The Colorado Rapids took advantage of two red cards Saturday against Sporting KC to win 2-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. It was a dominant performance from start to finish to top the league’s worst team.
The win helped the Rapids (8-1-10, 25 points) into a playoff spot, a position that they haven’t been in much of the season, and completed the season sweep of Sporting KC. Saturday’s win wasn’t as glamorous as a 4-1 win earlier in the season at Kansas City, but it netted the same result: 3 points in the standings.
In the 38th minute of the match, the visitors got their first red card of the match. Sporting KC midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng was sent off for a bad tackle on the Rapids’ Miguel Navarro. The Rapids left back was first to a 50/50 ball, and Agyabeng cleaned him out.
An eleven-man Sporting KC is the worst team in the league and the Rapids had more than a half against a 10-man side.
It took the Rapids until the 65th minute to capitalize on the man advantage. Rapids midfielder Youssef Maziz had only been on the field for less than 10 minutes when his corner kick found the head of Rapids defender Reggie Cannon. Cannon hit his header across the face of goal and into the side netting. It took over 15 shots, but the Rapids found the much-needed goal.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Cannon said. “Just getting that stress relief, it really feels good. That offensive side is something every defender loves to add to their game. So you know, adding that on the set piece is really fortunate for me. I’m very happy.”
The Rapids, for the third home game in a row, got a goal in the 95th minute. Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson dribbled through three Kansas City defenders before passing off to Rafa Navarro. The Rapids striker spun his man and found the back of the net to put the game to bed. While it wasn’t a last-minute winner, it was a third straight goal at home in stoppage time.
“It’s actually an area from the first half of the season that I was frustrated with,” Rapids head coach Matt Wells said after the match. “That we’ve got more late goals, so it’s something we worked really hard on over the break. More the mindset shift of trying to convince the guys that we’re very capable of that.”
Sporting KC didn’t go away quietly. In the 86th minute, and down a man and down a goal, ex-Rapid Calvin Harris beat the Rapids’ offside trap perfectly. Through on goal with no one around him, he fired his shot wide.
It went from bad to worse for the visitors as, in the 92nd minute of the game, Navarro and Josh Atencio combined to play a long ball to Cannon. What should have been a relatively easy clearance for Sporting KC defender Moisés Mosquera turned into a disaster. A poor clearance played Cannon through, and Mosquera pulled him down. It was an easy red card, and from almost tying the game minutes earlier, Kansas City was down to nine men.
This match was the second in a row in which the Rapids dominated but didn’t show it on the scoreline — firing 28 shots and netting only two.
Rapids midfielder Maziz joins the list of Rapids to score or assist in their home debut. Lucas Herrington scored, Georgi Minoungou got an assist, Kosi Thompson scored twice, and Loic Williams scored a last-minute winner. Maziz got the game-winning assist on his first-ever corner taken as a Rapid. More signings may be needed to keep the Rapids in the playoff picture. Colorado currently sits in eighth in the MLS’ Western Conference standings with 25 points.
“He showed his quality straight away with his general play,” Wells said about Maziz. “We know his set play quality is outstanding. Both corners, wide free kicks and direct free kicks as well. Obviously, he was probably half a yard away from scoring a very good goal. It’s a good introduction for him.”
The Rapids also celebrated defender Keegan Rosenberry for reaching 200 appearances. Rosenberry has captained the Rapids for over seven years, and while he has become a bench player recently, it is a well-deserved honor for the defender.
“What an achievement it is for Keegan. He’s such an amazing guy, amazing player. He’s so good for the locker room. I don’t think in my whole career, and I’ve met thousands of people and players, I’ve never met someone as good as him. He’s such a good guy.”
The Colorado Rapids have a quick turnaround as LAFC comes to Colorado on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 pm Mountain Time.
