MLS appearances (three goals, three assists).

Donavan Phillip scored with one of his two shots, both on target, before being replaced by Georgi Minoungou in the 59th minute.

Dave Romney scored the equalizer and nearly added a second with that 79th-minute header. For a center back, that is a very productive night in the other team's box.

The Turning Point

The equalizer flipped the evening, but the real hinge came in the 86th minute. Colorado had thrown everything at Edwards for half an hour and finally beat him with Frederick's header, only for the post to say no. Edwards then sprang up to deny Yapi's header moments later. If either of those goes in, the Rapids are probably celebrating a home win.

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: Colorado 10, San Jose three.
• Saves: Edwards made nine. Hansen made two.
• Possession: Colorado held 62.9 percent of the ball.
• Passing: The Rapids completed 376 passes to San Jose's 185.
• Offsides: San Jose were flagged seven times, and all five of Colorado's offsides belonged to Abu Farhi.

What It Means

San Jose move to 13-7-8 with 46 points and, per the club, stayed fourth in the Western Conference while stretching their league unbeaten streak to seven matches. Next up is a trip to Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Colorado are 11-4-13 with 37 points and sit eighth in the West, according to the club. The Rapids remain unbeaten in their last eight league matches at home, six wins and two draws, but their last two home results have both been draws. They host Minnesota United midweek before heading to Portland, so the margins for dropped points are shrinking fast.

The Closing Take

Colorado spent the night trying every key on a giant ring and never found the one for the last lock. Ten shots on target, a post, a goalmouth scramble, and still only one goal. Sometimes the other team simply has the right goalkeeper, and on Saturday the Quakes had theirs.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details as reported by the Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes.