Frisco, Texas. – For the second year in a row, the Colorado Rapids have failed to make the MLS playoffs. The Rapids entered Decision Day in eighth place, needing a win to clinch their berth. After a dismal first half, a bright start to the second half, and a defensive capitulation, Colorado’s season ended.
Lineups were slightly rotated from last time’s loss against Chicago. Sayed Abu Farkhi got the start at forward, Noah Cobb filled in for Rob Holding, and Youssef Maziz was available off the bench.
The match was physical and demanding from the start. Dallas were fairly aggressive in their press, and the Rapids struggled to play out of their half due to the press. There wasn’t enough energy and variety in the attack.
Outside of the offsides and a few set pieces, Matt Well’s side struggled to create any attacking threat. Rapids were lucky to be in the match going into the half.
Shots were 16 to zero at the break. Nico Hansen and the Rapids backline were forced into saves, and Petar Musa and the Dallas attack was dangerous. It was a difficult first 45.
Wells made two changes at halftime with Darren Yapi and Georgi Minoungou replacing Abu Farkhi and Hamzat Ojediran. The impact was immediate, and Colorado looked like a team belonging in the playoffs.
In the 47th minute, Morgan Whittaker fired in the opener and moved his side into eighth place after a move down the wing, giving Minoungou freedom to show his pace and quality.
Yapi scored again, but it was called offsides as Colorado searched for the second goal. After a scary challenge by Logan Farrington late on, Paxten Aaronson was forced to come off the pitch in tears.
In the 75th minute, FC Dallas equalized off a clever back post run that wasn’t tracked. Because of results elsewhere in the West, Colorado had to go for it. Dallas made it two in the 88th before delivering the dagger in the 92nd minute.
Rapids Decision Day Madness
Off the bat, Decision Day brought madness for the Rapids. Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake all scored early, which knocked Colorado into tenth place after ten minutes. From there, the Rapids had to chase the game.
Whittaker got the opener in the 47th minute, and a 1-0 result would have been enough for the Rapids on Decision Day, but after conceding three times and results not going their way, it wasn’t meant to be. Colorado ended the night in 12th place.
“The definition of our system was, or season was never going to come down to 90 minutes today,” Wells said.
“I don’t think we should be as much as I’m upset that we didn’t make the playoffs. I also want to enter the playoffs with a feeling that we can compete in the playoffs, and we can succeed in the playoffs.”
“And I don’t have that feeling. We are where we are as a team. We’ve made some really. We’ve built some strong foundations, which we’re going to have to use in January to build on again,” Wells told Burgundy Wave.
The season didn’t come down to Decision Day for the Rapids, and it was a year of building that foundation. In reality, this Rapids side would not have been able to compete in the latter stages of the MLS playoffs. There are more pieces, more maturity, and more to be built and improved. Its good Wells recognizes this.
Despite all the madness, Colorado got exactly what their season showed them after 34 games. They are not a playoff team.
Season Wasn’t Lost in Ninety Minutes
Colorado won’t be returning to the postseason for the second year in a row, but that playoff spot wasn’t lost in the ninety minutes tonight.
It’s become a trend for Colorado late on in the season, conceding after grabbing a lead. Tonight was the same story. Colorado defended extremely well in the first half. Nico Hansen made unbelievable saves, but eventually, the pressure caught up.
Colorado started chasing and it left the match wide open from the 60th minute onwards. After Aaronson was forced off the pitch, and Noah Cobb was subbed off, Dallas easily could have made it four or five.
Wells said it was a game where he felt truly dominated from the start.
“I think what it’s been demonstrative of is this is our level, this is where we are at right now,” Wells said.
“I think it’s a good reflection of where we are as a team. We’re so far away from Dallas. How mature they played tonight. How strong they were physically. They ran right through us. They ran right over us. So, we need to find a better level of maturity as a team.”
Rapids Roster and What’s Next?
Colorado returns in January to prepare to compete in the MLS sprint season. 14 matches, eight postseason spots, and Wells will want to have more of a complete team by then.
He hinted several times at needing to improve several positions to fit his playstyle and the frustration of the summer window not quite working out.
“I think the difficult thing for me, and it’s probably the same for you, but also the fans, is the decisions obviously we made in the summer and the guys that came in has just not materialized because the guys haven’t had enough time on the pitch,” Wells said.
“We haven’t had a chance for the attack to click, and I’ve seen that in the last couple of times. There’s been a real lack of cohesion there. So, the main thing for me is we get back in January. We work with these guys. We train with these guys, and I think we’ll see a much better Rapids in in the early part of next season. But by the same time, we also do need to add to the squad.”
Wells hinted that there needs to be ambition and a bullishness in the transfer window to go and find success. Wells found his success this year, but the front office fell short of his ambitions.
Come January, it’ll be clear where this Colorado side is heading.
The Big Picture
The ending of the 2026 season will leave a sour taste. It’s the second year Colorado fails to make the postseason, and it comes after the selling of Rafael Navarro and Lucas Herrington in the summer.
The front office reinvested some of those funds well, but most of the players didn’t materialize in a way to get the Rapids over the line.
Big picture, the 2026 season is a failure. The front office will need to be ambitious to match Well’s ambition, and if that doesn’t happen, the same pattern will continue.
This team is going in the right direction and there is a foundation.
“So tonight I don’t have too much disappointment. I think we got exactly what we deserved after 34 games. You finish where you deserve to finish. That’s our reality. Confront it head-on, and let’s go again in January,” Wells said.
The foundation is there for Colorado, but now it’s up to the front office to build upon it.
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Spencer Baldwin 
Ryan Fresquez 