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Colorado Rapids' Omar Cummings, left, fights off Vancouver Whitecaps' Carlyle Mitchell as he clears the ball from near the front of his goal during first half MLS soccer game action in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday October 22, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckDarryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

The Vancouver Whitecaps' finale was a mirror for their first troubled Major League Soccer season.



A lot of promise at the beginning, a lot of heartbreak at the end.



Second-half substitute Wells Thompson scored in the 84th minute to give the Colorado Rapids a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Whitecaps in the final MLS regular-season game for both clubs Saturday.



"We created the first goal, we had our chances, but we kind of let things get away from us," said Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "Being a little sloppy was the theme of our year, and it came back to haunt us tonight."



The loss spoiled the going-away party for Vancouver coach Tommy Soehn as he coached his last game before giving way to successor Martin Rennie next season. The Whitecaps finished their troubled inaugural MLS campaign with a 6-18-10 record.



"Right now, I'm mostly disappointed we lost the game, especially in front of our fans," said Soehn, who is slated to return to his duties as the team's director of soccer operations. "We'll work together (among management) to make sure what we have is more consistent."



The loss relegated Vancouver to last place overall after New England drew 2-2 with Toronto FC earlier Saturday. Although the Whitecaps and New England both finished with 33 points, the Revolution moved up a place in the standings based on better results in games against Vancouver.



"I assess today's result just like the whole season — a lot of positives there in the beginning and then just small (wrong) things that make the big difference," said Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit. "You look at deflections. You look at how they scored their goals and the chances that they created, which were very few and you look at us.



"We created enough to win, but we didn't do that — again."



Thompson's goal completed Colorado's rally from an early 1-0 second-half deficit. Following a scramble near the top of Vancouver's 18-yard box, he got the ball and fired a shot off a Whitecaps defender's head and over goalkeeper Cannon.



With the win, defending-champion Colorado earned the right to host a wild-card playoff game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. The Rapids finished the campaign with a 12-9-13 record.



Jeff Larentowicz, in the 59th minute, also scored for Colorado. Alain Rochat scored for the Whitecaps in the 49th minute as all of the goals came in the second half.



Larentowicz said the win was huge because of the post-season implications for his team.



"To come here and play in a new stadium in front of a crowd like that, it was always going to be tough," Larentowicz said. "We had something on the line and we wanted to achieve that."



After the game ended, a number of Vancouver players sat on the pitch in frustration. The season began with a promising 4-2 victory over Toronto turned into a disaster that included the firing of former coach Teitur Thordarson.



Rochat said the Whitecaps have learned their lesson after some overly-optimistic observers suggested after their season-opening win that they might contend for a title.



"Maybe we were surprised," Rochat said. "We thought that maybe we could win this league after we won the first game against Toronto. We didn't expect that it was just 90 minutes."



Rochat put Vancouver ahead 1-0 on a curling free kick from about 30 yards out thanks to an error by Pickens. With Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit faking a header and running hard at the net, Pickens put up his hand in surrender and let the ball go, thinking it was going out of bounds. But it snuck into the corner of the net with Pickens watching when he could have easily stopped it.



Just 10 minutes later, Colorado evened the score 1-1. Larentowicz fired a straight-on free kick from the top of the Vancouver box right through a Whitecaps defensive wall — and Cannon's legs — as he failed to get his hands down on the ball in time.



Soehn tried to inject some offence as he substituted star striker Eric Hassli for a limping Nizar Khalfan in the 78th minute. Hassli received a loud cheer from the crowd, but the switch had little offensive effect and Thompson decided the outcome six minutes later.



Now, the Whitecaps will prepare for life under Rennie. Starting Nov. 3, the new coach will guide a two-week evaluation camp for all players before management decides who to keep and who to let go before some contracts expire Dec. 31.



One pressing decision is the future of talented midfielder Davide Chiumiento, who was among league leaders in assists but fell out of favour with Soehn. Chiumiento was relegated to the bench for the second straight home game Saturday after being left off the travelling roster for last week's game in Dallas.



"I don't need to decide nothing," said Chiumiento, who subbed in during the second half. "I have a contract here. I'm happy here."



Noting that he was bothered by a hamstring injury and weight problems, Chiumiento insisted he has been able to get along with any coach wherever he has played. His performance, he said, was a product of the club's play as a whole.



"I had good games, but I had a lot of games where I did not play at my best," said Chiumiento, who still has a year remaining on his contract.



Notes: Chiumiento drew cheers from the crowd as he subbed in for Tan early in the second half. ... Late in the game, a fan threw a water bottle on the field, narrowly missing Pickens, in protest of the referee's decision not to award Vancouver a penalty-kick after Rochat went down in the Rapids' box.



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