Luis Solignac scores to lead Colorado Rapids past 10-man Toronto FC 1-0

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Luis Solignac scored in the 18th minute as the Colorado Rapids held off 10-man Toronto FC for a 1-0 win on Saturday night.

Solignac controlled Marco Pappa’s chip and sent a right-footed shot into the right corner of the goal. Pappa, in his first year with Colorado (2-1-1), has a goal and two assists to account for all three of the Rapids’ goals this season.

Benoit Cheyrou was sent off with his second yellow card in the 13th minute after he collided with Bobby Burling on a header. He received his first yellow two minutes earlier for a hard tackle against Eric Miller.

“Another match impacted by refereeing. That would be three of our four matches that have been such,” said TFC head coach Greg Vanney. “Beyond that, I thought we fought valiantly with ten guys. I thought we looked like the better team with 10 against 11. We were still able to keep possession and we were still able to create some interesting opportunities.”

Sebastian Giovinco knuckled a free kick over the crossbar in the 92nd minute for Toronto FC’s last chance to pull even.

Toronto (1-2-1) has completed half of its eight-game road trip to start the season while awaiting renovations to BMO Field.

Saturday’s game marked the return of two former Rapids players, including goalkeeper Clint Irwin and ex-captain Drew Moor.

Moor signed as a free agent with Toronto in the off-season and played 188 games over 6 1/2 seasons in Colorado. Irwin was traded to Toronto in January.

“It was great to see everyone — there are still a lot of familiar faces and a lot of friends,” said Irwin. “It was a bit weird coming to the stadium and going to the visitor’s locker-room but overall it was a neat experience.”

— With files from The Canadian Press