“Think Collectively”: How that RMC Loss Happened

SANDY, Utah – So last Saturday, the Colorado Rapids lost the second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup. It was exciting. It was a goal-fest. It was gut wrenching and there were parts of it that were really bad. Chris Armas, Keegan Rosenberry, and former Rapid now RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath said some interesting things to say. Here’s what they thought of the match that defined this RMC loss with some annotations.

We have to start with the comments from Armas, which appear to be speaking to the team, possibly out of touch.

Chris Armas backing his team or out of touch:

“We didn’t lift a trophy tonight. But our guys played like champions. We said we were going to come here and go for it. They set the tone. Good response at halftime,” Armas said. He added “I’m really proud of the team. Those behaviors have to come before you lift a trophy. I saw a bunch of winners out there tonight. I’m really proud of my team.”

Understandably, some supporters wondered what he is talking about. Armas may be referring to what he’s seen in training or in other games. He may be saying that the players are engaging in behaviors that are precursors to winning trophies.

But it’s hard to argue the Rapids played like winners when they lost the game. Hard to say they went after it and didn’t shrink given the siege mentality that led to RSL coming from behind twice.

Armas did acknowledge the difficulty of having to take Djordje Mihailović off, as he played through an exacerbated heel injury.

“We tried to squeeze as much as we could out of Djordje. He let us know, he had 5 more minutes in him at some point. Had a decision to make the last sub. All the little fires that would have popped up in the last 5-10 minutes, we had to put out.”

Home crowd, tactics, and growing from mistakes:

“Everybody that follows this team knows that it stings a little bit extra being the opponent that it is.  We get them a third time. We’re looking forward to that. Tough results. We’ll take it on the chin and learn from it,” Captain Keegan Rosenberry said, keeping it real in his opening statement.

Players on both sides spoke to the atmosphere. For me, this was the best atmosphere I’ve witnessed in a regular season game. The “Who are ya? Who are ya? Real Salt Lake!” was louder than I would have thought watching games on Apple TV. The crowd was synced up with RSL taking it to the visitors. They were on top of the Rapids for the final 20 minutes of both halves.

“I don’t think I’ve heard America First Field with that ole ole chant in the game. That was as buzzing this place has ever been,” MacMath told Burgundy Wave.

“It’s us as a team in a loud stadium trying to communicate to each other. Maybe this isn’t the time to go. We should pull everybody back, get compact, and reset. We talk about resetting a lot. Those are usually the moments that cause us problems. It’s preventable. We can be in control of those moments,” Rosenberry added.

“The goal in this sport is to think collectively and all think the exact same thing at the exact same time. As you can imagine, it’s a real challenge.”

That last line about thinking collectively hit the nail on the head. Armas continues to say this team is a work in progress tactically. They’re still figuring things out. That’s cost them in these tight games against good teams.

“The challenge is trying to decipher the black and white of when going after a team and pressing them and sitting in a mid block. It’s in those moments where we get stretched a little bit. Either our forward get drawn out or it’s a chain reaction where one after the other, we’re slightly late. Those are the moments we’re trying to get better at.” 

A former player shows respect:

Loss aside, this was one of the best and most competitive/compelling RMC games I have covered. Eight goals makes it the highest scoring game in derby history. The trophy this year will come down to the third leg, a July 20 home game for Colorado. Both teams are good this year. The rivalry itself is competitive. The RMC deserves respect, as MacMath told Burgundy Wave.

“Games like tonight prove there’s two very good teams in this rivalry. If both teams can continue to stay at the top of the West, maybe meet in the playoffs, that’s where this rivalry can pick up steam.”

MacMath played for Colorado from 2015-18. As one of the more prominent players to cross the Rockies, he has a based view of the rivalry and his place in it.

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Colorado. I owe a lot (to them). They took a chance on me when I needed it. Being here in Salt Lake on the other side, because the rivalry is dominated by us.”

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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