The best homegrown player in Colorado Rapids history is close to being dealt to a conference rival.
The club is nearing a deal to send 24-year-old midfielder Cole Bassett to the Portland Timbers for a $2.65 million fee with an additional $1.05 million in conditional add-ons, a source confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday evening. The Rapids will retain a percentage of a transfer if Portland deals him in the future. The Athletic first reported the deal.
The move is an intra-league cash trade, a new mechanism within MLS that no longer has a limit of two inbound and two outbound cash trades per season. The Rapids haven’t been too active in the winter transfer window so far, but have made two key signings and are now finalizing one imposing outbound move. If completed, the transfer will free up a U-22 slot on the roster.
Bassett became the model for what the club’s academy could produce. After spending much of his youth days at Colorado Rush, he joined the Rapids Academy at the U-16/17 level and immediately made an impact, even playing games with the U-23 team (now known as Rapids 2 in MLS NEXT Pro). He signed a first-team contract in 2018, just two weeks after turning 17, making the Littleton native the youngest signing in club history at the time.
Bassett spent seven seasons in Commerce City, made 155 regular-season appearances for the club (128 starts) and scored 31 goals to go with 22 assists.
He got some MLS Best XI buzz in 2024 in former coach Chris Armas’ first year in Colorado, when he played as a box-to-box defensive midfielder. He finished that campaign with career single-season highs of nine goals and seven assists while being in the league’s upper echelon in distance covered.
That same season, he was a late scratch from the 2024 U.S. Olympic squad in France. After being told he was on the roster, U.S. Olympic coach Marko Mitrović changed his mind days before the roster was announced. Bassett responded by recording three goals and three assists in his next four games.
Last season, though, his fit deteriorated and his production slipped. As the talent and system of the roster shifted, Bassett was forced into an uncomfortable position on the wing and couldn’t replicate his efficacy of the year prior. He finished with just three goals and four assists and was vocal all season about his discontent — but also willingness and desire to win — with playing out wide.
And with first-time head coach Matt Wells now at the helm, the change in philosophy may have suited Bassett even less this year than it did last year. One of the splashes the club made earlier this month was a $3 million transfer for pure ball-winning defensive midfielder Hamzat Ojediran.
That price tag alone signals a large role for the Nigerian, but it also indicates the club wants defensive reinforcement at the position, which isn’t naturally the best part of Bassett’s game. The club also spent $2 million in general allocation money on a transfer for CF Montréal winger Dante Sealy, who should start in the season opener.
To put the money from Bassett’s transfer to use, the Rapids still have a couple of holes in the roster to fill, just 25 days from the opener at the Seattle Sounders. Defensively, the roster is stacked with young center-back talent to pair with English veteran Rob Holding and experienced MLS center back Ian Murphy, but one more solid, proven piece could turn that group from good to great.
The same goes for both outside back positions, especially after late-2025 spark plug Rafael Santos’ 2026 option was declined and he signed with St. Louis CITY. Attacking-wise, the club could target a striker to complement Rafael Navarro and Darren Yapi and provide better depth and more tactical flexibility.
Bassett won’t wait long for his return to Colorado — the Rapids’ home opener is against the Timbers on Feb. 28.
Holding a lead with less than five minutes to go, the Colorado Rapids had the playoffs in their hands late Saturday night.
A few minutes later, their season was over — done in by an awkward bounce and rebound that allowed red-hot LAFC to equalize in the 90th minute and dash the Rapids’ hopes of qualifying for the wild card round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
With Real Salt Lake choking away a lead of its own against St. Louis, Colorado would have sealed the No. 9 seed in the west had it held on at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Instead, the 2-all draw kept the Rapids (11-15-8) out of the postseason for the third time in four years and sent them into an offseason filled with uncertainty.
“(It’s) pretty much just the highest highs and the lowest lows,” said forward Darren Yapi, whose 87th-minute header put the Rapids ahead, 2-1. “Scoring that goal, I felt like we were through (to the playoffs) and that we were good, and then, you know, they responded. I can’t even process it right now.”
LAFC substitute Andrew Moran tied the game up in the 90th minute after a shot ricocheted off the post straight to his boot. Son Heung-Min opened the scoring with a rocket in the first half, then Paxten Aaronson opened his Rapids account to equalize in the 62nd minute.
No team has found a solution to Son and Denis Bouanga’s reign of terror since the South Korean icon’s arrival for a league-record transfer fee 10 games ago. But to the Rapids’ credit, both were relatively neutralized aside from Son’s stunner. They’ve done that to plenty of striking powers, especially at DSGP, but it didn’t protect them from the final few minutes, when the mood of the team swung as much as it possibly could have.
That’s been a theme of the 2025 Rapids. Coach Chris Armas and numerous players preached their rule of thumb that mentally, they don’t get too high or too low. According to Cole Bassett, that gets difficult when it seems like peaks and valleys are all that exist.
