The Big Picture
Cole Bassett scored in the second half to help the Colorado Rapids (6-3-3, 21 points) secure a 1-1 draw against San Jose Earthquakes (3-7-3, 12 points) on Saturday night and extend their unbeaten streak at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park to six games. The goal was Bassett’s third of the season and brought the Rapids’ home scoring streak to 31 consecutive MLS matches with a goal scored at DSGP, the longest active home scoring streak in the league. The match also saw 17-year-old Rapids Homegrown Player Dantouma “Yaya” Toure make his MLS debut when he entered the game in the 87th minute. Colorado is now unbeaten in its last six home matches, the longest home unbeaten run with Robin Fraser at the helm.
Notable Numbers:
- 17-year-old F Dantouma “Yaya” Toure was included in the gameday roster for the first time this season and made his MLS debut in the 87th minute. Toure signed a Homegrown Player contract with Colorado in March at age 16.
- The Rapids extended their home scoring streak to 31 consecutive MLS matches, the longest active home scoring streak in MLS and the longest in club history.
- The Rapids extend their home unbeaten streak to six games, their longest unbeaten run at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park under HC Robin Fraser.
- M Cole Bassett scored his third goal of the season, tying F Diego Rubio and F Michael Barrios for the team lead. The goal came on a left-footed strike from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute.
- F Nico Benezet earned his first assist of the season on M Cole Bassett’s goal. The 30-year-old Frenchman made his first start since Colorado’s playoff-clinching win at Portland on Nov. 4, 2020.
- The Rapids are now unbeaten in their last 10 matches against San Jose at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park since April 2014.
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH ROBIN FRASER
On the match:
“It’s a little bit disappointing for us. We certainly felt like we could’ve gotten more out of it at home, but also give credit to San Jose who I thought came in and had a good plan and made it very difficult for us to get really good looks at the goal. Obviously giving a goal up early for us put us behind the 8 ball, but I was proud of the group. I don’t think we were as good tonight as we’ve been. I don’t think we were as sharp as we’ve been, but nevertheless, we hung in there and we fought. Nobody likes a tie, but it’s better than a loss at home so we certainly feel like we could’ve gotten more, but at the end of the day, I don’t think we played particularly well, so we’ll take the tie and move on.”
On the team’s energy after Cole Bassett’s goal:
“I thought after the goal, I agree with the initial part of your statement which is that the energy picked up. The energy in the team picked up. The energy in the crowd picked up and we really seemed to be pressing and looking for those moments to score another goal. It’s the ebbs and flows of games and when you’re in those moments, sometimes you need to capitalize on them because, as I said, there are ebbs and flows and it’s going to slow down at some point. The feeling was we were in a pretty good space at that point and unfortunate not to really get another one during that stretch.”
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER JACK PRICE
On looking ahead to Wednesday’s match:
“We’ve got another home game, thankfully it’s in about three or four days so we can turn around quickly, which is always nice after a disappointing result. Even though it’s a point, it’s still disappointing at home. Like I said, we can put it right on Wednesday and we’re going to start fast against Dallas. We beat them a couple of weeks ago but it probably wasn’t our best performance, but we know what we’ve got to do to beat them. We know what we’ve got to do at home to beat anyone and tonight just wasn’t good enough, but we’ll be ready because we’ll use our disappointment tonight to fuel us for Wednesday.”
On Dantouma “Yaya” Toure’s MLS debut:
“Yeah, happy for the lad. It’s his debut. I thought he was busy when he came on. Proud of him. It’s nice when you get your first start or your first appearance in the First Team setup. He’s sharp. He’s got that edge where he can take players on and he’s got a bright future ahead of him. He just has to keep his head down on the ground and keep working hard. I’m sure he’ll be okay. Delighted for him. It’s a big moment for him and his family so chomped to bits for the lad.”
