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  • Rapids’ 13-game home unbeaten streak snapped emphatically by LA Galaxy

    Rapids’ 13-game home unbeaten streak snapped emphatically by LA Galaxy

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    Since joining the Colorado Rapids, Connor Ronan never complained about playing a role he’s not accustomed to in the defensive midfield.

    Wednesday night against MLS Western Conference leader LA Galaxy, he was rewarded with his first goal of the season — his second with the Rapids — on the way to a 3-1 loss.

    Even on the 45th minute scoring move, Ronan made a play to stop a dangerous Galaxy counterattack after a Rapids corner kick was cleared toward a streaking Joseph Paintsil. Ronan broke it up and played a ball to defender Reggie Cannon. Two passes later, and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic got the assist on Ronan’s left-footed blast from distance to the far post.

    After Ronan opened his account, he ran to the Rapids’ bench, where he and defender Lalas Abubakar held up a jersey toward the family suite that read “Monsieur Cabral” on the back. Kevin Cabral, whose father recently passed, was watching his teammates clap in his honor from the suite.

    Despite a dominant first half from the Rapids, two quick second-half goals from the Galaxy ultimately buried the Rapids. As a result, the 13-game unbeaten streak at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park was snapped and the Rapids slid to sixth in the Western Conference.

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    Braidon Nourse

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  • Rapids hold off Liga MX giants Club América in penalties to move onto Leagues Cup semifinal

    Rapids hold off Liga MX giants Club América in penalties to move onto Leagues Cup semifinal

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    Why not the Colorado Rapids?

    The Rapids have spent the Leagues Cup wondering how much magic was stored in their reserves. Saturday night against Club América in the quarterfinal, every last drop was required.

    Tense at every touch of the ball and turn of the feet, the Rapids somehow held on against Liga MX giants — and arguably the best team on the continent — Club América. Colorado held them scoreless, then beat them in penalties, 9-8, to move onto a semifinal date with LAFC.

    Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen once again came up huge for the Rapids in penalties. After forward Rafael Navarro missed his team’s third penalty and América not yet missing, Steffen had to come up with an enormous save on the last of five penalties to send the shootout to sudden death.

    All four of each team’s next shooters stepped up and scored, including one by América that bounced off the post, ricocheted off of a diving Steffen’s head, then right back in the net. Last up were the goalies: América’s Luis Malagon and big-game Steffen. Steffen sent Malagon the wrong way; Malagon painted the grass outside of the left post.

    Ball game.

    That late in the order, Rapids coach Chris Armas said the next penalty-taker would be decided by who wanted it more. Defender Lalas Abubakar was halfway done with the long walk from midfield to the spot for the Rapids’ 10th penalty of the night. Steffen, who admitted to having to overcome mental and confidence struggles this year, waved Abubakar off.

    He wanted it more.

    “At one point, there were a lot of critics out there about Zack Steffen, but what I’ve gotten to see on the inside of our locker room and on the pitch is a professional, top talent,” Armas said. “He’s a real man on the pitch and he’s a leader, leads by example. He’s everything we want the Colorado Rapids to be about: quality, aggressive, humble.

    “Another day in the office for Zack Steffen.”

    In regulation, the match felt much like last Tuesday’s jaw-clenching win over Deportivo Toluca, sans the ball hitting the back of the net.

    The best first-half chance for the Rapids was in the 44th minute, when midfielder Cole Bassett made a nice move at the top of the box to free up space for a finesse shot to the bottom right corner which went just wide.

    In the second half, the Rapids’ best chance came from winger Calvin Harris after midfielder Djordje Mihailovic glanced a header to a streaking Harris down the middle. Harris took a long distance shot which Malagon had to save. That went down as the Rapids’ lone shot on goal all night.

    América, like Toluca, shot 21 times (four on goal). The possession wasn’t as one-sided as it was four days ago, but América still led in that category, 58% to 42%.

    The Rapids were forced into uncomfortable possession for long stretches of the game as América sat in a compact defense, not allowing for any easy build-up play or transition moments.

    Defensively, the Rapids suffered. Bent, but didn’t break. Lots of talk around the club over the past week has been around being able to come out on top of games in which they suffer.

    For Armas, that mentality has been forged from day one. As the stakes get bigger and the suffering gets worse, the feeling of advancing gets stronger.

    “I think it’s rare that you get to be a part of groups that are really team first, all about the team, who run for each other, suffer together,” Armas said. “They win together, they lose together, they are together. I try to remind them that it’s rare and you’ve got to keep fighting for it and appreciate it (in real time). It’s pure joy that only football and sport can do for you.”

    With the win, the Rapids have now beaten four Liga MX teams in a row and have knocked out the last Mexican team left in the tournament. Before this tournament, the Rapids had never beaten one in sanctioned play.

    They’ll stay in Los Angeles to face LAFC next Wednesday after it beat the Seattle Sounders, 3-0, earlier on Saturday.

    Perhaps even bigger for the Rapids: advance to the Leagues Cup final or win the third-place game, and they’ll punch their ticket to the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time since 2022.

