Washington, D.C. — A technical issue on Chris Armas’ flight from his National Soccer Hall of Fame induction caused Colorado’s head coach to miss his team’s 2-1 loss at the hands of D.C. United Saturday night. The Chris Little-led Rapids continued their near-halftime struggles as they conceding two first half stoppage-time goals which cancelled out a Darren Yapi goal moments before.
The Rapids (4-3-4, 16 points, 7th in the West) made two changes from the team that got the 1-1 draw at home against Seattle, as Nico Hansen made way for a return from suspension for Zack Steffen, and an injured Cole Bassett was replaced by Kevin Cabral. It was the Frenchman’s first start in three games, after starting the first nine for the Burgundy Boys. The changes were like-for-like as Chris Little kept the 4-2-2-2 formation.
D.C. United (3-5-3, 11 points, 12th in the East) made a few changes to the starting eleven that lost 3-0 away to Philadelphia. The biggest change was the return of Christian Benteke, who had missed some time with an injury. The Black-and-Red were missing some key faces, as Peglow, Pirani, Hopkins, Rowles, and Bartlett were all scratched from the lineup due to injury.
It was end-to-end stuff straight from the kick-off. Four minutes into the game, a ball in the box fell kindly to Djordje Mihailovic, whose volley hit off the post and out. Minutes later, D.C. United’s Hosei Kijimi took a curling shot from 20 yards out which beat Steffen, but hit the crossbar to keep it scoreless.
D.C. continued to put the pressure on, as in the 16th minute, Brandon Servania hit a rocket from outside the box that looked destined for the top corner, but Steffen made an acrobatic save to keep it from hitting the top-right corner.
It wasn’t until late in the first half that the fireworks lit for both sides. In the 43rd minute, the deadlock was broken by Colorado, as a 2-on-2 counterattack sprouted for the Rapids that saw Rafael Navarro and Yapi with a pair of D.C. defenders between them and the goal. Navarro initially took the shot on and it was saved by DCU’s Luis Barraza. The rebound fell kindly to the Brazilian Designated Player. Instinctively, he chipped a cross to the back post for Yapi to head home, as it just crossed the the goal line to make it 1-0.
The celebration for the Rapids was not long, however, as Colorado reached the witching hour of 2025: Stoppage time. In the 3rd minute of a possible six, a ball was whipped by David Schnegg, but deflected into the path of Benteke. He climbed over Chidozie Awaziem to put the header away from a sprawling Steffen.
However, the woes of conceding before halftime did not end there for the Rapids. With seconds remaining before the halftime whistle sounded, in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, another deflected cross was whipped in and put home by Hosei Kijima, who got the better of Reggie Cannon at the back post Because of the re-direction of the cross, by the time Steffen could try and save it, he was a step or two too far to his left. He got a paw to it, but it wasn’t enough.
All of a sudden, the Rapids went into halftime down a goal after entering first-half stoppage time up a goal.
The second half was no better from the Rapids, as they were tasked with breaking down a low block from D.C., and failed to create much despite long stretches of possession. The first chance from the Rapids came in the 49th minute, as a through ball from Mihailovic found Navarro through, but the Brazilian’s touch let him down as the ball rolled to Barraza.
The game was then filled with D.C. limiting the Rapids to half chances, with DMV-area native Wayne Frederick coming on to sky a shot over in the 72nd minute. Still, Colorado failed to create more meaningful chances for the remainder of the match. The last half-chance the Rapids fell to Mihailovic, as his streaking run through the DC half led to a wayward pass in the middle when he may have had a better look out wide. It was just that kind of night for the Rapids.
“I think when you have a lead in a game, to not keep it, it’s disappointing. And I think the timing and the manner of the goals to go one down made it difficult. I thought the effort, the energy commitment, was there in the second half, but I think we’re disappointed,” acting head coach Chris Little told the media in his postgame comments.
Chris Little and his thoughts on the loss:
The club announced that Armas was unable to attend tonight’s match due to a technical issue on his flight to D.C. Armas was still able to communicate with his staff with regards to messaging, tactics and substitutions. Still, with him not being there in-person, it undoubtedly made things more difficult.
“For Chris, what an honor,” Little said. “And you know, we are so happy and proud of him to get in that Hall of Fame.” Little continued saying, “… Obviously, it’s not ideal, but he was making the most of it, you know, just like he was suspended or something.”
The head coach was still able to effectively communicate his message to the locker room from Dallas.
“He was on the phone (with the) staff, and so he was able to view the game, input in substitutions, things of that nature,” Little said.
Oli Larraz also acknowledged the honor that Armas was given but also realizes, sometimes, life happens and flights get delayed.
“He’s our leader. It was a very big night for him. I want to congratulate him,” Larraz said. “These are things that are out of our control, but what was in control was the match tonight, and that’s completely on us. He prepared us in the best way possible.”
The Rapids continue to struggle before halftime:
The Rapids continue the trend of conceding moments before halftime, with DC netting two goals in first half stoppage time. “I’m not sure why it’s happening,” Larraz said. “We’re definitely looking into it, and we’re all aware of it. It doesn’t feel like anything’s different, and it’s just continuing to happen. Hopefully, next week that’ll change.”
Little , meanwhile, did not sugarcoat these trends when asked.
“It’s something, obviously we’ve talked about, something we and the players addressed after the game. It’s too consistent to ignore now. You know it’s becoming somewhat of a pattern, and I think we have to alter responsibility for that.”
Little also mentioned the importance of these goals, saying, “These minutes right before halftime, it’s too many goals. It carries an emotion and influence into halftime. I think if you go into that half with a one-nil lead, it’s a very different approach than going in one down.”
Cole Bassett’s absence felt:
Cole Bassett was ruled out of this match with a calf injury, and his absence was felt by the Rapids, who looked to be missing a cog in midfield. Cabral stepped in to take his spot, but failed to make any real impact on the attacking side of the ball. The Rapids looked to former D.C. Homegrown Player Ted Ku-DiPietro midway through the second half as a substitute, and got similar production from the winger in his return to Audi Field.
Still, Little was optimistic about Bassett’s injury saying it was more of a move to prevent further injury than anything mid-to long-term.
“No, I don’t think it’s severe at all. I think it was a minor type of strain,” He said. “The indication is that he can be back in full training, hopefully next week. So it’s a more precautionary type of situation, rather than an extended injury. So we are very much hoping Cole will be back in full training and hopefully available for selection next week.”
D.C’.s low block stumps the ‘Pids:
The Rapids were unable to penetrate the low block from D.C. in the second half, with the Rapids only being able to come away with a few half-chances. This has been a weak point in the Rapids’ attack this season, with the team struggling against Portland in a similar fashion a few weeks ago.
Little gave props to DCU for the way they defended in the second half.
“Credit to DC, they sat in the second half. They were able to protect the lead, as a 5-4-1, and defend on top of their own box. It’s difficult to break down, and we’ll take responsibility for that.”
Larraz was optimistic about how the Rapids are being able to improve their danger in front of a low block.
“I think you see the improvements we have. We have guys coming in, we have guys getting healthy again. We’re going to help with this, and our team is going to start gelling. I think we are moving in the right direction.”
Larraz had plenty reason to be optimistic has he saw young teammates try to make an impact such as University of Maryland product Kimani Stewart-Baynes, Frederick, Ku-Dipietro, while other young players like Jackson Travis got the start.
Still, despite their efforts, Colorado couldn’t find an equalizer and a familiar trend this season will be another talking point heading into Matchday 12.
The Rapids will face San Jose at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Saturday, May 10th at 7:30 PM MT.