“It hits a little bit more once the season is over and you know you’re probably not playing a game for three months. That’s tough for all of us to process, and we didn’t want to go out this way,” Bassett said. “I think throughout the season, you definitely need to stay even-keeled, but there’s definitely things we can work on from what (Armas) has said throughout the year, because maybe we did get too high or too low in moments and that cost us games.”
Another core principle of this season has been uncertainty and turbulence, which is now carrying through to the offseason.
Just this summer, Chidozie Awaziem requested a transfer to France for personal reasons, then the club’s talisman, Djordje Mihailovic, demanded a trade to Toronto near the end of the window. Replacements came in for both, but their efficacy in those roles is still to be determined with just a few games under their belt.
The biggest question, though, is whether Armas will be at the helm to see that through.
The head coach didn’t directly respond when asked about his future with the club, but club president Pádraig Smith said multiple times this season that an extension was on the way. As recently as a few weeks ago, Armas said he wanted to stay in Colorado, and after Saturday’s match, he spoke about the team’s future while implying he’d be a part of it.
“It’s fresh, the season just ended,” Armas said. “We’ll have discussions with leadership and continue some discussions. That’s all I can say for now.”
Given the Rapids players’ admiration of Armas and the simultaneous freefall out of the playoff picture, it’s tough to decipher which direction the club will take.
Confidence isn’t exactly surging in Commerce City.
Entering the final two-game stretch of the MLS regular season, the Colorado Rapids are looking over their shoulder as they hit the straightaway of a marathon that began back in February.
Closing in behind them is Real Salt Lake, which hosts the Rapids at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the Rocky Mountain Cup finale in Sandy, Utah. Two weeks later, the Rapids close the season at home against the league’s current best attacking duo in Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min, who have scored LAFC’s last 18 goals in the eight games since Son joined the club.
RSL, currently just three points back from the Rapids in 11th place in the Western Conference, has two things going for it: Momentum with a 3-1 win over sixth-place Austin last Saturday, and a knack for burying the Rapids at America First Field. Not to mention Colorado’s dismal road form as of late.
A positive: The Rapids have beaten RSL this year already. That was back in May, when Djordje Mihailovic struck in the 70th minute for the game’s only tally. They had also been on a bad run of form away from home leading up to that match, going 0-3-1 in their previous four games.
A little extra motivation: The Rapids could walk away with their second straight Rocky Mountain Cup with a win, draw or one-goal loss. The trophy, however inconsequential in the big picture, is taken seriously by the club.
“It’s a two-for-one. I mean, it’s got all the reasons to win the game. The Rocky Mountain Cup is for our fans, so for us it’s one of the most important things,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “Every time there’s a trophy on the line, we want to be playing for that and put ourselves in that spot. You win that game, it puts you three points closer to the playoffs, gets us the Rocky Mountain Cup. It’s 100 out of 100 important to make the playoffs; same time, lifting that trophy would be huge for our fans.”
The Rapids looked good post-Leagues Cup after Mihailovic forced his way out of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in August, nabbing three points on the road against a top-3 Western Conference team in Minnesota United. Since then, they’ve collected seven points in six games, a stretch that could have yielded at least 10 points, and arguably more.
That said, the Rapids do still have an ounce of control left in regard to securing an MLS playoff spot, mostly thanks to the West’s middle of the pack cannibalizing itself week after week. Mathematically, Colorado gets in with two wins.
But when asked if the Rapids are up for that sort of mental challenge, goalkeeper Zack Steffen didn’t offer much certainty.
“I have no idea. We’ll see come Saturday,” Steffen said after training on Tuesday. “All we can do is push every day in training, and when the game comes, give it our best.”
Over the past month and a half, Colorado’s best has been beating Houston via a last-minute own goal and grinding out a draw against Minnesota, both at home. It’s been much worse on the road, where the Rapids have been outscored 10-3 in three straight multi-goal losses to teams still below them in the standings.
“We’re one of the teams in MLS that scores first more than (most teams) on the road, which seems like a positive, but maybe that doesn’t help us,” Armas said. “I think from set pieces to concentration, to the way we start games and finish games, substitutions, it’s really not one thing, I promise you. But I know the team steps on the pitch with a good mentality. Otherwise, we’re not getting lucky on the road with leads.”
Two wins and a lot of help could place them as high as sixth, but they could easily tumble out of the playoff picture entirely. But all likelihood suggests they’ll stay in that 8-9 play-in game spot.
That rests on getting at least a draw in Utah. If LAFC has a higher seed to play for on Decision Day, Bouanga and Son may slam the playoff door shut.
The Colorado Rapids live to fight another matchday, but seemingly just barely.
A 1-all home draw to Minnesota on Saturday night felt like a must-win, despite the Rapids starting the night in a playoff spot. A loss would have been detrimental to holding onto that position, but every point in the standings is crucial at this stage.
Rafael Santos opened his Rapids account with a 45+1st minute free kick for his fourth goal contribution in as many starts for the club. From 20 yards out and two yards right of the center of the goal, Santos drilled a lefty shot around Minnesota’s wall and into the opposite side netting past Dayne St. Clair.
