The soccer gods looked down on Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and teased the hundreds of Colorado Springs Switchbacks fans who trekked up I-25 to Commerce City.
The Switchbacks, who compete in the second-tier USL Championship and put a 3-0 beatdown on MLS’s Sporting Kansas City in the previous round a couple of weeks ago, seemed primed to put the Colorado Rapids on the losing end of an upset, something the club knows well over its years.
Knowing there was no video assistant referee in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16, the powers that be toyed with the integrity of the game in extra time as the Colorado Rapids took the lead somewhat controversially with 5 minutes to go, then gave it back up even more questionably in the dying moments.
The game went to penalty kicks and the Rapids won, 2-2 (5-4). They’ll head to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006, the opponent and location to be determined.
VAR would have been helpful on a few occasions, not the least of which being a straight red card to substitute defender Kosi Thompson in the 78th minute. A few minutes beforehand, Switchbacks forward and former Rapids 2 standout Yosuke Hanya unnecessarily pulled Thompson down with no more repercussion than a simple foul. In what felt like retaliation, Thompson leveled Hanya with a slide tackle from behind on a 50-50 ball, taking both himself and Hanya out of the game.
Further, the non-call and subsequent call in the final 5 minutes of the free 30 minutes were monumental in a mostly cagey match. In the 115th minute, Rafael Navarro flicked on an inch-perfect header to Georgi Minoungou, who in real time looked offside but didn’t warrant a call from the linesman. Minoungou finished neatly beyond Switchbacks keeper Christian Herrera to take a 2-1 lead.
Two minutes later, Josh Atencio was called for a handball in the box, trying to block a cross. His hand was raised, but the replay showed the ball hitting his torso more than his hand. Without VAR, the call stood and from the spot, Khori Bennett sent the Trailheads into a frenzy in section 102.
In the shootout, Rapids keeper Nico Hansen made two big saves as the Rapids took seven rounds to get the job done.
“I’ve challenged the guys off the back of (a 3-1 loss to) Vancouver. … We can be stronger as a team, we can be more resolute, we can suffer together,” Rapids coach Matt Wells said after the match. “To see the way the guys did that tonight with 10 men, thatap probably my biggest source of excitement I’ve actually had so far this season because thatap an attribute I still had a few question marks over. Very pleased to see it tonight.”
Before the madness, Navarro set up his first of two assists on the night in the 25th minute: a good, but slightly overhit ball toward the 6-yard box for winger Alexis Manyoma to chase. Looking like he’d lost the race with Herrera, Manyoma somehow got a toe to the ball and poked it past him for the opener.
Brennan Creek equalized in the 34th minute after a corner kick caused some chaos in the box. Garven Metusala tapped it to him and he blasted it past Hansen at the near post from about 4 yards out.
As it had in the previous round against Union Omaha, another USLC team, the lineup Wells conjured gave respect to the opponent. He knows too well from his time at Tottenham that itap the lesser competition on paper that can be most dangerous in competitions like the Open Cup. And for the second occasion, it almost was — for Wells, thatap the beauty of it.
“Football is passion, football is competition. … I thought tonight was a fantastic advert for this competition,” Wells said. “I’m new here and new to this, but I hope the cup competitions always stick around because I found them magical in England. I thought tonight, as stressed as I am, as tired as I am and as prematurely gray as I’m going to be off the back of this game, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The Rapids now find themselves as close to a trophy as they’ve been since the mystic 2024 Leagues Cup run, where they lost in the semifinal to LAFC. Navarro, who leads MLS in goal contributions (11), was a massive part of that run and has become a pivotal part of this one.
“This year, I think the team is better prepared to win a trophy,” Navarro said through club translator Adriana Baumann. “We need to just believe that we’re capable of doing it.”