    Colorado Rapids teammates celebrate as Club America goalkeeper Luis Malagón, bottom right, reacts on the ground after Malagón missed a penalty shot during the penalty shootout of a Leagues Cup quarterfinal soccer match Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)

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    Braidon Nourse

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  • Pádraig Smith on Rafael Navarro signing with Rapids through 2027: “This kid’s the full package”

    Pádraig Smith on Rafael Navarro signing with Rapids through 2027: “This kid’s the full package”

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    The way the Colorado Rapids celebrated last Saturday after Rafael Navarro scored his 11th goal of the season said it all.

    The one-touch laser to the far post in second-half stoppage time of a 4-1 win over CF Montréal garnered wide smiles — even wider than the one usually on Navarro’s face — and a group hug.

    In the back of their minds, his teammates and coach Chris Armas knew a permanent signing was on the horizon. Wednesday, pen was put to paper, and Navarro will remain in burgundy through 2027 with an option for 2028.

    “That (celebration) spoke volumes to how he’s liked in the locker room,” Rapids president Pádraig Smith told The Denver Post.

    Navarro has 11 goals in 20 games this season, good for sixth in the MLS this year. His loan period was set to conclude at the end of the month. Now, the 24-year old Brazilian will stay in Commerce City for years to come.

    “I’m very happy to be here,” Navarro told media members after Friday’s training through his translator and Rapids language specialist Andre Hilf. “All three of (Hilf, Armas and Smith) were fundamental for me and for my performance. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be in this situation and wouldn’t be performing the way I’m performing.”

    Like much of the team last season, Navarro got into dangerous spots but only had one goal to show for it through 10 games. But what the organization saw was a goal-dangerous forward who was willing and able to defend, no matter the lows the team saw in its results.

    With a revamped team around him and a coach in Armas who centers game plans around players like Navarro, goal-dangerous turned into goal-scoring in 2024. At one point, he scored in five straight games, one game shy of the franchise record.

    “With Armas’ arrival, the style of play changed a lot and helped me very much,” Navarro said. “The coaching staff has been very supportive of me and has a lot of trust in me. They’ve told me what to do, what’s expected of me, playing inside and outside the box, so that has helped me a lot. I’m very grateful for it.”

    At his position, Navarro is one of the best defenders in the league this year, too.

    According to FBref, he is among the top 20% in a number of defensive metrics. It’s always been a part of Navarro’s game, but it has flourished in the MLS.

    “Back in Brazil, (Palmeiras coach) Abel Ferreira also practiced this style of play, so it helped when I came here and played this style,” Navarro said. “If I’m not scoring goals, I can help the team in other ways, whether it’s defending or anything else, I have to help the team. That’s the way it has to be.”

    For Smith, the decision to pursue a permanent deal wasn’t made the night Navarro scored his 11th, though. It wasn’t when he scored in five games straight.

    Thoughts of keeping him came much earlier. As the deadline came closer, it was only a matter of when, not if, the signing would take place.

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    Braidon Nourse

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  • Rapids working on “taking care of both boxes,” see weaknesses in Austin defense

    Rapids working on “taking care of both boxes,” see weaknesses in Austin defense

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    The Colorado Rapids attacked their off-week by not attacking anything.

    Winger Omir Fernández went home to New York to see his family. Coach Chris Armas, when he wasn’t watching soccer, spent time with his dog.

    Returning to training this week after a week away, both of their tanks are full. With the rejuvenated energy, the week of training leading up to Saturday’s home match against Austin FC will be dedicated to righting the wrongs that led to a four-game winless streak heading into the international break.

    The main focus: Shoring up play in the penalty box on both ends of the field. Those moments led to some disappointing results at the end of May and into June, but Armas says it’s just part of the process of improving as a team.

    “We are becoming the team we want to become. We make young mistakes, but we are a young team,” Armas said. “When I look at it, taking care of both boxes (is important). We think we’re pretty stingy in many ways defensively. Can we get a little more urgent around our own box, stepping into plays and putting out little fires? And then (offensively), can we get a little more ruthless, make an extra pass to score more goals?

    “We’re going to get there. We have a good group.”

    Those sorts of issues have become a killer for the Rapids, whether it’s a matter of execution or just misfortune. Take the most recent game against Vancouver, when the difference between a win and a loss was a curling shot from Fernández that hit the post and went out with the game tied in the 85th minute.

    Six minutes later, Vancouver won the game when Keegan Rosenberry and Sam Vines were a split second late to push the offside line up, keeping Damir Kreilach onside for the game-winner.

    For Fernández, some struggles can be traced to earlier moments in possession that can make or break an attack: the first touch, whether on a long ball or key pass. Either way, he said, it’s just another one of the little actions the Rapids have to perfect in order to swing momentum in their favor moving forward.

    “As much as it doesn’t seem like it in a game, it’s our first touch that can kill or create attacks and that’s one of the small things we’re harping on,” Fernández said. “Small details, at the end of the day, cost us or give us goals and if we get better each game, we’re going to concede less and score more.”

    There’s no better opportunity than a home match after a two-week break, which might mean a little bit more given Austin will likely feature two former Rapids in Gyasi Zardes and Diego Rubio.

    Austin sits two spots and one point ahead of the Rapids in the Western Conference at the halfway point of the season. A win at home against another team jockeying for a middle position in the playoff race would be huge, particularly for a struggling Rapids team.

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    Braidon Nourse

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