Dominique Badji got the first shot of the game in the 14th minute, but Tommy McNamara and New York City FC got the first goal a few minutes later to put the Boys in Blue up 1-0. NYCFC had another frightening opportunity with a free kick from Andrea Pirlo that hit the crossbar. Luckily, the Rapids were able to clear it and run it down the field but were unable to do anything with it.
NYC wasn’t necessarily playing aggressively in the first half, but kept up with the quick passing and Colorado was just running in circles chasing the ball.