ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Rapids (1-3-5, 8 pts) will visit Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2-2-4, 10 pts) this Saturday for the first matchup between the two sides this season. Colorado is currently on a five-game unbeaten streak, while the Whitecaps enter the game on a six-game unbeaten streak. The Rapids have the edge in the head-to-head series (12-10-6) and won the previous meeting by a score line of 3-1.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A SAVE
Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough is on the brink of setting a new record for most career shutouts in club history. Yarbrough recently recorded his 29th clean sheet for the Rapids, tying 2010 MLS Cup-winning goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the most shutouts in Burgundy all-time. Yarbrough recently surpassed Joe Cannon for the fourth-most appearances by a Rapids goalkeeper and his 35 wins with the club are just one away from surpassing Clint Irwin for third-most wins by a goalkeeper in club history. The two-time Liga MX champion heads into this weekend’s game ranked eighth in saves in MLS this season (25). Yarbrough has also held a shutout streak for 327 minutes earlier this season, the second longest streak in MLS in 2023.
RAMPANT RUBIO
Forward Diego Rubio enters Saturday’s contest with one goal and two assists from his past three games. The Chilean international assisted the Rapids’ equalizing goal against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, marking his 24th as a member of the club. This feat surpassed Marcelo Balboa for eight-most assists in Rapids history; he is now one assist away from surpassing Adrian Paz for seventh-most assists in club history. Recently, Rubio recorded his 100th regular-season appearance in Burgundy, becoming just the fourth forward in club history to reach that tally. Rubio has scored 36 goals as a member of the Rapids and is one goal away from tying John Spencer for fourth-most goals scored in club history. The 29-year-old forward enjoyed a career year in 2022 in which he equaled the Rapids’ all-time, single-season scoring record (16 goals) and set a new record for most goal contributions in a season in club history (23; 16 goals, 7 assists).
Rubio now has 60 goal contributions (34 goals, 26 assists) in his career with Colorado and is one shy of tying Paul Bravo for the fourth most in club history. The Chilean also needs one assist to join Omar Cummings (39 goals, 27 assists) as the only players in club history with at least 35 goals and 25 assists.
U.S. OPEN CUP UPDATE
Jonathan Lewis scored a brace and assisted a third as the Colorado Rapids began their 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign with a 3-1 Third-Round win over visiting Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on Wednesday night. The Rapids advanced to the tournament’s Round of 32 and will travel to California to take on Sacramento Republic FC on either May 9 or May 10. Wednesday’s match saw goalkeeper Marko Ilić record his first start as a member of the Rapids, while defender Michael Edwards recorded his first appearance for the club. Midfielder Max recorded a goal and an assist. Max now has two goals and one assist across his last three appearances (all competitions). With his goal on Wednesday, he has now scored across MLS, the Concacaf Champions League and the U.S. Open Cup. Midfielder Ralph Priso delivered the assist on Jonathan Lewis’ opening goal, marking the second consecutive match that Priso has delivered an assist.
TEAM OF THE MATCHDAY HONORS
Midfielder Bryan Acosta was announced to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench on Monday following his performance against St. Louis CITY SC over the weekend, where he dominated the middle of the pitch to help secure the Rapids’ 1-1 draw.
Acosta completed four shots on the night, two of them on goal. This is his first Team of the Matchday honor with the Rapids. In his 77 minutes played on Saturday, Acosta completed six final third entries, won six of his duels and forced four turnovers. The Honduran was named the Man of the Match for his efforts on the Rapids’ pitch.
CLUB CONNECTIONS
- Rapids goalkeeper Marko Ilić and Whitecaps defender Ranko Veselinović were both born in Novi Sad, Serbia, and were teammates at Vojvodina from 2015-2018. Both have also been teammates at the international level with Serbia’s U-17 (2015), U-19 (2017) and U-21 (2019) sides, as well as been capped at the senior level.
- Whitecaps defender Karifa Yao and Rapids defender Moise Bombito were both born in Montreal, Canada.
- Rapids homegrown defender Sebastian Anderson and Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter were teammates in 2018 with the U.S. U-17 youth national team.
- Whitecaps defender Ali Ahmed and Rapids midfielder Ralph Priso were both born in Toronto, Canada.
- Rapids head coach Robin Fraser and Whitecaps defender Javain Brown were both born in Kingston, Jamaica.
- Whitecaps midfielder Ryan Gauld and Rapids midfielder Sam Nicholson both represented Scotland at the U-19 level (2013-2014) and U-21 level (2015-2016).
- Whitecaps assistant coach Ricardo Clark was teammates with Rapids defenders Lalas Abubakar (2018-2019) and Aboubacar Keita (2019) with Columbus Crew SC.
MILESTONE TRACKER
- GK William Yarbrough is one shutout away from setting a new record for most clean sheets in club history (30) and is one win away from recording his 36th win with the Rapids, which would surpass Clint Irwin for third-most wins in club history by a Rapids goalkeeper.
- F Diego Rubio is one goal away from tying John Spencer for fourth-most goals in club history. Additionally, Rubio’s 24 assists as a member of the Rapids are one away from surpassing Adrian Paz for seventh-most in club history.
- F Kévin Cabral is one start away from collecting his 50th start in MLS.
