COMMERCE CITY • Two seconds separated the Colorado Rapids from an important victory Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar’s volleyed finish early in the second half appeared to be all the Rapids would need to secure the three points as the game lingered into the fifth minute of stoppage time. Then, Rapids midfielder Bryan Acosta was sent off in the 80th minute, and Houston striker Sebastian Ferreira powered a left-footed shot past William Yarbrough with 94:58 on the clock, the final action of a 1-1 draw.

The sequence started when Yarbrough played a long ball out of the back that Sam Nicholson attempted to keep in play that rolled out for a Houston throw-in. The Dynamo quickly advanced the ball down the right side before Hector Herrera cut inside and laid the ball off for Ferreira.

“We were trying to keep our lines tight and absorb the pressure and then release. It was almost to a T what we wanted to do,” Rapids midfielder Collen Warner said. “Will hit a great clearance and Sam almost kept that one in there. We were very close. It was just one more play.”

The referee blew his whistle to end the game right after the Rapids restarted the action.

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A win would’ve vaulted the Rapids into the seventh and final spot in the playoff picture. Instead, the Rapids sit 11th after the draw.

Both teams had a chance in the opening 10 minutes, but Abubakar’s header went wide of the goal before Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough made a one-on-one save to deny Herrera a few minutes later. Neither side created many chances over the next 30 minutes until Jonathan Lewis dragged a shot just wide of Steve Clark’s goal in the 40th minute. Yarbrough and Clark made saves in the final minutes to keep the game scoreless to start the second half.

A minute after Gyasi Zardes put a header just off target early in the second half, Abubakar scored the opening goal in the 48th minute.

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“His defending was solid. With the ball, they managed to put him in some tough spots, and he still found some decent solutions,” Rapids coach Robin Fraser said of Abubakar, who scored his fourth goal of the season Saturday. “I thought he looked confident. I thought he looked solid. On set pieces, he was fantastic.”

The Rapids played the final 10 minutes of regulation and five minutes of stoppage time without Keegan Rosenberry, who exited with an injury, and Bryan Acosta, who was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 80th minute. Houston thought it equalized in the 83rd minute when Fafa Picault’s header slipped past Yarbrough, but he was whistled for shoving Abubakar to create space. The Dynamo got their goal with the final action of the match.

Both teams finished with nine shots with Colorado putting for attempts on goal to Houston’s three.

“It’s hard to put a positive spin after you concede a late goal like that. That was not good,” Warner said.

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“I thought we had enough to see it out, and it just wasn’t to be for us to get the three points that we needed.”

The Rapids continue their climb toward the playoff, which got a little steeper Saturday, next week at Philadelphia.

“Our backs are pretty flat against the wall now,” Fraser said. “So, we have to stand up.”

Colorado Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough (22) in the second half of an MLS soccer match May 28 in Commerce City.

The Associated Press