Inter Conference Clash in Colorado- Rapids Orlando City Preview

Commerce City, CO— A two-match skid has left the Colorado Rapids on the outskirts of the playoffs at the halfway point of the season. Colorado will look to rectify this with their third of six games against Eastern Conference opponents when they face Orlando City at DSG Park on Saturday. It will have to be another bounce-back game for the Burgundy Boys after a frustrating result and performance against Austin FC at home last time out. A 2-0 loss that didn’t look as bad as other losses this season, but failing to get three points at home against a playoff rival is not a good result. With Orlando in a similar spot in the East, this will be a crucial matchup for both teams to get their season back up and running. Let’s take a look at the matchup.

When: Saturday, June 14 @ 7:30 p.m. MST

Where: DICK’s Sporting Goods Park

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Shutout at Home Against Austin:

A frustratingly common scoreline for the Rapids happened for the fourth time this season with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Austin FC at DSGP. It was a back-and-forth game that ended fairly even in terms of possession, shots, and expected goals, but Austin finished their chances and Colorado did not. The scoring started early for the away side, with Osman Bukari finding space behind Jackson Travis and the Rapids backline in the sixth minute to start an attack that ended in a deflected shot off Mikkel Desler that wrong-footed Rapids keeper Nico Hansen. An Austin team that had found finding goals difficult in 2025 got their first lucky bounce, and just like that, Colorado found themselves down early.

This early goal seemed to doom the Rapids, as it played perfectly into how Austin wanted to play the match. Colorado had to push for an equalizer, which allowed Austin opportunities to exploit the space, as Colorado sent more and more men forward in search of their goal. While Austin was unable to convert on a direct counterattack, mainly due to Nico Hansen’s heroics in net, it was Austin who found the next goal. An Austin corner led to Rafa Navarro heading the ball past his own keeper and into the Rapids’ net. The first own goal of the season put the game to bed in the 66th minute, and all of a sudden, the team that couldn’t catch a break in front of net had two deflected goals in Colorado.

That’s how it would end in Colorado, and despite having 2.33 expected goals, the Rapids would be shut out for the third time at home. It was the first of the seven times the Rapids were shut out that felt like they should have gotten at least one goal on the night, but it wasn’t to be. This loss made it eight games straight in which the Rapids couldn’t score more than one goal in a game. It was also the first real bump in the road for the 4-2-3-1 on the year, despite the return of DP striker Rafa Navarro.

One more disheartening fact for the road, as it is now two wins in the last nine for Colorado, which has slid down the Western Conference table during this stretch. It may or may not be panic time for Colorado, but continuing in this form would spell doom for Chris Armas and Co.

Lineup Prediction:

Hansen / Cannon, Maxsø, Awaziem, Travis / Atencio, Larraz / Ku-Di Pietro, Mihailović (C), S. Bassett / Navarro

There are no real surprises on the injury report for the Rapids, as Ali Fadal and Alex Harris are still hurt, and Wayne Frederick II is on international duty with Trinidad and Tobago. We learned this week that Zack Steffen had injured his knee on international duty right before the Gold Cup. A brutal time to get injured, and an injury that required surgery for the shotstopper. He is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks, so it’s truly Nico Hansen time for Colorado. In Steffen’s absence, Hansen has thrived in Colorado’s net. The 23-year-old keeper has been a pleasant surprise. He will get the keys to the castle until most likely Leagues Cup.

Cole Bassett doesn’t make an appearance on the injury report, which is great news for Colorado. I don’t expect him to slot right into the starting eleven, however. 15 to 30 minutes off the bench would not surprise me for the homegrown. It has been his brother, Sam Bassett, who has commanded the Bassett minutes as of late. He could very well get his fourth straight start against Orlando.

This will be the second game where both Darren Yapi and Rafa are available to start. Armas opted for a one-striker look in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Austin, leaving Yapi out. It will be interesting to see what style Armas opts for in this match. Given the results in the 4-2-3-1 have dropped in the last two games. A return to a 4-2-2-2 would allow for the best personnel to be on the field. Allowing for the Yapi and Rafa partnership that has flourished this season. Chris Armas has options when it comes time to decide on a starting eleven against Orlando.