Santos, acquired from Orlando City for a measly $125,000 in General Allocation Money in August, has been clinical at left back in a short span. Though there have been times his defending has been questionable in transition, his offensive output is already the best this team has seen in years at outside back.
And the production doesn’t end at contribution to scoring. He’s taking most set pieces — free kicks and corner kicks — in the absence of the steadfast Djordje Mihailovic at the role. An assist and a goal have come directly from him taking free kicks.
His acquisition was described as a competition piece for Sam Vines, who plays similarly to Santos, but it doesn’t seem like much of a race for position anymore. Still, Vines subbed on in the final 10 minutes to get at least some run. But his playing time has slowly diminished as Santos continues to break out.
Minnesota equalized in the 65th minute via a rocket by midfielder Nectarios Triantis. A deflection bounced kindly to Triantis, enough to blast a shot from 25 yards out past a diving Zack Steffen. In many ways, the goal itself took the wind out of Colorado’s sails, but so did the way the game opened up to a coast-to-coast affair afterward.
The Rapids came inches from a last-kick winner, a Cole Bassett header which St. Clair saved. Neither side could break through for a winner.
Pending other west-coast results, the Rapids are still in eighth, but the gap between the next few teams is that much closer. To Colorado’s detriment, a couple of them still have a game in hand, which makes it feel like the draw means playoff hopes are no longer entirely in the Rapids’ control.
Their final two games are away to rivals Real Salt Lake and a Decision-Day nightmare home matchup against Denis Bouanga’s and Son Heung-Min’s LAFC. That game, if LAFC still has a higher seed to play for, seems insurmountable against that duo of wingers, which alone has scored LAFC’s last 18 goals.
Rafael Santos is already worth the price of admission.
Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.
The left back has three assists in that time span, including one on the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the Houston Dynamo at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The assist itself wasn’t spectacular, but it was smart and required careful execution. On a free kick from striking distance, Santos lined up and postured to take it, but instead dragged it behind him to set up Cole Bassett for a shot on the move. The delicate setup created a path around the wall for Bassett to hit, which he did from about 22 yards out.
The strike was Bassett’s third goal of the season and first since mid-July. It was his 31st all-time for the Rapids, tying him with Chris Henderson for the sixth most in club history.
The Rapids’ winner came in the 90+6th minute, when a corner kick glanced off Paxten Aaronson’s head, then went in off Houston defender Felipe Andrade. All of DSGP thought Aaronson had scored his first goal for his new club, but it was credited as an own goal.
Santos continued his hot start with a pair of impressive crosses later in the first half. Either one could have netted an additional assist.
His signing was done in part to give competition to Sam Vines for the role moving forward with a less-than-impressive campaign from the Homegrown. So far, it’s a landslide at the top of that totem pole.
What impresses about Santos is what has been lacking from Vines. Vines made a name for himself in 2021 running in attacks and whipping in solid crosses, essentially making himself a winger who tracked back to defend. His service has not been the same since returning to the Rapids for the 2024 season.
In that sense, Santos has been a breath of fresh air. Both of those crosses had this in common: They were on time, on target, and hit with speed. The latter could be what benefits this team most.
The Rapids have been built for speed on the flanks, and even their strikers — Rafael Navarro and Darren Yapi — have some pace to them. In certain attacking scenarios, the speedsters put themselves in good spots but couldn’t get good service.
So far, all indications are that Santos could be that weapon. On both occasions Saturday night, a recipient got a foot to the ball but was a half step too late.
Jack McGlynn tied it up for Houston in the 68th minute with as easy a goal as he may ever score. Lawrence Ennali, who had been in a physical battle with right back Reggie Cannon for the first 15 minutes of the second half, beat Cannon to the touch line and lofted a cross to the back post. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen couldn’t jump high enough to snuff it out, then McGlynn flew in unmarked and tucked it into a wide-open net from close distance.
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.
The first came in the 50th minute when Gabriel Pec beat Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø in a footrace and looked to have mishit a shot, but it trickled past Zack Steffen’s trailing foot anyway. Nine minutes later, Galaxy star Riqui Puig had the ball in a favorable two-on-one, cut inside and tucked it to the far corner.
Puig doubled his deposit and the Galaxy’s lead in the 90+1st minute.
And for the first time this season, the Rapids lost at home directly after a road loss. Prior to Wednesday night, the Rapids won four such matches and drew two.
The Rapids will need points this Saturday to keep hope of a home playoff advantage alive against the Seattle Sounders. The match will kick off at DSGP at 7:30 p.m.
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.)
If not for Rafael Navarro’s first goal in eight games in the last minute of second-half stoppage time, the Colorado Rapids’ exit from Leagues Cup would have rested on a lengthy, controversial reversal of an offside call. Instead, the Rapids won in penalties, 4-3, after a 1-all tie in regulation.
At first glance, Club León’s Iván Moreno was called offside in the buildup of a play on a breakaway. Rapids keeper Zack Steffen saved Moreno’s 1-on-1 shot, but the ball bounced off the post and onto Edgar Guerra’s feet for an easy tap-in in the 79th minute.
