Big D Soccer Preview of Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas With Drew Epperley

Frisco, TX – Tomorrow the Colorado Rapids make their annual trip to the other Frisco to play at FC Dallas. These teams haven’t seen each other since the Pids’ MLS home opener back on March 1. We reached out to Drew Epperley of Big D Soccer to catch up on Lalas Abubakar and tomorrow’s match.

FC Dallas are unbeaten in their last five games. Bit of a rotated lineup got the job done in the last game against Austin FC. What’s the team doing well right now?

Since Eric Quill landed on a new formation (a 3-5-2, or 5-3-2 depending on how you read it), the team has figured out a way to be tough to breakdown defensively, while getting some chances on the counter attack with their speed. At times it’s been ugly, but as we saw against Austin, when it works it looks pretty good. 

The Rapids defense has been trying to figure things out all year. We think it’s getting better. How’s the Dallas attack? What’s Petar Musa done to still score goals since Lucho Acosta’s departure? Who else has been good?

Petar Musa may actually be one of the most underrated Designated Players in MLS right now. He has been lights out all summer, scoring a goal or adding in an assist in 12 of the last 15 games. He and Logan Farrington have built a pretty incredible partnership that is producing highlights like we saw last weekend against Austin.

Rapids fans still have a soft spot for Lalas Abubakar. Prior to the last game, he had started 10 straight. How’s our favorite cowboy hat wearing Ghanaian doing in his first year at the club? 

I can see why fans in Colorado love Lalas, he’s possibly one of the nicest guys to be around and chat with. I think he had a bit of a bumpy start, like every defender had here in Dallas this season. But lately, especially in this new formation, he’s gotten into a good spot where he and Sebastien Ibeagha rotate with one another as starters. Each time out, he’s fresh and continues to look better and better. 

I’d like to know big picture where the club’s going and how the fanbase feels about it. Eric Quill’s in his first year with the club. From afar, he’s been fine. The Lucho move didn’t work out. The team wasn’t that active in the summer window. Like the Rapids, they’re heading for a mid table finish. The best they can hope for is probably winning one playoff round and then losing to a team that is richer and more talented. The stadium’s getting renovated; the renderings look sick. Are you content with this season? What do you want to see in 2026?

A lot of us here wrote this season off back in June. I called it a rebuilding year, even with Lucho Acosta on the roster. It always felt that way. Since selling Acosta, the moves have been much more in line with what Quill wants to do with the club going into next year. I think the fight and hustle we’re seeing right now out of this group is a good sign of things to come next year. The club has to figure out the other DP and U22 slots (those have been mostly a mess), though. If they can get another couple of guys that hit like Musa has, they’ll be a contender. 

Lineup prediction. Score prediction. Feels like this matchup is often a scoring draw, yeah? Lalas winner off a corner? 

Lineup: Collodi; Kamungo, Moore, Urhoghide, Ibeagha, Ramiro; Cappis, Kaick; Delgado, Farrington, Musa
Prediction: 2-1 Dallas

Check out our chat with them about the Pids here.

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