Colorado Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett recorded his sixth goal of the season on Saturday night, sending a screamer into the net from the top of the box to open the scoring against Austin FC at home in the 2-0 shutout. The 22-year-old's 22nd-minute strike made him the youngest player in Rapids history to notch 25 goals in their career, surpassing former striker and assistant coach Wolde Harris, who set the mark in 1999 at 25 years old.
Bassett read the play, started by Connor Ronan, to find himself open near the top of box as Ronan's cross in was deflected by Austin and then tracked down by Omir Fernandez. Fernandez's slight touch back to an oncoming Bassett, lined up with the center of the goal, found the Homegrown's foot for a powerful strike past goalkeeper Brad Stuver into the upper right corner. Fernandez's assist was his third of the season.
His goal was the sixth of the season, tying his single-season career-high recorded in 2023.
"I feel like I am the guy that tries to get everybody involved," he said postgame. "You know, give the ball to Djordje [Mihailovic], give the ball to Rafa [Navarro], Omir [Fernandez], Kévin [Cabral]. I can let them do their thing and then I can come from behind, and as the play develops, like how my goal happened, get shots from the top of the box. I feel like I have good finishing skills where I don't need too many chances to put one away. I think, for me, that is my role in the system."
Bassett recorded five shots over the course of the night, three of them on target. His efforts in the Rapids' shutout over Austin earned him the Man of the Match honor, as well.
Team of the Matchday - Matchday 20
F: Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Yuya Kubo (CIN), Gabriel Pec (LA)
M: Fabian Herbers (CHI), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Ryan Gauld (VAN)
D: Franco Escobar (HOU), Nkosi Tafari (DAL), Walker Zimmerman (NSH), Mohamed Farsi (CLB)
GK: Maarten Paes (DAL)
Coach: Frank Klopas (CHI)
Bench: Jonathan Sirois (MTL), Adilson Malanda (CLT), Joel Waterman (MTL), João Paulo (SEA), Cole Bassett (COL), Carles Gil (NE), Leo Afonso (MIA), Dejan Joveljic (LA), Cucho Hernández (CLB)
