Following his brace in the Rapids' Home Opener on Saturday night, Colorado Rapids striker Rafael Navarro was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench in the second week of MLS resular season play.
The Brazilian led the attacking charge in Colorado's 3-3 thrill of an offensive showing at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, posting six shots on the night, three of them on frame. After defender Keegan Rosenberry opened the scoring early, it was Navarro that rose above the heads of FC Dallas defenders to head a goal home in the 39th minute to double the Rapids' lead.
Navarro struck again in the 72nd minute to equalize and secure a point for Colorado. The second-half strike marked his fifth goal against FC Dallas in three games.
"I don't know [what makes me score so much against Dallas], but I can play against them all season if it means scoring goals," he said after the match.
He was named Man of the Match by Rapids fans in-stadium, taking home the first Man of the Match oar of the season, designed by supporter group C38, for his efforts in front of the net.
"It's what he loves most to do, score goals," said Head Coach Chris Armas after the game. "He's a striker that runs for the team and presses and comes back into the game, and he's such an amazing character this way, but the goals are what he loves most...I liked what I saw from our attack tonight, and then that he gets rewarded, because it does wonders."
Navarro and the Rapids will take that offensive strength to Austin FC over the weekend when they meet with the Western Conference opponent on March 8. Kickoff at Q2 Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.
Team of the Matchday | Matchday 2
F: Brian White (VAN), Tai Baribo (PHI), Luis SuƔrez (MIA)
M: Wilfried Zaha (CLT), Emil Forsberg (RBNY), CĆ©sar AraĆŗjo (ORL), Telasco Segovia (MIA)
D: Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC), Michael Boxall (MIN), Mohamed Farsi (CLB)
GK: Chris Brady (CHI)
Coach: Bradley Carnell (PHI)
Bench: James Pantemis (POR), Alex Freeman (ORL), Jeppe Tverskov (SD), Quinn Sullivan (PHI), David Da Costa (POR), Kelvin Yeboah (MIN), Rafael Navarro (COL), Petar Musa (DAL), Hugo Cuypers (CHI)