A lengthy VAR review took place when the linesman’s flag went up. The crowd of 13,644 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park groaned in disagreement when the offside was overturned. The noise grew much louder when the replay was shown on the video board.
In order for an offsides call to be overturned, the error in judgment must be clear and obvious. Midfielder Cole Bassett stuck around referee Julio Luna during the nearly five-minute VAR review, but couldn’t get an explanation out of him for the duration.
“(Luna) did not say much, to be honest. Looking back, I don’t think it was (clear and obvious),” Bassett said. “But they made that decision, we had to respond to it afterwards and we all looked at each other and said ‘10 minutes’ and we went up from there.”
Then Navarro struck in the 90+7th minute when Bassett found Keegan Rosenberry, who flicked the ball onto a wide open Navarro for a tap-in header. The goal was Navarro’s first in eight matches across all competitions and the first since he signed a permanent deal to the Rapids.
Then after missing his previous three penalty attempts this season, he buried his try in the penalty shootout after regulation ended scoreless.
“It was a very tense moment and you have to be very calm in those moments,” Navarro said through Rapids language specialist Andre Hilf. “Everybody has supported me, so getting there, to be able to take the PK and working towards that has been special.”
Leagues Cup rules force penalty kicks if the score is tied after regulation. And with a spot in the round of 32 on the line, Djordje Mihailovic came up big with the Rapids’ first goal of the shootout in his first match back from the Olympics in Paris. Bassett, Navarro and Moïse Bombito all made their attempts while Andreas Maxsø missed his.
Steffen came up with the shootout’s first save on Leon’s third attempt and won it with another save on León’s final attempt. With six saves in regulation, Steffen was easily the Rapids’ best player of the night.
Rapids coach Chris Armas praised the keeper for the way he stepped up in the moment. For Steffen, an all-around night of that nature was much needed.
“It’s been an up-and-down year for myself, so it feels good,” Steffen said. “It gives me confidence to just keep going.”
The Rapids will play against FC Juarez in the round of 32 on Friday after being stunned by Portland by a score of 4-0 last Thursday. In the tournament’s second iteration, this will be the Rapids’ first time in the knockout stages.
For Armas, the preparation for the match will be more about his own squad’s recovery than it will be about scouting Juarez. The one thing he’d change about the way his team played against León will certainly require the extra rest.
“The thing I’m asking for is tempo to start with, tempo to play with on the front foot and to be very proactive in all phases,” Armas said. “We’ll look to see if there are tendencies or any similarities with Juarez and León, but it’s mostly going to be about us recovering, figuring out our lineup and how we want to get a tactical plan ready.”
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.
“We felt very early on that Rafa was a player we wanted to keep on the team,” Smith said. “We knew he was a good fit culturally, we had seen that last year. That was further confirmed right from the beginning of preseason this year.
“Once he got on his run, it was like, ‘Look, this kid’s the full package.’ He’s just turned 24 years of age, so there’s still a lot of room for growth. He does everything we want from our possessions and everything we want from a character perspective. He’s a culture fit, works hard against the ball and can score goals at the MLS level. That’s a great package for us.”
Navarro said his personal goal for down the line is to win the Golden Boot in the MLS. In a normal year, he’d be on pace to do so, but 2024 has been far from it. Navarro’s 11 goals has him in sixth, five behind Real Salt Lake’s Cristian Arango, who leads the league with 16 goals just more than halfway through the season.
In the team’s future, Navarro has MLS Cup aspirations in mind. But now that he’s a permanent Rapid, his first test on the job will be a tough road match against LAFC this Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
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.
The Rapids have the personnel and tactical prowess to exploit some of Austin’s glaring defensive weaknesses. In a lopsided 5-1 loss to Real Salt Lake, Austin struggled against a high press and speedy wingers finding space in behind the defense.
Both those things are Armas-ball specialties. Fernández is well aware of it.
“I’m going to try to unbalance them as much as I can with my runs and obviously I’m a player who likes combinations, so mixing a little bit of both,” Fernández said. “They’re strong defending on the ball and they’re kind of weak in behind, so I have to mix it up and just keep playing my game.”
The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday.
The curtain has come down on the 2022 MLS regular season, with 14 teams now preparing to contest the MLS Cup playoffs and another 14 waiting to watch them from home. There will be sides in both of those camps that likely are surprised to find themselves in the positions they occupy, for better or worse; such has been the unpredictable-as-ever nature of this campaign.
Few could’ve predicted Austin FC would be near the top of the Western Conference after a ho-hum inaugural season, while the New England Revolution following up a record-setting 2021 by missing the playoffs would’ve been met with similarly long odds eight months ago. That LAFC and the Philadelphia Union fought over the Supporters’ Shield all season, that was perhaps less surprising.
To definitively explain how these teams performed in 2022, ESPN asked Jeff Carlisle, Kyle Bonagura, Bill Connelly, Cesar Hernandez and Austin Lindberg to think back to the start of the year, consider each team’s expectations and deliver a final letter grade for all 28 sides.
