Zack Steffen Penalty Saves! Rafael Navarro Goal! Colorado Rapids Beat Club León at Last Second!

COMMERCE CITY – For the second straight home game, the Colorado Rapids did not hear no bell. On Monday night, they played Club León in the final group stage game of Leagues Cup. With one minute of stoppage time, they were about to get grouped. Rafael Navarro and Zack Steffen had other ideas.

Rapids manager Chris Armas made just one change from the side that started at Portland Timbers. Calvin Harris was on the wing with Omir Fernandez. To the coach’s word, Djordje Mihailović and Kimani Stewart-Baynes were on the bench. Oliver Larraz was in the double pivot with Cole Bassett at the 10.

For Los Panzas Verdes, the star attackers Jhonder Cádiz and Alan Medina were starting. Longtime El Tri defender Andrés Guardado was on the bench.

The first half was entertaining but messy. Throughout the night, Colorado got the ball in good areas in and around the box. They just did not convert them into attempts on goal. They had just 10 shots with three on goal in the 90 minutes. Players chose to pass in good areas rather than be aggressive.

For León, their shape was confusing but they created chances on counter attacks. The best look of the first half came in the 44th. Sam Vines was the last man back in a 3-v-1 after a Rapids attack. Edgar Guerra surely had a tap in but Steffen got there in time for a chest save.

The second half continued the patterns of play until the 53rd minute when Djordje Mihailović subbed in. Two days after an Olympic quarterfinal in Paris, he changed the energy. He was el Crack on the ball and brave.

Colorado pushed for a score, but could not finish. León goalkeeper Alfonso Blanco stood on his head. Keegan Rosenberry threaded a ball through the six in the 57th minute that Harris and Navarro couldn’t get contact on.

Steven Mendoza had a chance in the 72nd. Rosenberry closed him down with Steffen making the save, sending the ball of the post.

León would score five minutes later through Iván Moreno. Moreno made a run in behind on a ball from midfield. He shot on a breakaway with Steffen saving it. Guerra pounced on the rebound but the flag went up for offside. After a three minutes delay, the goal was given. VAR ruled Moreno was onside on the initial pass.

Colorado were dead in the water. Darren Yapi missed a chance. Sam Vines was off on his passing. Seven minutes of stoppage time seemed to only delay the inevitable.

Then Bassett floated a ball to Rosenberry. Possibly the two best chance creators of the night combined to find Navarro for a tap in header from a few yards out. It was the Brazilians first goal in eight games and first since becoming a permanent Rapids player.

The match headed to penalties. The first five takes made their kicks, with Colorado’s big three of Mihailović, Bassett, and Navarro converting. Then Steffen faced Andrés Guardado, saving the shot to his right. Moïse Bombito buried his but Andreas Maxsø missed, making it 4-3.

A Rapids save and the game was over. Steffen dove to his left, staying just onside, saving Steven Mendoza. With that, Colorado are through to the Round of 32 against FC Juárez on Friday.

Zack Steffen penalty heroics, Djordje’s buzz cut, Navarro finally scores:

This was a game of moments and a game of individuals. Steffen had three big saves in regulation. In the huddle, teammates said if he saves one, they’ll advance. He saved two. Big night for a keeper who’s shipped goals and been criticized for his stats this year.

“It’s nice to be moving on. Personally, I needed that. It’s been an up and down year for myself. It feels good. Gives me confidence,” Steffen told Burgundy Wave.

“Zack Steffen, what a signing. The way he trains everyday, that’s been consistent. To see him make those plays, be the difference maker there, I’m happy for Zack. Big performance for him,” Armas added.

Mihailović arrived in Denver on Saturday. He showed up to the Rapids 2 game on Saturday night. How he was awake for that is a mystery. His shaved head goes so hard. He comes in, bosses the game, and buries a penalty.

“We’ve kept in touch with him the whole time (at the Olympics). Right away, he got on the first flight out of there. He got home, went to our Rapids 2 game. Gets off the plane, watches our second team. Lack of sleep, time zones, we had to just manage that. We got it right. There was a shift right away,” Armas said of the No. 10.

“The decision was made to have him on the pitch when the game would be decided. He changed the game for sure.”

Navarro gets his first goal in eight games. First since singing his new deal. Good pass by Bassett. Great volley out of the air by Rosenberry. For all the looks Colorado had, they had one Grade A chance. He buried it. And his penalty without the stutter step.

“It’s a very important goal. I never stopped working and fighting to score. It’s a goal that sends us to the next round. I’m not happy when I go on a streak of not scoring. I’m happy to get the goal and help the team,” the striker said through a translator.

Rough start, strong finish:

It was a mixed bag for the Rapids offensively tonight. They got in great areas at least 20 times. They just didn’t turn those situations into threats on goal.

“Chris Little set us up really well in getting into good spots. It was that final decision, final pass. We just didn’t execute. We had moments. We just didn’t test the keeper enough in my opinion. That’s something to look forward to,” Bassett explained.

They did their prep on penalties though. For more than a week, the team finished training with mock PK shootouts, long walks from midfield and all. They knew the order and executed their PKs well. Colored went 4 for 4 with Steffen saving 2 of 5.

Dealing with Concacaf:

Julio Luna was fairly liberal with the officiating to start the match. Calvin Harris couldn’t do much to earn a foul, especially against Paul Bellón. Then of course there was the VAR call on the goal.

“He (the ref) did not say much. We kept asking him is was clear and obvious. Looking back at it, I don’t think it was. We had to respond to that. A lot of the guys stepped up. That’s what got us the equalizer,” said Bassett.

Top that off with the way León managed the game, and it was typical Concacaf. Antics. Time wasting. There was the free kick where they tried to encroach on Mihailović. Shenanigans happened. But Colorado got the last laugh.

“We knew they were going to be. Chris told us at halftime. Stay in the game. I got a pretty dumb yellow in the first half that wasn’t a yellow. One thing we can continue to do a better job is push the ref to speed things up. We didn’t let those things affect us.”

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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