COMMERCE CITY, Colo. ― The Colorado Rapids (3-2-1, 10 points) will seek a third consecutive home victory when they return to DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, May 29, to host FC Dallas (1-2-3, 6 points). Kickoff is set for 7 PM, with pregame coverage beginning on Altitude Sports at 6:30 PM. and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM at 6:45 PM.
“Certainly looking forward to the game this weekend. We felt like last weekend we did a lot of things really well despite not winning, but we continue to feel like we’re making progress,” Rapids head coach Robin Fraser said. “Obviously, regardless of where they are in the table, Dallas is a very good team and will be a very good test for us again. We’re looking forward to playing at home in front of our fans once again.”
Colorado has won its last two matches at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, scoring three goals in both victories over Minnesota and Houston. On May 8, the Rapids overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half with goals from Kellyn Acosta, Cole Bassett and Danny Wilson to secure a 3-2 win over Minnesota. Then on May 15, Bassett, Sam Vines and Diego Rubio scored as Colorado cruised to a 3-1 win over the Dynamo.
Those wins were part of Colorado’s three-game winning streak that started against Vancouver on May 2, but ended on Saturday in Los Angeles. With Mexican star Carlos Vela and reigning Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi in the starting lineup, LAFC built a 2-0 lead going into halftime. Winger Michael Barrios scored five minutes into the second half to bring Colorado within one, but the Rapids were unable to find the equalizer.
Barrios’ goal was his first since joining the club via trade from FC Dallas in January. The Colombian has a goal and two assists in his last two games. Barrios spent six years with Dallas from 2015 to 2020 and is the club’s second all-time leader in combined goals and assists (75).
This is the second meeting of the season between these teams after they battled to a 0-0 draw in Dallas on Opening Day. The Rapids and Dallas will meet once more this season, in Colorado, on July 21.
Colorado will be without Acosta on Saturday after the 26-year-old Texas native was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team 23-player roster for the upcoming Concacaf Nation’s League Final Four, which will be in Denver at Empower Field at Mile High on June 3 and 6. Acosta and the USMNT will take on Switzerland in a friendly on May 30 at Noon MT on ESPN and UniMás.
Dallas enters the match following a 2-2 draw at home against Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Franco Jara and Ryan Hollingshead scored for Dallas, but Damir Kreilach equalized for RSL in the 86th minute. On the road, the Texan side is winless from two games so far this year. Jádert Obrian leads Dallas with two goals, while Paxton Pomykal has two assists this season.
“It’s the same mindset. It’s approaching everything the same way,” defender Auston Trusty said. “Obviously, we got the tie last time we went [to Dallas] in the first game of the year. We got a point, but we want to win this game. We want to approach it in a way where we’re in control of the game, we do our thing and we get three points out of it.”
News & Notes
- The Colorado Rapids have scored in 27 consecutive MLS matches at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park since Oct. 28, 2018, which is the longest active home scoring streak in the league. Sporting KC has the next active longest streak, with goals in 18 consecutive home MLS matches since Aug. 11, 2019 (regular season only).
- Diego Rubio’s next appearance will be the 100th of his MLS career. The Chilean has 31 goals and 18 assists in 99 career MLS appearances, including 16 goals and 10 assists in 48 games since joining Colorado via trade ahead of 2019.
- Sam Vines’ next appearance will be the 50th of his MLS career. Vines will become the third Rapids Academy product to play 50 MLS games (D Shane O’Neill, D/M Dillon Serna). Vines has two goals and three assists in his career.
- Jonathan Lewis’ next appearance will be his 40th with Colorado since joining the team via trade in May 2019. Lewis has 13 goals and eight assists in 70 career MLS appearances, including 10 goals and three assists with the Rapids.
- Saturday will mark the second meeting of 2021 between these teams and comes exactly 25 years since their second-ever meeting during the inaugural MLS season in 1996. Colorado won that match, 2-0, at Mile High Stadium, with goals from F Chris Henderson and F Jean Harbor.
- With his 90-minute performance on Saturday, D Auston Trusty has played 540 minutes in 2021, surpassing his total of 525 in 2020, his first season with Colorado. The 22-year-old has started all six matches at center back this season, contributing to two clean sheets.
- The Rapids and FC Dallas will both wear adidas PRIMEBLUE Kits during Saturday's match, which are made of plastic recycled from the oceans. MLS and Twitter have partnered to honor fans with a post-match virtual jersey swap.