Record: 10W-10D-14L Standing: 40 points, 11th in the East Grade: F
Based on points, Atlanta wasn’t the worst team in MLS, but considering the fact that its payroll of $21 million was the highest in MLS, combined with the fact that it finished 23rd out of 28 teams in the full league table, a failing grade is appropriate.
Sure, the numbers provided by the MLSPA don’t paint a complete picture. Season-ending injuries to the likes of defender Miles Robinson, midfielder Ozzie Alonso and goalkeeper Brad Guzan didn’t help. Neither did the continued drama surrounding striker Josef Martinez, but there was still enough talent on this team to at least get into the playoffs, and the Five Stripes didn’t get it done. The 2023 campaign is shaping up to be a put up or shut up year for manager Gonzalo Pineda. — Carlisle
Record: 16W-8D-10L Standing: 56 points, 2nd in West Grade: A-
FiveThirtyEight gave them a 31% chance of making the playoffs before the season and listed them as one of six teams with a less than 1% chance of winning the MLS Cup. But their early play was so strong that they had all but locked up a playoff spot by July, and now only LAFC, Philadelphia and Montreal have demonstrably better title odds.
They wobbled over the final month, losing five of their last 10, and we’ll see what legs they have left for the playoffs, especially in defense. But they’re here. Sebastian Driussi finished with 22 goals and seven assists in a possible MVP season, Diego Fagundez had six goals and 15 assists, and all in all, Austin FC enjoyed a miraculous second season. — Connelly
Record: 13W-3D-18L Standing: 42 points, 9th in East Grade: B+
They were top-3 in attendance, and thanks to a late hot streak they weren’t eliminated from the playoff race until the final week of their debut season. (And they pulled that off with an interim coach, Christian Lattanzio leading the way for more than half the season.) That is a success story in and of itself.
In the end, they just didn’t have enough firepower. They were 21st in goals scored — only Karol Swiderski hit double digits for the season — and opponents attempted far more shots than they did. But you can see the makings of a proper possession club here, and it will be interesting to see how they attempt to build on that this coming offseason. — Connelly
Record: 10W-9D-15L Standing: 39 points, 12th in East Grade: C-
There was a significant amount to feel positive about in the Windy City in 2022. Xherdan Shaqiri accumulated 18 direct goal contributions in his first season in the league, 18-year-old Gabriel Slonina emerged as one of the brightest goalkeeping prospects in recent memory (and subsequently sealed a transfer to Chelsea in the process), and 18-year-old forward Jhon Duran‘s debut campaign was so impressive (eight goals and three assists in just 1,274 minutes) that he earned a senior call-up with Colombia.
And yet, despite all that momentum, the Fire still finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated from playoff contention with two matchdays left in the regular season. If Chicago’s reward for their promise in 2022 is the transfer fee generated by Slonina’s exit (and potentially Duran’s, too, with Chelsea and Liverpool credited with interest), then it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the club is facing another season of rebuilding in 2023. — Lindberg
Record: 12W-13D-9L Standing: 49 points, 5th in East Grade: A+
Qualifying for the playoffs for the very first time after spending the previous three seasons with the worst record in MLS? Not bad from FCC. It took until Decision Day and a result over bottom-of-the-table D.C. United, but Cincinnati made a statement with a 5-2 victory in the final weekend of the regular season.
The rebuild project under general manager Chris Albright and head coach Pat Noonan has undoubtedly been a success in 2022. They may not last long in the playoffs with their fragile defense, but they’ll be fun to watch if attack-minded players such as Brandon Vazquez, Luciano Acosta and Brenner continue to step up. — Hernandez
Record: 11W-10D-13L Standing: 43 points, 10th in West Grade: C-
A year after topping the Western Conference with 61 points, the Rapids swiftly fell back into obscurity. Only one team in the conference (San Jose) allowed more than the 57 goals conceded by Colorado, which gave up just 35 a year ago.
At the most basic level, the regression is easy to understand. Over the last year-plus, the Rapids have lost midfielders Kellyn Acosta and Cole Bassett and defenders Sam Vines and Auston Trusty without coming close to replacing them with players at the same level. The most high-profile acquisition was striker Gyasi Zardes, who in 26 matches scored nine goals. However, the Rapids won just twice in his first 11 appearances, which derailed the season by the middle of the summer. — Bonagura
Record: 10W-16D-8L Standing: 46 points, 8th in East Grade: C-
Is this a good time to bring up the fact that head coach Caleb Porter said, “I’d bet my house” on Columbus making the playoffs?
Needing at least a tie on Decision Day to earn a playoff spot after failing to qualify last year, the Crew tripped over themselves once again through a 2-1 loss to Orlando. The defeat, which featured a second half game winner for Orlando from Facundo Torres, felt indicative of a Columbus squad that has become accustomed to closing out games all season.
