Harrison, NJ — While the first team had a disappointing season, the second team has quietly had a very good season. Rapids 2 finished the season in third in the West, one point behind second-place The Town. It all started to come together for the Rapidos near playoff time.Â
Colorado took care of Vancouver 2 in the first round of the MLS Next Pro Playoffs 3-2, seeing out a win in a tough matchup. It was The Town next, who looked dominant in moments against a Rapids 2 side. But Colorado stayed in there and won 4-2 in extra time after The Town went down to ten men early in the second half. Then, it was only Minnesota United FC 2 and Rapids 2 with silverware and a trip to the final on the line. Minnesota punched first, but Colorado came all the way back to win 2-1 and booked their spot in the MLS Next Pro Final against New York Red Bulls II.
The team from New Jersey had a better regular-season record than the Rapidos. So the final will be played at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Gone are the days of a neutral site final, for better or for worse. Either way, Rapidos are one game away from winning a final. Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Rapidos’ Gutsy Comeback
Rapids 2 head coach Erik Bushey did not sugarcoat his team’s performance in the first 40 minutes of the Western Conference Final. It was 20 minutes before Colorado found themselves down a goal to Logan Dorsey, brother of Houston Dynamo’s Griffin Dorsey, both are Colorado natives. Colorado was largely outplayed in the first half, but we were only down by one when the halftime whistle blew.
If Colorado were going to sniff silverware, they needed to dig deep and find a way back into the game. It didn’t take long before Alex Harris got Colorado level just five minutes into the second half. The winger has been dominant in the playoffs, scoring three times and assisting twice in three games. It was a link-up of players who haven’t been as prolific for one reason or another to take the lead for the Rapids. A Sydney Wathuta cross found the nose of James Cameron in the 64th minute. One bloody nose (and a botched knee slide) later, Colorado had taken the lead for the first time in this game.
Rapids 2 have had some trouble in the past holding on to late leads. R2 gave up a late goal and were a post away from letting Vancouver tie the game late in the first round. The Town scored an equalizer to take that game into overtime, despite being a man down. Colorado was going to have to see out this match, and see it out they did. MNUFC 2 had its chances. But ‘keeper Zack Campagnolo made the necessary saves, and the team didn’t give up any great chances. Despite the late onslaught, Rapidos hung on and won the Western Conference Final for the first time in their short history.
Lineup Prediction:
Campagnolo / Flores, Harper, Rinaldi, Rosa / Wathuta, Amadou (c), S. Bassett / A. Harris, Billo Diop, Cameron
Rapids 2 have benefited from the Rapids adding to their roster, allowing the first team to rely on players other than Sam Bassett and Alex Harris. This has allowed Rapids 2 to finally give the duo the minutes that they need to develop. It always felt like a lapse in roster building by the Rapids to force Alex and Sam to ride the bench throughout a majority of the season, taking them away from Rapids 2. Either way, the duo is all in on R2, and the team is better for it.
I would expect a similar lineup in the final as they had in the Western Conference Final. Campagnolo has done nothing wrong in net to indicate the Rapids should look elsewhere. Nico Hansen and Adam Beaudry are also options. Colorado could see those two as more first-team players than second-team at this point, but Campagnolo should get the nod. The defensive line was largely impressive against Minnesota, even if the Minnesota goal was a little poor to give up.
The three-man midfield is really interesting from Bushey, and could be a potential to bring to the first team. Rapids have largely used two 8s and one 10 in the midfield. Bushey has opted for a deep-lying 6 instead of a playmaking number 10. Douada Amadou is that deep-lying destroyer. Allowing Sydney Wathuta and Sam Bassett the freedom to get forward and impact the game. This could quickly become the case for the first team. A midfield trio of Josh Atencio, Cole Bassett, and Paxten Aaronson, where Atencio plays the Amadou role, allowing Paxten and Cole to impact the game and be a real option for whoever ends up with the Rapids head coaching position.
Best in the East NYRB 2
It will be a final with both first teams not making the playoffs. All eyes from Colorado and New York will be on this final. Despite the first team’s struggles, NYRB 2 has had a very good season. The team finished first in the East and looked dominant throughout their playoff run. They took care of Carolina Core 5-1 in a crushing display. They scored five again when Chicago Fire 2 came to town, winning 5-3. It was a closer and less attack-heavy win for the Red Bulls against Philadelphia 2, with the home side winning the game 2-1.
New York Red Bulls II have one of the most prolific attacks in the league, scoring 68 goals, only bettered by Chicago Fire II. Nehuén Benedetti and Rafael Mosquera are the names to watch out for in that NYRB II attack. It doesn’t come with a cost; however, with the team conceding a staggering 56 goals, no other playoff team, except again the Chicago Fire, conceded more. NYRB II is a weird team. For every big, high-scoring win that they have, they have a huge loss as well. They beat the Columbus Crew 2 in an eleven-goal thriller, 7-4, but then conceded nine in a 9-2 loss to Chicago Fire II.
Despite this, they are first in the East, and for a reason. They have been very good at going on runs, winning games in a row, with intermittent poor spells that see them drop points where they probably shouldn’t have. Rapids 2 have held their own when the scoreline gets a little crazy, and there is potential that there will be a lot of fireworks in New Jersey for the final.
Prediction: Colorado Rapids 2 win their first MLS Next Pro Cup in spectacular fashion, riding out of New Jersey 3-2 victors.
Photo Credit: Spencer Baldwin
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Matt Pollard 