If the Matt Wells era of the Colorado Rapids is truly about dictating games instead of reacting to them, Sunday’s season opener at the Seattle Sounders will offer an immediate test.
Thatap because Seattle has a proven track record of controlling games, compared to the Rapids’ brief time trying to learn how. The reigning Leagues Cup-champion and have not lost to the Rapids since May 2022.
While that streak might not end on Sunday night, this early battle should still be revealing. Wells wants the ball as early and often as possible to control games, but it will be a struggle against one of the league’s best at keeping possession, especially in one of the hardest stadiums to play in. Last season, the Sounders ranked seventh in possession at 53.3%.
“We’re going to go there and try and dominate with our football. We’ve played some top teams in this preseason, and every game we’ve had the same intention,” Wells said. “We vary in success, but we’ll go there with the same intention. Every time they have the ball, we’ll try to press because we want the ball. And then when we have the ball, we try to dominate, try to create chances.”
How possession and control pan out will rely on the midfield, which is both team’s deepest position group by far. Seattle’s group looks much the same outside of an outbound transfer for 20-year-old Obed Vargas and a free-agent signing of former Minnesota United midfielder Hassani Dotson. Other than that, Seattle’s midfield includes talisman Cristian Roldan and Designated Player Albert Rusnák with Paul Arriola likely to come off the bench — as good as a group gets in MLS.
Colorado’s group is young and unproven, but hungry. Former Sounder Josh Atencio could start for the first time at his old stadium in the defensive midfield alongside new 22-year-old signing Hamzat Ojediran. Club-record signing Paxten Aaronson will operate the attacking midfield in some capacity.
If the Rapids are overwhelmed, the result may look the same as season openers in the recent past. But if they — and the midfield particularly — can take control of the game, even briefly, it would mark early signs that the opening stages of this revamp is about more than just Wells saying the right things.
In the grand scheme of the turnaround, Wells has preached patience, but Seattle rarely allows it. Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 7:15, won’t define the Rapids season, but will hint at how much the team actually understands — and can execute — Wells’ game model.