Questions will need to be answered by Porter, who often found himself stuck in draws and narrow results. Over the past year, it’s difficult to say that much progress has been made by the players or the coach. — Hernandez
Record: 7W-6D-21L Standing: 27 points, 14th in East Grade: F
The District was a case study in Murphy’s Law in 2022. Paul Arriola was transferred to Dallas, where he enjoyed a career year; Julian Gressel was shipped to Vancouver, where his rate of a direct goal contribution every 346 minutes was slashed to one every 220; manager Hernan Losada was fired; new coach Wayne Rooney finished the year with a 2W-3D-8L record; and star forward Taxi Fountas is being investigated for using a racial slur in a loss to Miami last month.
This was a season when D.C. were meant to establish themselves as postseason contenders. Little more than seven months after the campaign began, it’s hard to name a club further away from contention. — Lindberg
Record: 14W-11D-9L Standing: 53 points, 3rd in West Grade: B+
In his first season with the club, manager Nico Estevez has been decisive in the efforts that have helped Dallas return to the playoffs after missing out in 2021. With only 37 goals allowed all season and important saves from Maarten Paes, Dallas’ defensive prowess was influential in their top-third finish in the Western Conference table.
Which isn’t to say that their frontline should be ignored. Twenty-one-year-old USMNT striker Jesus Ferreira was one of the best in the league with his 18 goals and six assists. In support, others such as Paul Arriola, Alan Velasco and Sebastian Lletget also stepped up in crucial moments. — Hernandez
Record: 10W-6D-18L Standing: 36 points, 13th in West Grade: D
The growing pains of a new era? Even with majority owner Ted Segal taking charge since 2021 through front-office hirings (including a first-ever role for a technical director) and the marquee signing of Mexican international Hector Herrera, nobody was able to halt a dismal run of form that led to a failure to qualify for the playoffs and the firing of head coach Paulo Nagamura.
Nagamura’s replacement will be tasked with not only finding the right combination to work with Herrera, but also reviving a team that hasn’t earned a playoff invitation since 2017.
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 6th in East Grade: B
Inter woke up! After finishing 10th and 11th in the East, respectively, in their first two seasons of existence, Phil Neville’s squad looked well on the way to making it three straight playoff-free years before turning on the jets. After August 1, they generated more points than any MLS team besides Montreal, nearly succumbing to a late-August funk but rallying — thanks in part to one last hot streak from retiring striker Gonzalo Higuain — to snare the No. 6 seed in the Eastern playoffs.
This is neither a young nor particularly creative team, but making the postseason was the goal and they did so. — Connelly
Record: 21W-4D-9L Standing: 67 points, 1st in West Grade: A
After compiling an 18-4-3 record, LAFC’s procession to the Supporters’ Shield took a minor detour at one point. But a 1-4-1 stretch run raised all kinds of questions, such as if adding the likes of Gareth Bale, Denis Bouanga and Giorgio Chiellini might have unsettled the squad with the playoffs approaching. Philadelphia, all of a sudden, was in with a shout of catching the Black-and-Gold, but timely wins against Houston and Portland allowed LAFC to finish with a kick and claim the Shield.
Considering that this side missed the playoffs last year and underwent a considerable overhaul in terms of personnel, it’s an impressive accomplishment for the club and first-year manager Steve Cherundolo. Now the MLS Cup beckons. — Carlisle
Record: 14W-8D-12L Standing: 50 points, 4th in West Grade: B
What a second half of the year for the Galaxy. At the All-Star break point, they were floundering in ninth place in the Western Conference, with the postseason not worth discussing. Since then, the conversation has changed. Los Angeles rose all the way to fourth in the conference to earn a home playoff game (Nashville, Oct. 15) and are very much among the contenders to win the whole thing.
A lot of that turnaround has be credited to the acquisition of Riqui Puig. In his 10 appearances (9 starts), the Galaxy is 4-5-1 and he contributed eight goal contributions (3 goals, 5 assists). In the 22 games prior to Puig’s arrival this season, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had 11 goal contributions (10 goals, 1 assist) and averaged 0.5 goals per 90 minutes. In the 10 games after Puig arrived, Chicharito’s production took off. He averaged 0.91 goals per 90 minutes and had nearly as many goal contributions (8 goals, 1 assist) in fewer than half as many games. — Bonagura
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 6th in West Grade: B-
There was no more up-and-down team in MLS in 2022 than the Loons. From May to the end of June, Minnesota lost seven of 10 games — including a U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 defeat to third-tier Union Omaha — before following that up with a stretch of nine wins in their next 12, only to finish the campaign by losing five of their last seven. In the end, this was a team that did just enough to sneak into the playoffs.
Injuries undoubtedly played a role: Hassani Dotson played 630 minutes before he was lost for the season to a torn ACL, Romain Metanire featured for just 22 minutes as he rehabbed a series of hamstring injuries, and Bakaye Dibassy missed the final seven matches of the season (and won’t be available for the playoffs) after suffering a ruptured quadriceps tendon. However, the Loons had the fourth-oldest squad in MLS in 2022, and their young players have done little to suggest they’re ready to take this team to the next level. — Lindberg
Record: 20W-5D-9L Standing: 65 points, 2nd in East Grade: A
Behold, the power of continuity. Montreal came into 2022 having missed the (full-season) playoffs every year since 2016 and only made a couple of real offseason moves (and kept manager Wilfried Nancy), but they enter the playoffs with the East’s No. 2 seed and the third-best title odds thanks to a couple of prolific veterans (Romell Quioto and Kei Kamara combined for 24 goals and 13 assists) and a breakout season for 2021 addition Djordje Mihailovic (nine goals and six assists from 57 chances created).
