The Colorado Rapids advance to the 2024 Leagues Cup knockout stage in a thrilling match against Club León at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. A last-minute goal from Rafael Navarro equalized the match at 1-1 to send the two sides into a shootout to determine who would advance in the tournament. Penalty conversions from Djordje Mihailovic, Cole Bassett, Moïse Bombito, and Rafael Navarro, along with the aid of two massive saves from Zack Steffen, propelled Colorado to secure its spot in the Round of 32.
Heading into Monday’s match there was no shortage of anticipation with both sides facing a win-or-go-home scenario in the group stage of the 2024 Leagues Cup. A victory in either regulation or a shootout following a draw would result in one of these sides advancing to the tournament’s knockout stage.
The first half saw no scoring, but plenty of action. The clubs traded high quality chances that did not find the back of the net in a hard fought 45 minutes. Rapids goalkeeper Steffen posted four saves in the first half to help keep his side even at zero.
Despite the half being scoreless, the energy was palpable at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park after the halftime break as both clubs looked to find the opener.
That energy only grew in the 54th minute, when Rapids midfielder Mihailovic subbed for the first time in just over a month after spending time with the U.S. National Team at the Summer Olympics in Paris.
In similar fashion to the first half, both Colorado and León traded chances within the final third but were unable to bring their sides in front. The Liga MX side would eventually break the ice in the 77th minute.
Following a breakaway chance that was saved by Steffen, León forward Edgar Guerra tapped home a rebound opportunity for the match’s first goal.
As has been the story of this Rapids team all season long, they did not give up when faced with a late deficit.
The squad continued to create chances and kept knocking on the door towards the end of regulation and into stoppage time.
With the entire attack up, Bassett ran point for Colorado in what would be the final chance of the match. The midfielder then sent in a curling pass to the far post for Keegan Rosenberry, who played the ball with one touch into the middle of the six-yard box. The pass then found the head of Navarro for a clinical finish past the León goalkeeper to send the match into a shootout.
To start, Mihailovic and Bassett both converted their attempts for the Rapids as the teams held serve for the first two rounds of the shootout. In the third round, Steffen came up huge with a crucial save on Andrés Guardado. Now playing with the edge, Colorado continued its clinical finishes, this time from Bombito and Navarro to keep the club perfect through four rounds. In the fifth round, Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø had his shot saved by the León goalkeeper, bringing the shootout down to sudden death. As he had done the entire match, Steffen delivered in a massive spot, making a clean save to secure the victory and propel Colorado into the tournament’s knockout stage.
Colorado will now quickly shift their focus to this Friday for its Round of 32 match against FC Juárez at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.