Wide Play Problems for Colorado:

It has felt like a long while since the Rapids had a dangerous winger who could impact a match. 2021 Michael Barrios was special, but since then, the wide play has become a real problem for the Rapids. Big swings on guys like Braian Galván, Kévin Cabral, and Omir Fernandez haven’t paid off. This has led Colorado to have a winger room where Sam Bassett, straight out of college, is getting back-to-back-to-back starts out wide over a big-money player like Cabral. Unfortunately for Sam and Colorado, he hasn’t looked the part so far in Burgundy.

This felt like a problem that Chris Armas was aware of and looked to remedy with many different tactics. It started with pulling Djordje Mihailović from his central position in the midfield and using him as a makeshift winger in a 4-3-3. The tactic had its moments, and Djordje being Djordje was a bright spot during this timeframe. The Rapids also tried having Cole Bassett or Oli Larraz on the other side of the field, opposite of Djordje. A look that had no natural wingers.

This shifted to the 4-2-2-2 formation, which had no designated spots for wingers. It instead has two attacking midfielders who don’t have the same wide responsibilities. It looked as if the winger problem had been fixed by scrapping the position altogether. However, the problem was still lurking. Even with Omir Fernandez leaving midseason, the Rapids still had four natural wingers as their depth for a narrow formation.

Recently, Chris Armas has had to revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation, which was the primary formation used in 2024. This has put the wide problems back into the forefront for Colorado. In the four matches since the switch, it’s been Ted Ku-DiPietro and Sam Bassett on the wings. Unfortunately, and to put it lightly, it has been an underwhelming duo for Colorado. But to be fair to them, they have been placed in a challenging situation. Both are still less than halfway into their first year, either in the pros or with Colorado. It doesn’t get much better looking at the other possibilities. Calvin Harris and Cabral coming off the bench is not much better as of late. And that Cabral contract is looking worse and worse for the team every game that goes by.

Outside of Mihailović, Navarro, and Yapi, the team has three goals. One came from a winger. In the short term, there isn’t much wiggle room for Colorado to make personnel changes to help remedy this situation. It comes down to one or two players in that position, with room to step up and start contributing. It should be concern number one in the offseason, however.

Orlando’s High-Flying First Half of 2025:

Despite a recent downturn in form, Orlando has been one of the best teams in 2025. They sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but are just three points away from second. If they hadn’t lost their last two games to Chicago and Atlanta, Orlando would be top of the East. Pushing Philadelphia for that first-place spot. This is mainly due to the twelve-game unbeaten streak that Orlando went on from March 15 to May 24 in the league. Six wins and six draws for the Lions in that streak, with some impressive wins over teams like Portland and Inter Miami.

A big reason for Orlando’s success in 2025 is its red-hot attack. They have scored 31 goals on the season, despite a three-game and over 300 minutes goal drought in April. Thirty-one goals is good enough for fourth in the East and fifth in the league. Their attack is spearheaded by the duo of Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda, with key contributions also coming from the midfield work of Marco Pasalic. They have combined for 20 of Orlando’s goals so far this year, outscoring teams like RSL and LA Galaxy. Another standout player, young rightback Alex Freeman, will, luckily for Colorado, be at the Gold Cup. His absence could be key in how Orlando will approach the match on Saturday.

This head-to-head matchup dates back to 2014. Colorado faced an Orlando City side from the USL Championship in the U.S. Open Cup. A Deshorn Brown hat-trick was enough to lead the Rapids to a 5-2 victory on the night. It has been a different story once Orlando became an MLS team, as in eight matchups, the Rapids have only won once. A Drew Moor winner at the death in 2020 was the last thing any Rapids fans saw from the team for a while, as MLS had to put operations on hold for the COVID pandemic. Colorado will have to beat history to win against Orlando at DSG Park.

Prediction: Orlando’s attack provides too much of a challenge for the Rapids backline, and the Rapids cannot keep up offensively. Orlando wins it 2-1.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.