SANDY, Utah (AP) — Defender Brayan Vera scored early, Cristian Arango added a second-half goal and Real Salt Lake continued to dominate the Colorado Rapids with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night.
Real Salt Lake (11-9-7) beat Colorado (3-13-10) three times in a single season for the second time in club history, also doing so in 2014. Real Salt Lake improved to 11-2-3 in its last 16 meetings with the Rapids in all competitions.
Real Salt Lake snapped a four-match losing streak in all competitions, getting off to a good start when Vera found the net unassisted in the 19th minute for his first goal of the season. Arango used an assist from Maikel Chang four minutes into the second half to score his third of the campaign.
Zac MacMath finished with three saves to earn the clean sheet for Real Salt Lake. Marko Ilic saved three shots for the Rapids.
Colorado has lost five straight and falls to 1-13-4 in its last 18 matches in all competitions. The Rapids have lost eight straight on the road and have been outscored 22-3. Colorado was shut out for the fifth straight match and for the eighth time in its last nine. The club entered play with just 16 goals in its first 25 matches. Only D.C. United, with 15 in 2013, had fewer in league history.
Colorado returns to action on Sept. 16 when it hosts the New England Revolution. Real Salt Lake travels to play the San Jose Earthquakes on Sept. 16.
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