Two Colorado Rapids were named to the Matchday 9 Team of the Matchday roster after their performances against San Jose over the weekend. Striker Rafael Navarro earned a spot on the Starting XI following a two-goal and assist showing and goalkeeper Zack Steffen found a spot on the bench after collecting his first shutout with the Rapids in the 3-0 result.
Both players’ contributions to the win resulted in the Rapids’ fourth consecutive unbeaten result on the road and second victory on the road, tallied alongside the win against rivals Real Salt Lake in March.
Navarro opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finishing from the spot to give the Rapids’ the advantage heading into halftime. Djordje Mihailovic found Navarro alone in the box, prompting former Rapids’ goalkeeper William Yarbrough came off his line to clear the danger, but not before Yarbrough caught the heels of Navarro, taking him down and earning the Rapids’ a chance from the spot. Navarro’s second goal of the night came in the 60th minute. Defender and Rapids captain Keegan Rosenberry sent a floating cross into the six where it bounced off both Bassett and Calvin Harris before falling to Navarro’s feet. The striker easily tapped the ball in to earn his first goal in the run of play this season.
“Very happy,” he said about his performance postgame. “Very happy to score the two goals, especially as an attacking player, it's very special to score two goals. Happy to help the team score the goals and get the win today.”
Steffen faced a total of 24 shots on the night, six of them on target. The 'keeper was tested heavily in the final moments of the game to hold onto the clean sheet, as San Jose recorded three shots on frame and two chances that hit the woodwork in the last 15 minutes.
San Jose earned ten corners on the night to test the strength of the Rapids' backline. Steffen's save from point-blank range in the 48th minute preserved the shutout.
"I felt the backline and the whole group was really dialed in, the clean sheet is definitely a reflection of their hard work," he said after the match. "Massive result for us away and that'll give us a lot of confidence going forward. But I thought the guys in front of me box defending were excellent, putting out fires, they were terrific tonight."
This is the first time this season that multiple members of the Rapids received a shout for Team of the Matchday honors for MLS.
Team of the Matchday - Matchday 9
F: Mateusz Bogusz (LAFC), Rafael Navarro (COL), Lionel Messi (MIA)
M: Erik Thommy (SKC), Evander (POR), Diego Gómez (MIA), Joseph Paintsil (LA)
D: Caleb Wiley (ATL), Ethan Bartlow (HOU), Kai Wagner (PHI)
GK: Matt Freese (NYC)
Coach: Ben Olsen (HOU)
Bench: Zack Steffen (COL), Malte Amundsen (CLB), Aaron Herrera (DC), Keaton Parks (NYC), Nicolás Lodeiro (ORL), Liel Abada (CLT), Josef Martínez (MTL), Prince Owusu (TOR), João Klauss (STL)
