The Colorado Rapids welcome Houston Dynamo FC to DICK'S Sporting Goods Park for the team's fourth game of the season. The Dynamo are coming off a mid-week game against Sporting Kansas City, where the Texas side earned a 1-0 win. Tonight, the club is excited to celebrate Pride Night as the conclusion of Soccer for All week. If you are interested in bidding on a Pride Night warmup top, click here to learn more.
Cole Bassett subs in for Younes Namli today, who is on the injury report this week. Bassett provided a palpable spark for the Rapids last week when he entered the game for Namli midway through the first half, so it will be exciting to see what he can do from the jump tonight. Kortne Ford also returns to the 18-man lineup for the first time since October 2018. See the full lineup below.
Starting XI: William Yarbrough, Keegan Rosenberry, Danny Wilson, Auston Trusty, Sam Vines, Jack Price, Kellyn Acosta, Cole Bassett, Michael Barrios, Diego Rubio, Andre Shinyashiki
Bench: Clint Irwin, Drew Moor, Lalas Abubakar, Nicolas Benezet, Nicolás Mezquida, Kortne Ford, Oliver Larraz, Darren Yapi, Collen Warner
1' - Aaaaand we're off!
3' - The Rapids earn their first corner of the game after a misplay by Houston that led to them flicking the ball out of bounds. Price's outswinger bounces around, and Wilson heads it out of bounds.
4' - Nice passing down the left side between Bassett and Rubio. Crisp passes and good runs. The Rapids seem run out of space, getting too crowded amongst the Houston defenders in the box, but a nice early combination none the less.
9' - Houston has their first real possession in the Rapids half of the field, and Trusty steps in with a solid clear. Houston still has the throw, but he stopped any semblance of Dynamo momentum with the move.
11' - The Rapids are dominating possession early on, controlling the tempo of the game. Through the first 10 minutes, they have had possession 61 percent of the time.
14' - Price hits a free kick from about 35-yards out, the Rapids third set piece of the game. Bassett gets his head on the end of it, but Houston's 'keeper Marko Maric makes the save. Rubio gets a couple shots off that are stopped by the Dynamo defense. A great series of early chances for the Rapids, who continue to have success on set pieces and are continuing to get those opportunities tonight.
18' - Rosenberry tracks his man into the midfield, but Houston plays a pass down the wing, and it's off the races. It appears like a dangerous opportunity for Houston as they race down the field 2-v-2, but the Rapids center backs step dismantle the breakaway.
27' - Houston gets their first shot on goal of the game. They combine down the right-hand side, and their cross is headed out by Wilson, but Houston collects and fires a shot on frame from just outside the 18. The pace was on the shot to make it dangerous, but Yarbrough handles.
29' - GOAL - Sam Vines opens his 2021 account! Yarbrough plays a long ball all way to Barrios, who beats all of the Houston back line by a mile. He squares it back to Vines, who is all alone at the penalty spot and rockets it in. Great ball to start the play by Yarbrough, an athletic, all-hustle run from Barrios finished with the perfect pass, and then Vines leaves no doubt with the strike. Rapids lead 1-0.
36' - GOAL - Another assist for Barrios, and the Rapids are cooking now. He plays in a cross right to the head of Rubio, who does a great job redirecting to the opposite corner of the goal. Happy Birthday, Diego Rubio! Rapids up 2-0.
39' - GOAL - Houston brings the Rapids back down to earth a little bit. Christian Ramirez hits a strike to the bottom left corner, just out of reach of Yarbrough. Rapids still in the lead, 2-1.
42' - GOAL - Goalies are going to have nightmares about Cole Bassett. Bassett puts pressure on Maric, who sends his clearance right into him, and it fires into the back of the net. With that goal, Bassett now has the record for the most goals by a Rapids Homegrown with 10. Rapids lead 3-1.
45' - And we're back! Did you miss us? Considering the Rapids have scored six goals in their last 90 minutes of play, our guess is that you very well may have.
60' - The Dynamo are coming off a short turnaround, after playing just on Wednesday night against Sporting. They seem to be feeling the effects of this (and likely altitude) as they make wholesale changes early in the half, replacing four players.
62' - Bassett is really showing more spark again tonight. He fires in a beautiful cross right around the penalty spot, but it crosses the box untouched. He and Barrios are dangerous combining down the right side.
69' - SUBSTITUTION - Nicolas Benezet enters the game for Shinyashiki.
73' - Vines is making his presence known on offense and defense tonight. He plays in another great cross.
74' - SUBSTITUTION - Barrios exits the game to a roar of applause from the crowd. He's replaced by Nicolas Mezquida.
84' - The Rapids have definitely slowed down the pace, letting Houston have a bit more possession and capitalizing when they make mistakes. Mezquida has shown sparks of energy and been a strong presence to combat Houston's physical midfield since subbing on.
89' - SUBSTITUTION - Jack Price exits the game and in comes Homegrown Oliver Larraz, making his Rapids debut. This is a bit moment from Larraz, who has played for the club since he was nine years old. Congratulations, Ollie! As he leaves the game, Price passes the captains band to Wilson.
90' + 4' - Larraz has a great couple moves, juking Houston defenders, for the perfect end of the game.
