Rapids dominated by San Diego’s attack in 2-0 loss
The Colorado Rapids (4-4-5) were dominated by San Diego FC (7-2-4) in a 2-0 loss Wednesday night. SDFC’s attack produced 27 shots as Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, Anders Dreyer and Aníbal Godoy proved to be too much for Colorado to handle.
With MLS Matchday 13 landing on a Wednesday, resulting in teams playing three games in seven days, the Rapids made several tactical changes. Starting defenders Chidozie Awaziem, Reggie Cannon, Jackson Travis and midfielders Josh Atencio and Oliver Larraz all started the night on the bench.
Three minutes in, Lozano tested Colorado keeper Zack Steffen with a shot from outside the 18-yard box, which was blocked and forced out of bounds.
In the 33rd minute a SDFC corner kick found defender Chris McVey at the far post, who headed the ball past Steffen to give San Diego the opening goal.
“We let ourselves down on the set piece conceding [a goal] there,” Rapids captain Keegan Rosenberry said after the game. “It’s a small part of the game that we take a lot of pride in and had been very good at throughout the year.”
Ten minutes later, Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic gained control of the ball from mid-pitch and noticed San Diego keeper CJ dos Santos was off his line. Mihailovic took a shot but the goalie got back in time to tip the ball over the crossbar.
At halftime, the Rapids were outshot by SDFC 15-3. With striker Rafael Navarro out with an ankle injury suffered in the loss against San Jose, Colorado was struggling to create scoring opportunities in opponent territory.
In the 58th minute Dreyer extended San Diego's lead to two goals after rebounding his own shot and blasting the ball into the top of Colorado’s net.
The Rapids earned a penalty 13 minutes later after a handball call in San Diego’s box. Mihailovic, who had been perfect on penalty attempts up to that point, stepped up to the spot but his attempt was saved by dos Santos.
Colorado struggled to maintain possession all game, constantly turning the ball over and failing to move it forward. The Burgundy Boys held possession for only 38% of the game.
“We want to put it behind us quickly,” Colorado head coach Chris Armas said of the loss. “There's not a lot of room for error and we didn't do enough. … Saturday is our focus now.”
The Rapids head home to battle Real Salt Lake (4-2-7) for the Rocky Mountain Cup Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. MT. The game can be streamed on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.