Colorado Rapids no Shots on Goal (Again) at Vancouver Whitecaps

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Inconsistency, thy name is Burgundy. On Saturday night, Colorado Rapids traveled to BC Place to play Vancouver Whitecaps. The Caps played midweek in Conca Champions. But it was the Rapids who looked the more gassed of the two teams.

Chris Armas left his starting lineup unchanged from last week. Kévin Cabral started at right wing to the frustration of several Rapids supporters. Ian Murphy was at left back with Reggie Cannon hurt. Sam Vines did make the bench for the first time this season back from a quad injury. R2 goalkeeper Nicolas Hansen made the bench on a call-up. The Pids appeared to be in a 4-2-3-1 with Oli Larraz at left wing.

The visitors started brightly. They got into good attacking situations but were wasteful as Cabral could not execute at the critical moment. Vancouver asked questions in transition with Colorado making good defensive plays to answer.

The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the 19th minute and it had been coming. A great ball by Tate Johnson was knocked down by Sebastian Berhalter. Brian White made the finish with Murphy and Chido Awaziem struggling to mark attackers.

Emmanuel Sabbi made it 2-0 in the 38th. He made a perfectly timed run to stay onside. Ali Ahmed threaded the pass and Sabbi beat Zack Steffen.

Colorado’s most dangerous sequence in the first half came on 35 minutes. Mihailović set Josh Atencio free at midfield. Atencio got vertical but eventually passed to behind Cabral. The half ended 2-0.

It wasn’t a great start to the second half but Colorado survived unharmed. In the first seven minutes, Pedro Vite had a blast from the top of the box. He cleaned up a play in the 49th but it was offsides in the buildup. Three minutes later, he had another thunderbolt. That shot went off the net support though several fans thought it was a goal.

Armas made a triple substitution in the 55th minute, which was telling. Vines came on to make his 2025 debut. Cabral was off with Calvin Harris and Omir Fernandez on. Rapids still struggled to create shots on goal. The match ended 2-0 with Colorado not getting a shot on goal for the third time in seven games.

The Rapids return to DICK’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, April 12 vs San Diego FC. It’s the first ever meeting against the expansion team. Two straight weeks against the top two teams in the Western Conference. Tough.

Cabral, offense struggle. Rapids no shots on goal, again.

As discussed last week, Cabral works hard defensively. He takes up a DP slot and there’s value to tap into there. But he’s clearly on a bad run of form offensively to begin the year. Another start without a goal contribution. What are Fernandez, Harris, and others doing in training to be such liabilities defensively to where Cabral is getting minutes over him? It’s getting ever harder to validate his inclusion in the starting lineup.

Elsewhere, it’s hard to praise the attack for a team that had 0 shots on goal and 0.42 xG per FotMob. Bassett did not contribute and had bad body language. Larraz gave the ball away. The full backs (other than Vines) did not get forward and provide service. Mihailović tried stuff and brought quality, but couldn’t help Rafael Navarro. This game had lots of passengers. This team needs guys to either play or carry a pianos.

A game of moments, yet again:

It still amazes me how much this game comes down to moments. Vancouver had three brilliant moments that were a great pass and a great shot that ended up in the net. One of those was called back for offsides. It’s hard to fault any one player on the goals. Maybe Murphy on the first. Vancouver just made plays to score and Colorado did not.

Vines back. Sam Bassett MLS debut!

On a lighter note, Vines looked fine in his 35 minute sub appearance. This team might be just a week away from being fully healthy at full back. that will be nice.

Colorado’s final sub in the 86th minute was Bassett Brother for Bassett Brother. Sam subbed on to make his MLS debut. Cole came off in a huff, frustrated with the scoreboard. Sam did ok given the circumstances.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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