Often a draw feels only slightly better than a loss, but last night’s comeback against Loudoun United FC felt almost as good as a win. Carl Sainté scored the equalizer in the 11th minute of extra time, assisted by Charlie Dennis off a corner kick, helping Rising earn a point in the standings.

Overall, it was a tale of two halves. The team struggled to land shots on goal due to missed attempts or blocks by Loudoun United FC. Loudoun struck first with a goal by Florian Valot off a cross from Ben Mines that split multiple Rising defenders.

The rest of the first half saw a few yellow cards but little else in terms of action. The fourth official added three minutes of extra time, which seemed appropriate. Loudoun pressed their attack with a couple of chances, but Rising defended well.

At five minutes into extra time, with Loudoun’s last chance blocked, Ihsan Sacko went down. It would have seemed an appropriate time to end the half, but the referee inexplicably continued play, allowing Loudoun a corner after the injury delay. Loudoun was again stymied, but the referee allowed play to continue as Rising went on the attack, with Cabral being fouled by Valot, who received a yellow card.

Rafael Czichos took the free kick, attempting to set up one last attack. The second pass from Collin Smith was intercepted and quickly carried downfield for Loudoun’s second goal, a header by Ben Mines.

The second half saw Rising attacking with more urgency and discipline. Dennis was substituted in at the 68th minute and brought high energy, often fighting through traffic to create pressure on the Loudoun defense.

While the first goal is officially an own goal credited to Yani Leerman, it came off a strike from Dennis after Loudoun cleared a cross from Sainté.

Rising now sits in 7th place, having earned one win and four draws in their last five matches. They will play their second consecutive home game against Oakland Roots SC at 7 p.m. MST this Saturday.