Rapids run out of gas; Sporting Kansas City cruise past Colorado

KANSAS CITY — Sometimes, the engine won’t turn over, the battery is dead and the car won’t start. Other times, you run out of gas. Regardless of what the issue was, by the time the Colorado Rapids diagnosed it, it was too little, too late as Sporting Kansas City cruised to a 4-1 victory Wednesday at Children’s Mercy Park.
“There’s going to be nights like that, 29th game in MLS,” Rapids head coach Chris Armas said in his postgame press conference. “You can’t have your good stuff all the time, and we’ve had it for most of the season.
“I think it’s a reminder for us, probably a wake-up call for all of us, with what these games are going to look like,” Armas continued. “Everyone is fighting for something and has something to play for. Every team is capable (of a result like that).”
Colorado (14-10-5, 47 points) hoped to keep climbing the table but was largely outplayed from the opening whistle by an SKC side (8-15-7, 31 points) attempting to make a late-season playoff push.

Despite Colorado being forced into squad rotation for the away trip, Rapids head coach Chris Armas wasn’t afraid to switch it up, either. Colorado was down four players: Sam Vines (hamstring); Kévin Cabral (elbow); Lalas Abubakar (concussion protocol); while Darren Yapi was suspended due to a questionable red card he received last Saturday against the Portland Timbers, which was upheld.

With the four players out, Armas looked to a younger matchday squad to step in, as 23-year-old Michael Edwards started for Abubakar at center back and 20-year-old Jackson Travis once again slotted in at left back. Reggie Cannon came off the bench and debuted late in the match.

Sporting Kansas City took the lead in the eighth minute as Logan Ndenbe’s cross hit the foot of Andreas Maxsø, who failed to clear the cross fully. The ball bounced into the path of an onrushing Alan Pulido and he picked up the loose ball and slotted it past a diving Zack Steffen into the bottom left-hand corner to make it 1-0.

Battered and bruised after giving up 16 shots in the first half, somehow, it was only 1-0 heading into the locker room.

Colorado had a brief few minutes of positivity to start the second half but that was it. The Rapids started the half off strong as it had back-to-back corner kicks, both of which nearly resulted in an equalizer. The best chance to level the game came in the 48th minute as Edwards got a clean connection on a header off of a corner kick, but it went just wide.

The Rapids could not keep up the momentum as Pulido made it 2-0 moments later. SKC bull-rushed Cole Bassett, who lost the ball in the back third of the pitch, and in a few passes, Pulido was left open at the top of the box and slotted it into the right-hand side.

Sporting Kansas City continued to control the center of the park and would soon add a third goal. Bassett once again lost the ball, this time on a potential counterattack as he looked for an outlet out wide but none of his teammates were anywhere near him. After losing the ball against three SKC defenders, Bassett’s visible frustration said it all. The ball eventually found the feet of Erik Thommy, who scored his first of two goals on the night.

Colorado would pull one back. Edwards, in his second-career start, got the Rapids on the scoreboard with a goal with 15 minutes left to make the game somewhat intriguing at 3-1. SKC added its final goal late on via Thommy in the 82nd minute for the final nail in the coffin.

The Rapids dropped to fourth place in the Western Conference and now once again find themselves in the thick of the seeding race as five teams are within five points ranging from second place to seventh.

Still, Colorado could clinch a postseason berth as soon as Saturday.

Stop the streak here.

Rapids captain Keegan Rosenberry knew how difficult it was to stop SKC’s momentum once the ball began rolling downhill.

“It’s difficult to kick yourself out of it when things aren’t going well, especially in the sport of soccer. You know, no timeouts, no chance to bring the team together to look each other in the eye, get a grip,” Rosenberry said. “It’s a real challenge. And, again, it was something we struggled with tonight. Some mistakes compounded on each other, but, it is something that we’ve done really well this year, and it’s a microcosm of what we want to do this week with three matches: Move on.”

For Rosenberry, the message is simple: Don’t dwell on it.

“We know the potential that we have. … One of our challenges for each other, time and time again, is to not drop two results in a row, not drop points twice in a row,” Rosenberry said. “Especially coming back home in that stadium in front of our fans. It’s a place we know we have a lot of confidence, and we’re excited to go again.”

Edwards’ proactivity “is contagious”.

Armas had plenty of good things to say about the Woodbridge, VA, native.

“I saw a player step on the field with belief and I thought he put out a bunch of fires, and, he had to put out a lot,” Armas said. “He had to face a lot. It’s tough and we’re not going to talk about all the positives (on a night like this). Mikey is an aggressive player, I’m glad he got the goal and he was strong in his duels, but it was a lot to take on for that back line. He’ll be better for it, I promise you that.”

Colorado will look to return to winning ways as it will host Eastern Conference playoff contender Toronto FC (11-16-3, 36 points) at 7:30 p.m. MT Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.