NFLBy: Keith Richards
Last week, the Colorado Rapids did something they haven’t since August of 2021: They gained six points in a single week. With comeback victories over Minnesota United (4-3) and New York (5-4), the Rapids gained six valuable points to put themselves in a prime position to make a playoff push. Last week’s points moved Colorado to 10th (30 points) in the Western Conference.
That’s only three points outside of 7th, which the Portland Timbers currently occupy. In this regard, the Rapids have two games in hand over the Timbers and one in hand over the 8th place Sounders (who have 32 points). The road does not get easier for Colorado in its 11 remaining matches, but here are six points as to why they have a shot at making some noise and making the playoffs.
1. Six lethal attackers
The Rapids have three forwards and three midfielders that are starting to soar. Their names are Diego Rubio, Gyasi Zardes, Michael Barrios, Sam Nicholson, Jonathan Lewis, and Brian Acosta. Zardes is finding his scoring form, which led to a hat trick against Minnesota. However, part of that success is due to Gyasi’s fellow forwards and midfielders.
When asked about finding his spots, Zardes said, “Yeah, yeah, you know, Mikey, he had a few good opportunities and a great cross and you know, I got to the end of one of them, but you know, when the wingers are starting to get higher up the field and starting to get through balls, it’s important that I find the right spaces to crash the box because they are so fast. You talk about you know, Mikey’s fast, Jonathan’s fast. Even Sam is fast and when you get those guys running, I just have to make sure I’m available in the box.”
Zardes’ sentiment is echoed by Diego Rubio, who has been outstanding in his own right.
2. The six assists men, Diego Rubio and Michael Barrios
Coming into the match Saturday against the Columbus Crew, Rubio and Barrios sit at six assists on the season. In the game against the Loons, the players combined to create five chances (Barrios three and Rubio two). Barrios’ work has come more as a winger. As Gyasi stated, Michael’s speed is such a problem for defenders.
About Barrios and the other wingers, Diego said, “I can have more space to shoot, to combine with the other players. Gyasi, Michael, Jonathan, and Sam especially. All those four players make a great effort for us. They run. They keep running behind, and they open space for everybody. It’s very tough. I don’t want to be defending those guys because those guys are running all game.”
However, Rubio has been an issue for teams to defend, which leads us to our next point.
3. Diego Rubio is on fire
In the last seven matches, Diego has been involved in a goal. Against the Red Bulls, Rubio assisted on two goals. Against Minnesota, two of the goals by Zardes came off rebounds of a time Diego shot. Playing in the midfield more, Rubio has found his groove.
I asked Diego how he felt in his new role in the midfield. Rubio said, “It’s good. I feel good. I think every player always, if you ask him if they want to play, I want to play anywhere. I feel that position; I feel pretty good. I feel that I can hurt teams.”
In addition to his six assists, Diego Rubio has 11 goals, which is his MLS career high. With no signs of slowing down, as seen by his header goal against Minnesota, Rubio could be the X factor for the Rapids for the rest of the season.
4. Points in five out of the last six matches
While it hasn’t always been ideal, Colorado has picked 11 points in the last six matches against some pretty stiff competition. The lone loss in this stretch has come against the Seattle Sounders on the road. Still, even after the Sounders loss, the Rapids turned around and earned its first road win against the Red Bulls. So, while it is unrealistic to say they will win out the rest of the campaign, they have spots where they can continue picking up points.
The first opportunity comes Saturday against Columbus Crew. Columbus has not lost in five straight road matches, but Colorado has defeated the Crew in seven of the last nine home matches. Looking past that, the Rapids face Vancouver, Houston, San Jose, and FC Dallas at home.
Some of those games will be tough, but they’re all winnable games. Matches against Vancouver, DC United, Nashville, and the LA Galaxy should be winnable away matches. It’s just a matter of the Rapids wanting it more.
5. The Return of Captain Jack
For the first time since June 19th, Colorado’s captain, Jack Price, was involved in a match. Price would only play in the first half, but it was a big step forward. When asked about Jack’s return, Coach Fraser said, “He’s been out for a while, and we want to make sure that this is the last time Jack’s out. So, we want to take our time and make sure that he got healthy. Having him back is fantastic. He’s you know, I love the team altogether, but Jack is one of the guys who’s the heart and soul of the team, and we’ve certainly missed having him.”
Having Price back will be huge for the midfield defense and consistency on the backend, which leads to the last point.
6. No more soft goals
There are many things Colorado can control to improve its position from now on. None is more important than eliminating easy goals from the opposition. The Rapids keep fighting from behind because of their bad habit of allowing teams to score goals that they shouldn’t.
Against Orlando City, it was the long throw-in. Then, last Saturday, the Loons scored on two corners that Colorado should have marked better. Robin said about these high-scoring affairs, “To win, we know we need to concede less goals. To get to where we want to get to, we have to concede less goals.”
Coach Fraser did credit some great individual play by opposing teams, but he also acknowledged the personal mistakes made by his squad. Specifically, Coach Fraser said, “We want to be proficient in front of their goal, and we want to be more clinical in front of our goal to limit the other teams’ opportunities.”
Team Nuts and Bolts will be on hand on Saturday when the Rapids face Columbus Crew. Be sure to follow our continued soccer coverage.
