By TIM FONTENAULT
Marvin Chavez scored two goals on his Chivas USA debut, two days after being traded from the Colorado Rapids, as Chivas picked up three impressive points with a 3-1 win in Colorado Sunday afternoon.
The first half was heavily affected by snow and hail, which resulted in a slow and uneventful 45 minutes where neither side was able to gain an edge.
Both teams needed to make adjustments for the second 45, but it looked like Colorado would have been better suited staying in the locker room, as Chivas dominated the second half from start to finish.
The Rapids had 65 percent of the possession and outshot Chivas 16-6, but it was quality over quantity for the away side, which took advantage of Colorado’s multiple mental lapses en route to only their second win of the season and first since March 9 against Chicago.
Erick Torres drew first blood when he split the defense and redirected a wonderfully placed cross from Martin Rivero past Colorado goalkeeper Clint Irwin in the 56th minute. Torres’ eighth goal of the season moves him into a tie with Seattle’s Clint Dempsey for second in the league.
Torres has been the driving force of the Chivas attack all year, but Chavez, who has hardly had time to catch his breath since joining the club, decided to do his part.
Chavez entered the match in the 57th minute and ended up needing medical attention for an injury not five minutes later. Within 10 minutes, however, he put himself on the goal sheet in front of the Colorado crowd. A Rapids’ corner kick was cleared out, and Torres found Chavez on the counter to put him in with only Irwin to beat. Chavez drew Irwin out and lightly chipped the ball over his right shoulder for the goal.
Ten minutes later, a lapse in judgment by Marc Burch gave Chavez double the pleasure. Burch tried to head the ball back to Irwin from more than 20 yards away and got no power on the ball. Chavez was right there to pick it and get in on goal to extend the lead to 3-0.
Colorado pulled one back deep in stoppage time with a wonder goal from Deshorn Brown, who went across his body as he was falling away from the goal and somehow managed to chip Dan Kennedy, preventing Chivas from celebrating its first clean sheet of the season.