In short, their front office was patient, and the patience paid off. — Connelly
Record: 13W-11D-10L Standing: 50 points, 5th in West Grade: C+
After finishing third in the West in 2021, Nashville flirted seriously with the idea of missing the playoffs, but what they lacked in general watchability – it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that every Nashville match this year was a 1-1 draw — they made up for in resilience. A six-match unbeaten streak in August and September assured them of a fifth playoff bid in five tries. Still, the defense grew leakier and the team got older, and they will head into the offseason with more questions than they had a year ago.
Unless there’s a deep playoff run coming, this season was a step backward. — Connelly
Record: 10W-12D-12L Standing: 42 points, 10th in East Grade: F
We’ll let head coach Bruce Arena summarize the 2022 season for the Revs: “I’m not going to miss it.”
One year after setting MLS’ single-season points record and lifting their first-ever Supporters’ Shield, New England faltered in 2022 with a spot outside of the playoffs and a dramatic collapse in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. Although the expectation wasn’t to hit the same heights of 2021 (especially with the exits of Tajon Buchanan, Matt Turner and Adam Buksa to Europe), qualifying for the playoffs was the minimum goal.
Things didn’t go as planned either through injuries and the additions of veterans such as Sebastian Lletget, Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez. Over the summer, Lletget was transferred to FC Dallas, while Altidore went on loan to Liga MX’s Puebla. As for Gonzalez, he was never able to establish a starting role. — Hernandez
Record: 16W-7D-11L Standing: 55 points, 3rd in East Grade: C+
As June beckoned, the reigning MLS Cup champions seemed to be making a solid push toward a repeat. On June 1, NYCFC was actually a point ahead of Philly, but then manager Ronny Deila left for Standard Liege, reigning Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos was loaned to Girona, and things began to go wobbly They’ve gone just 7-7-5 since. Not awful, but not great either, and NYCCFC seemed to lose the high-pressing ethos that Deila instituted.
A three-game winning streak to end the season hints that things are improving under Nick Cushing, but the playoffs will be the ultimate judge of NYCFC’s season. — Carlisle
Record: 15W-8D-11L Standing: 53 points, 4th in East Grade: B+
The Red Bulls needed goals in 2022 if they were to have any chance of returning to their status as consistent Eastern Conference contenders. Striker Patryk Klimala registered just five this year, falling short of the impact expected of the Young DP signing from Celtic, but Lewis Morgan has been a revelation in New York, scoring 14 times in league play from the wing since his big-money arrival from Inter Miami in the offseason. As such, the Red Bulls saw their goals-for record improve from just 39 in 2021 (only three teams in the conference were worse) to 48 this season (sixth best).
This is a much improved team over last year, as evidenced by earning a Round One playoff contest at home, and Morgan’s emergence has a lot to do with that. Just imagine how dangerous Gerhard Struber’s side would be with some genuine productivity from the No. 9 position. — Lindberg
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 7th in East Grade: C+
The Lions remain one of the league’s enigmas. They broke through to win the U.S. Open Cup and also snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the season. Given that success and failure is largely playoff qualification-based, the tendency will be to look at the season as a positive. But looked at another way, Orlando finished seventh in a 14-team conference, basically midtable.
Given the money spent on the likes of Facundo Torres and Ivan Angulo, more was expected of an attack that ranked tied for 21st in the league with 44 goals scored. The minus-9 goal differential speaks to a lack of consistency on the defensive side of the ball as well. With a playoff spot secure, Oscar Pareja looks set to continue as manager, but plenty of questions need to be asked in terms of addressing the team’s weaknesses during the offseason. — Carlisle
Record: 19W-10D-5L Standing: 67 points, 1st in East Grade: A
The Union finished the year level on points with LAFC and only lost out on winning the Supporters’ Shield by virtue of having two fewer wins. From another vantage point, it’s easy to make the case the Union were the most dominant team in the league this year and had one of the best regular seasons in league history.
Their plus-46 goal differential was 18 better than LAFC this year and stands as the second-best mark in MLS history, behind only LAFC in 2019 (48). They led the league in goals scored (72), had the fewest goals conceded (26) and were the only team in the league to go unbeaten at home. Daniel Gazdag (22 goals) finished one shy of the Golden Boot and combined with Julian Carranza (14 goals) to finish as the top goal-scoring duo (tied with FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez and Brenner).
For all the Union accomplished, though, the only way to ensure a lasting place in history is to add an MLS Cup-size exclamation point. — Bonagura
Record: 11W-13D-10L Standing: 46 points, 8th in West Grade: D+
The Portland Timbers’ prominent role in Sally Yates’ report into systemic abuse in women’s soccer has deservedly overshadowed anything the team has done on the field in recent weeks. Not that there was much on the field to write home about: All Portland needed on Decision Day was a point against Real Salt Lake to ensure a place in the postseason. Instead, they came out disinterested and were outplayed in a 3-1 loss that saw the host jump out to a 3-0 lead before a late consolation goal.
