The Colorado Rapids (2-1-0, 6 pts) will look to extend their recent winning form as they visit Houston Dynamo FC (1-1-1, 4 pts) on Saturday, March 19, in their second road match of the 2022 MLS season. Kickoff at PNC Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. MT and the match will be broadcast on Altitude Sports.
Robin Fraser’s side arrive in Texas riding a two-game winning streak following consecutive wins over Atlanta United FC and Sporting Kansas City, both at home. Rapids forward Diego Rubio scored his second goal is as many games (both game-winners), while Michael Barrios and Lucas Esteves each recorded an assist for a second consecutive game as the Rapids comfortably dispatched Kansas City 2-0. That match was also notable as it saw 17-year-old forward Darren Yapi make his debut with the club after entering the match as an 88th-minute substitute. Yapi made history when he became the youngest signing in Rapids history at age 16 in March 2021. The Homegrown Player recently spent parts of the offseason in Europe training with Arsenal FC and Club Brugge.
Houston will continue a two-game homestand on Saturday following a 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC last weekend. Dynamo forward Darwin Quintero scored a brace in the come-from-behind win, his first two goals of the season. The Texan club opened the season under new head coach Paulo Nagamura with a 0-0 draw at home against Real Salt Lake, followed by a 1-0 loss on the road against Kansas City.
“You just have to know where the danger comes from with Houston,” said Fraser ahead of the match. “They have a number of players who are good attacking players. Darwin Quintero is in great form at the moment and he’s the type of player who, if he’s full of confidence, he’s a real handful. We saw moments of that in the preseason game where he was contained for most of the game, but in the moments where he was able to get free, he was incredibly dangerous. So we certainly have to keep in mind their personnel and the players who can hurt us the most and be mindful of that in terms of how we set up defensively.”
Heading into Saturday’s game, the Rapids are unbeaten at PNC Stadium in their last four games there (3-0-1), including consecutive wins in their past three visits. Colorado has only lost once in their last seven encounters with Houston (4-1-2).
One of the best teams on the road in MLS in the past few years, the Rapids finished the 2021 season with the third-best road record in MLS (8-6-3), including a club-record eight wins away from home.
