COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids (1-3-3, 6 pts) will make their first-ever visit to Bank of America Stadium as they face Charlotte FC (1-4-2, 5 pts) for Matchday 8 this Saturday, April 15 (5:30 p.m. MT; Apple TV – Free, Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM).
The Rapids arrive in North Carolina after securing their first win of the season against Sporting Kansas City last weekend. Forward Diego Rubio scored his first goal of the year, while Darren Yapi tallied his first MLS assist in the 1-0 win. The result extended Colorado’s current unbeaten run to three games, which included clean sheets against Sporting KC and reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC.
Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough is on the brink of setting a new record for most shutouts in club history after logging his 29th career clean sheet in the win against SKC last weekend. That tied the previous record set by 2010 MLS Cup-winning goalkeeper Matt Pickens for the most shutouts all-time by a Rapids goalkeeper. Yarbrough recently surpassed Joe Cannon for the fourth-most appearances by a goalkeeper in club history and his 35 wins in Burgundy are one away from surpassing Clint Irwin for third-most wins all-time by a Rapids goalkeeper. The two-time Liga MX champion heads into this weekend’s game tied for fourth-most saves in MLS this season (24).
Rubio’s game-winning goal against SKC marked his 14th game-winning goal for Colorado, extending the record he set during the 2022 season. The goal was the 51st of his MLS career and the 36th with the Rapids, which is the fifth-most goals scored by an individual player in club history and one goal away from tying John Spencer for fourth-most all-time (37). The forward’s performance on Saturday landed him on the MLS Team of the Matchday bench. Rubio recently recorded his 100th regular season appearance with the Rapids, just the fourth forward in club history to achieve this feat. The Chilean international is coming off a career year where he equaled the Rapids’ all-time single-season scoring record (16 goals) and set a new club record for most goal contributions in a season (16 goals, 7 assists).
A recent MLS expansion side that made its debut last year, Charlotte FC has played the Rapids just once since its conception. The first match between the two clubs, back in April of 2022, ended in a scoreless draw at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. Charlotte hosts the Rapids following a 3-1 loss on the road to Real Salt Lake last Saturday, which ended an three-game unbeaten run for The Crown. Christian Lattanzio’s side is looking for its first home win of the season and will look to build on a possession-based style of play that has seen Charlotte out-possess all their opponents in every match this season outside of their sole win against Orlando City SC.
Charlotte FC forward Andre Shinyashiki will face his former team in the Rapids for the first time since being traded to the club in May last year. The Brazilian was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the Rapids after spending four years at nearby University of Denver. Shinyashiki tallied 16 goals and six assists over 86 appearances with the Rapids from 2019-22. He was honored with the 2019 MLS Rookie of the Year award after a seven-goal debut season, only the second MLS Rookie of the Year winner in club history, and the last recipient of the award before it was renamed the MLS Young Player of the Year Award in 2020,