It sets up an offseason in which the most important questions will be asked about Merritt Paulson’s future as owner, rather than how the Timbers will rebuild following a rare playoff miss. — Bonagura
Record: 12W-11D-11L Standing: 47 points, 7th in West Grade: C+
Let’s make sense of this: RSL lost longtime designated player Albert Rusnak in the offseason to Seattle and star midfielder Damir Kreilach appeared in just five games due to injury. Yet, the club still finished in seventh place, the same spot it did the prior season when it made a run to the Western Conference finals.
RSL beat Portland 3-1 on Decision Day to earn the final playoff spot and while that’s not exactly a conventional formula for postseason success, last year’s run should inspire some confidence that lightning can be captured in a bottle once again. No other playoff team scored fewer goals than Salt Lake, which outscored only four teams during the regular season. RSL also managed only 16 goals on the road, which doesn’t bode well for its trip to Austin, an offensive juggernaut. — Bonagura
Record: 8W-11D-15L Standing: 35 points, 14th in West Grade: D
The decision to keep Matias Almeyda as manager to start the season still looms large, though the 1.32 points per game the team has earned under Alex Covelo since then reveals that this side was always a borderline playoff team at best. A defense that conceded a whopping 67 goals, worst in the league, made it was even more of an uphill climb. Now this is new manager Luchi Gonzalez’s problem.
A trio of defenders — Carlos Akapo, Rodrigues and Miguel Trauco — have been brought in to start the defensive rebuild, but there’s frankly not enough data yet to determine if it will work. A space-covering holding midfielder is still needed. The attack looks in good shape with Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza and Jamiro Monteiro. Cade Cowell has promise, as does 17-year-old Niko Tsakiris, but 2023 has the makings of another “trying to sneak into playoffs vibe.” — Carlisle
play
1:44
Herculez Gomez debates which team has had the worst MLS season out of Atlanta and Seattle.
Record: 12W-5D-17L Standing: 41 points, 11th in West Grade: C-
This grade very much takes into consideration that the Sounders claimed the CONCACAF Champions League. It was the first time in two decades that an MLS side reached the continental promised land, and the first since a home-and-away was used in the knockout rounds, but Seattle paid for it in the long run.
Joao Paulo went down in the CCL final with a torn ACL. His replacement, Obed Vargas, later suffered a long-term back injury as well. Emotional leader Cristian Roldan underwent surgery, and influential forward Raul Ruidiaz logged just 1,306 league minutes. And so it went. The Sounders could never quite get going and failed to make the postseason for the first time in 14 seasons.
Now the question looms large: Can Seattle rebound? The roster seems locked up for next year too, with its complement of DPs already in place. It will amount to a tricky job for president of soccer Garth Lagerwey and manager Brian Schmetzer. That said, if everyone can just heal up, the talent is definitely there. — Carlisle
Record: 11W-7D-16L Standing: 40 points, 12th in West Grade: D+
Despite having a promising end to the season with just two losses in their last 10 games, very few will be content with how 2022 went for SKC. Hit by major setbacks through two lengthy injuries for DPs Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda, head coach Peter Vermes and his roster never found much-needed rhythm until August and were subsequently left out of this season’s playoffs.
They have the potential to bounce back in 2023 — keep an eye on goal scorer William Agada next year — but some serious roster questions will need to be asked during the winter offseason. — Hernandez
Record: 9W-7D-18L Standing: 34 points, 13th in East Grade: D
Giving your rivals a five-month head start is rarely a recipe for success, yet that’s essentially what Toronto did in 2022. From the starting XI that opened the season in Dallas, just four names remained in the XI that hosted Miami little more than a week ago. The Reds averaged a point a game before the secondary transfer window opened, when the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Mark-Anthony Kaye and four others arrived, leaving the team in a position to need a points-per-game pace of 2.27 after the window closed if they were to make it into the playoffs. For context, Supporters’ Shield-winning LAFC averaged 2.03 PPG all season.
Maybe the 2022 season was an acclimation period for new coach Bob Bradley and his stable of star signings, and Toronto will put it all together for an almighty run in 2023. If not, this year’s D grade will look a lot worse. — Lindberg
Record: 12W-7D-15L Standing: 43 points, 9th in West Grade: D+
The Caps were six points worse off in 2022 than they were in 2021, when they made a surprise run to the MLS Cup playoffs. They also scored five fewer goals — the third-worst goals-for metric in the league — despite having another season to work together while adding coveted wide creator Julian Gressel.
There is an argument to be made that Vancouver even being in the playoff conversation on Decision Day was a mirage. Only Wooden Spoon winners D.C. United boasted a worse goal differential than the Whitecaps’ minus-17. It’s another offseason of “back to the drawing board” in British Columbia. — Lindberg
