VANCOUVER -- Jay DeMerit sounded like a boxer who did not see the knockout blows coming. Markus Wheaton Eagles Jersey . The Vancouver captain and his teammates were left stunned after Jose Mari scored a pair of goals three minutes apart in the second half as the Colorado Rapids came back to beat the Whitecaps 2-1 before a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium on Saturday. "We all feel like we got punched in the gut a little bit there," said DeMerit. "Unfortunately, that happens in our sport. Some things you cant control. I thought the things we could control (were) enough to win. Unfortunately, that didnt happen tonight." It was the Whitecaps first loss of the young season. "Ultimately, its disappointing," said DeMerit. "I think everyone will walk out of B.C. Place tonight thinking like something got taken away from them." Mari scored in the 79th and 82nd minutes shortly after Matias Labas ejection for a second yellow card reduced Vancouver to 10 men. "It kind of hit us at the wrong time, too, when we think we had the game by the scruff of the neck and were controlling things," said DeMerit. "It was kind of a one-two punch there, and you find yourself on the back foot therea You have to say that the guys fought for 90 minutes tonight, even when we went down a man. We had enough chances to win." Laba was sent off in the 77th minute following his deliberate hand-ball as he fell and grabbed it to prevent a scoring chance. He had already received a yellow card for a foul in the 54th minute. A Colorado (2-1-1) player said a few words of reminder to referee Ioannis Stavridis, after he showed Laba another yellow card and the official pulled out a red one. Mari then sliced home a left-footed shot off the goalpost from the left flank. With the Whitecaps (2-1-2) still reeling from that goal, Mari put a right-footed chip shot from the top of the box over Vancouver defenders that shocked Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted. "Youve gotta give credit to their two finishes," said DeMerit. "Same guy. Same two finishes. And, if he doesnt win player of the week this week, I dont know who will." Darren Mattocks scored for the Whitecaps as all of the goals came in the final 45 minutes following a scoreless first half in which Vancouver had more scoring chances than the Rapids. Colorado triumphed despite playing without strikers Vicente Sanchez, who shared the MLS scoring lead before Saturdays games, and Edson Buddle. A team spokesman said the two players missed the game because they chose not to play on artificial turf. Meanwhile, Colorados No. 1 goalkeeper Clint Irwin excelled in his first game of the season after being sidelined in the pre-season with a strained quadricep. He was kept busy, and won many races to the ball, as the Whitecaps pressed for most of the first half. Vancouvers Mattocks had a goal disallowed in the 14th minute because he went off-side, slightly behind a Colorado defensive wall. Pedro Morales took a shot and the rebound from Irwins save came right to Mattocks, who made no mistake in converting, but was victimized by his own miscue seconds earlier. Mattocks had another chance five minutes later as he raced in on a breakaway, but Irwin got his hand on the shot and the rebound bounced off the Vancouver striker and over the end line for a Colorado goal-kick. In the 37th minute, Irwin knocked over Caps striker Kenny Miller as they both raced to the ball inside the bottom right corner of the Colorado box. But to Millers chagrin, no penalty was called and the Rapids were awarded another goal-kick. Mattocks luck finally changed in the 67th minute as he outraced Colorado defender Drew Moor to a lead ball from Miller, raced in on goal and scored. Irwin got his hand on the shot, but could not keep the ball out. The goal resulted after Vancouver coach Carl Robinson had injected more speed into his lineup by inserting speedy substitutes Sebastian Fernandez (57th minute) and Kekuta Manneh (74th), providing even more opportunities off long balls that created many chances in the first half. "Obviously, when Im walking off with (about) 15 minutes to go with Manneh coming on, I could never have envisioned that we were going to lose that game," said Whitecaps striker Miller. "But, obviously, the red card had turned the game on its head." Robinson was contemplating a defensive change to help preserve the lead when Laba was ejected, but Mari struck for his quick markers. "The first one, especially, just gave us so much life," said Colorado captain Moor. The two Colorado goals prompted Robinson to make further goal-oriented substitutions instead, but they did not pay off. While the Whitecaps lamented a win that they felt got away, the Rapids gave themselves credit for their comeback a week after they had lost to Kansas City by allowing a late game-winning goal. Moor called the early-season win over a Western Conference rival "a good sign." "We want to play against teams," said Moor. "We dont want to sit in and come in on the road and hope to get a point, hope to get a tie. We want to go win games. In the game last weekend against Kansas City, I thought we were unlucky, a couple lapses of concentration. But this week, I think we just had the belief the whole time that we were going to get something out of it. Its pretty powerful sometimes." Irwin was credited with three saves in the opening 45 minutes and six on the night, while Ousted recorded just one save. Vancouver put seven shots on target compared to Colorados three. "You can create chances, but youre not always going to score three or four goals every week," said Miller. "You want to (finish) the chances when you create them." Notes: Injured Whitecaps midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker (concussion) missed his second consecutive game, but has resumed training. a Rapids midfielder Kamani Hill received a yellow card for a deliberate hand-ball as he palmed Russell Teiberts intended cross for Miller on a counter-attack off Colorados lone corner-kick in the first half. a Colorado defender Marc Burch was cautioned in the second half for taking Morales down with a hand to the head. Michael Bennett Eagles Jersey . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Josh Sweat Jersey . - The New Orleans Saints have re-signed receiver Joseph Morgan for one year and have agreed to a four-year deal with free agent fullback Erik Lorig. http://www.eaglespromart.com/customized/ . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday.The Orlando Magic have opened this homestand with back- to-back victories and will try to go 3-0 Sunday evening when they host the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors have won two straight and clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2007-08 season. They are 2 1/2 games in front of the Brooklyn Nets in the race for the Atlantic Division title. "We are excited about it. If you told me in year one that we would be knocking on the door of the playoffs in a rebuilding situation, I take my hat off to all the guys who have come through here. DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson especially who have been here through it all," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. On Friday, the Raptors completed a home-and-home sweep of the Boston Celtics with a 105-103 victory in Toronto. Johnsons putback layup with 7.1 seconds left proved to be the difference for the Raptors. DeRozan scored 30 points and Terrence Ross donated 17 as the Raptors came off a nine-point win in Boston on Wednesday. Greivis Vasquez and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Johnson poured in eight with eight rebounds. The Raptors have won six straight against the Magic, including both games this season. Toronto has taken two in a row in Orlando and four of the last six in central Florida. The Magic started the residency with a 10-point win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, then earned an overtime victory Friday over the Charlotte Bobcats. Eagles Jerseys. Arron Afflalo drilled a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and Jameer Nelson netted five points in overtime, as the Magic came from behind to beat the Bobcats, 110-105, at Amway Center. Orlando trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and didnt take its first lead until Nikola Vucevic knocked down back-to-back buckets for a 91-89 edge with 4:46 remaining. In overtime, Charlottes Kemba Walker hit a hook shot with 2:41 left for a 101-99 lead, but Nelson drilled a trey at the other end to give Orlando the lead for good, as the Magic held the Bobcats to just one field goal the rest of the way. Vucevic posted 24 points and a season-high 23 rebounds, while Afflalo finished with 17 points for the Magic. Nelson finished with 11, followed by 15 from Tobias Harris, 14 out of Victor Oladipo and 13 from Kyle OQuinn. "Tonight was an impressive win for us after kind of a lackluster start," Afflalo said. "I do think its important that these last nine games or so that we build some momentum, build some better habits just in case the core group of guys are back (next year)." 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