Findley had two fantastic opportunities to put RSL ahead in the opening 30 minutes, but he was wide with his headers in both the 21st and 30th minute on great deliveries from Russell. In the 63rd minute, Espindola headed a corner straight into the ground and over the crossbar.

Unlike previous matches, however, the home team actually created those opportunities, which is encouraging for Kreis as his team prepares for back-to-back road games at Los Angeles and Houston — teams with a combined unbeaten streak of 18.

"I was really, really pleased with the commitment and dedication and hard work our guys put in tonight. They played with some self belief, and they looked like a team that was willing to fight," said Kreis.

RSL was forced to play the final eight minutes with 10 men after Russell received his second yellow card on a reckless tackle, a caution that came just nine minutes after his first yellow. Last month in Colorado, RSL played the final 55 minutes with 10 men after a Jamison Olave red card.

ENDLINES: Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman were each suspended for the match. Colorado was without Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni, who were each with the U.S. national team. ... Colorado maintains its edge in the Rocky Mountain Cup with a 1-0-1 record with one match remaining later this year.

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com