Cole Bassett put Colorado on the front foot of the Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry this weekend with a second-half game-winning goal to earn the Rapids their first victory of the season, and himself, a Team of the Matchday honor.
“It’s been four years since we got a win here, so we're obviously pretty excited,” he said after the win. “We do know that we have two more games against them and another one where we’ve got to come back here, but it feels good to get the first win of the season, especially against RSL. It doesn't get much better.”
Bassett started the play off with a drive up the left side, laying the ball off to an overlapping Sam Vines and continuing his run into the box. Vines’ cross in was deflected by Salt Lake’s Brayan Vera, but Bassett quickly controlled the ball for a two-touch chance sent flying into the far post in the 70th minute.
The midfielder also recorded his 100th regular-season appearance in the win, becoming the second Homegrown to reach the milestone. Only Dillon Serna has surpassed the achievement in Rapids history with 105 appearances.
"The thing I appreciate most and value most and love most about Cole is his will to win," said Head Coach Chris Armas. "His will to win drives him to be fearless, and then once he's fearless he's not afraid to shoot the ball and and take responsibility in those moments. In his 100th appearance, he gets a goal, a goal that's a game-winner.
"Again, in some ways, it's incredible, but it's not surprising because he puts himself out there and that's what I love most. My style of play demands an energetic, fearless personality, guys that can run, repeat, sprint, press, and you can see that he showed that tonight which I think it was a good really good example of who we want to be."
Bassett and the Rapids head back on the road this weekend with an afternoon match at Lumen Field, taking on Seattle Sounders FC on their turf. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. MT.
Team of the Matchday - Matchday 4
F: Lorenzo Insigne (TOR), Giorgos Giakoumakis (ATL), Teemu Pukki (MIN)
M: Cole Bassett (COL), Riqui Puig (LA), Emil Forsberg (RBNY), Evander (POR)
D: Jordi Alba (MIA), Fernando Álvarez (MTL), Mo Farsi (CLB)
GK: Hugo Lloris (LAFC)
Coach: Laurent Courtois (MTL)
Bench: Alex Bono (DC), Ali Ahmed (VAN), Brooks Lennon (ATL), Mathieu Choinière (MTL), Thiago Almada (ATL), Célio Pompeu (STL), Antony (POR), Jacen Russell-Rowe (CLB), Duncan McGuire (ORL)
