Colorado’s First Trip to the East Coast in 2025- D.C. United Preview

COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids make their first appearance in the nation’s capital since 2022, as they head to Washington, D.C. to face D.C. United.

Coming off a controversial call that denied Rafa Navarro the game winner late against Seattle Sounders, the Rapids will look to make things right in their first trip of the season to the East Coast. Colorado (4-2-4, 16 points, 5th in the Western Conference) enters this game with lofty ambitions to keep at its strong away form to the season, having only lost once in their last five times. Meanwhile, D.C. United will look to start trekking up the table (2-5-3, 9 points, 13th in the Western Conference).

The other story Saturday will be tracking Rapids head coach Chris Armas’ flight. He is set to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas, Saturday afternoon. From there, he’ll fly cross-country and if all goes well, he should be on the touchline for kickoff.

It’ll be the first trip back to D.C. for new Rapids winger Ted Ku-DiPietro, to face the club where he became a Homegrown Player and played three seasons with. Let’s take a look at the matchup.

When: Saturday, May 3 @ 5:30 p.m. MST

Where: Audi Field

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Controversial Call Against Seattle:

The Rapids returned home against Seattle and left feeling like they should have gotten more than just the one point. In the first half, the Rapids had the better of the chances, with Cole Bassett having the best opportunity of the half go off the outside of the post halfway through the half. Just when the Rapids thought they could have their heads held high going into halftime level, on 41 minutes, Seattle’s Jesus Ferreira played a pass to right back Kalani Rienzi, whose pass across the box to Danny Musovski left Nico Hansen with no chance of keeping a clean sheet in his first MLS start as the former LAFC man made it 1-0.

The Rapids came out of halftime down a goal, but it didn’t take long for a response. Oli Larraz was fouled just a few yards away from Seattle’s box, and put Djordje Mihailovic in prime real estate for a free kick. Mihailovic did not need a second invitation, as he sent his free kick along the ground and under a Seattle wall that jumped over it. Just nine minutes into the second half, the Rapids had equalized at 1-1 through another Djordje free kick. The Rapids used this momentum to push for a winner throughout he second half, and they thought they had it through Rafa Navarro.

With minutes left in the second half, substitute Kevin Cabral crossed the ball into the box, which met the head of Navarro and sneaked into Stefan Frei’s near post. However, referee Alexis Da Silva whistled a foul before the ball found the back of the net, for an apparent push from Rafa Navarro on Seattle defender Yeimar. This was a highly debated call, and one that could not go to VAR due to the referee blowing the play dead before the ball found the back of the net. The Rapids could not find another winner and left the game feeling hard done by after that controversial call.

Lineup Prediction vs. D.C.:

Steffen / Cannon, Maxsø, Awaziem, Vines / Larraz, Ronan, Atencio, Mihailovic (c), / Yapi, Navarro

Sam Vines was moved off the injury report which is good news, however, Cole Bassett made his first appearance on the Friday evening list. Bassett sustained a calf injury that will keep him out of the game against D.C., and depending on how serious it is, it could be a few weeks before he’s fully fit.

Tactically, Bassett has found himself out wide on the left in the 4-2-2-2, and it will be interesting to see if Rapids head coach Chris Armas will look for a more natural wide player like Cabral to fill in the role, or have a like for like switch with Larraz going out wide and bringing in Connor Ronan in the midfield.

The Rapids, and Navarro especially, have seemed to flourish with a two-striker system. Yapi has been able to hold the ball up well and win aerial duels. This has taken the load off of Navarro to do everything up top, and takes at least one centerback away from the Brazilian. This season is starting to look like a breakout year for Yapi, who has taken the opportunity to play alongside Navarro brilliantly. The two up top will have a big say in the proceedings on Saturday.

Steffen will look to fill in the role he left on suspension against Seattle, where 23-year-old Nico Hansen made his MLS debut. While Hansen had a professional first start in MLS, it will be a boost for the team to get Steffen in between the posts. Similarly, for Sam Vines, who missed out on Seattle with a groin injury picked up in training midweek. The left back position was filled by committee as Jackson Travis and Ian Murphy both played their parts in filling in for Vines against Seattle. It will be interesting to see how much Armas will limit the Colorado native in his return from injury.

Rapids Continued Struggles In Inopportune Times:

The Rapids continued a worrying trend against Seattle, as they conceded another goal within five minutes of halftime. This season, the Rapids have conceded 12 of their 16 goals five minutes before and after half, and within the final five minutes of the game. The Rapids are struggling to close out halves, and are struggling coming out of the locker room for the second half.

These are back-breaking times to give up goals. Going into halftime down 1-0 to Seattle after having a dangerous first half offensively but coming up empty is a whole new ball game than going in 0-0. While the panic button is not on for Chris Armas or Djordje Mihailovic, it is starting to become a real trend and starting to look like a real problem. While these goals haven’t directly cost the Rapids many points, with Houston’s last-minute equalizer the only goal directly costing the Rapids points, these are goals that change games.

The good side of this trend is that outside of the timeframe where the Rapids can’t seem to stop conceding, they have only given up four goals. For large stretches in these matches, the Rapids have a pretty good defensive record. Easier said than done, but if the Rapids can fix their tendency to give up goals close to halftime and full-time, they could look like a much better defensive unit.

Tough Start for D.C.:

Ted Ku-DiPietro’s former club has not had a fun start to the 2025 season without him, having two wins in ten matches, and staying near the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 13th. D.C. United has struggled in the last few years and are in the midst of a five-season playoff draught. 2025 has felt disappointingly similar for D.C., netting the second-worst goal difference in MLS, only behind winless LA Galaxy. The low point for this side was the 6-1 drubbing that the San Jose Earthquakes put on them a little less than a month ago. With just one win in its last seven matches, D.C. United will come out as a desperate and dangerous team in front of its home fans.

Life hasn’t been easy for head coach Troy Lesense in his second year at the helm. The team just can’t seem to surround 2024 MLS Golden Boot winner Christian Benteke with the right ten guys. Despite scoring 45 goals in 83 appearances, Benteke has not seen his D.C. United team make anything of his goal-scoring prowess. The former Belgium international has been a bright spot for an otherwise dark and gloomy last few seasons.

D.C. United acquired 23-year-old Brazilian winger Peglow from Polish side Radomiak Radom to provide a spark to this D.C. United attack. While the Brazilian has netted two goals and two assists in his first seven games, he has not made an appearance since April 25, and is out. Benteke has missed the last few games as well, and will try to get fit enough to feature against the Rapids; both players to look out for if they are healthy.

Prediction: The Rapids will continue their good form, and D.C. United will continue their poor form. Rapids win 2-0.