It’s been six years since the Rapids have advanced to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup, but last night, the squad broke the dry spell with an impressive 4-2 victory over host team and USL side Sacramento Republic FC.
There’s no intent to let up anytime soon. Head Coach Robin Fraser and his team have set their sights on winning the whole thing.
“Everyone takes [the Open cup competition] as an opportunity to get into the first team… So that’s their individual impetus to play well,” Fraser said after beating NCO. “But overall as a team, it’s really, really important that we take this seriously… and give ourselves a real chance to win this tournament.”
While some key starters were missing from the game, four different players scored goals on Tuesday night with three other players recording assists. In the last USOC game, the team downed Northern Colorado Hailstorm, 3-1. With seven goals in two games, it marks the most USOC goals for the Rapids in a single tournament all-time.
Leading the team in USOC goals is forward Jonathan Lewis, who scored two against the Hailstorm and an early opener over Republic FC in the fourth minute.
To give the Rapids an early lead, Danny Leyva, new to the squad, sent a long ball to Lewis, who found himself surrounded by five Sacramento players, including the goalkeeper. Lewis maintained composure and secured the point.
“I think what we see now, finally, is a fully healthy and fit Jonny,” Fraser said. “When he picks up the ball in certain parts of the field, he's very dangerous, and his ability with the ball, his timing and his running without the ball, those things are really important. When he does those things well, he becomes very dangerous.”
In addition to Lewis’ goal last night, Michael Edwards registered his first start and goal with the team, burying a set-piece header from an Alex Gersbach corner kick in the 14th minute. Early in the second half, midfielder Sam Nicholson sent a nice ball to Michael Barrios to set up for a score; however, the ball hit the far post, but Nicholson was in the perfect position to rebound it and find the back of the net. With just nine minutes left in regulation, Barrios connected on a cross from Galván for a header to ice the match.
According to Lewis, the idea of winning the whole tournament is far from unrealistic for him and the rest of the team.
“It’s six games to get to the finals and to win a trophy,” Lewis said. “For us, it's that focus and that mentality right there to win or go home. We have that in the back of our heads, and we know that this could be an opportunity, a tournament that we can actually win, so I think everybody's just putting their head down. We know whoever we get next, it's going to be just another game, but there's going to be a lot more urgency in these games right now than even maybe an MLS game.”
The Rapids left Sacramento in the midst of a nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and a ticket to the Round of 16. The team’s opponent and date of competition will be determined in Thursday’s draw.
“Everything starts with a commitment, and it's been really good from the beginning,” Fraser said. “Now it becomes more difficult as we have more games and less rest, and we have to use more guys. And guys who get opportunities need to step up and play with the same level of intensity that we've seen over the last however many weeks it is now. Right now, we need to keep going, keep our foot down and we don't let up.”
