The Colorado Rapids (15-11-5, 50 pts.) fell on the road against Minnesota United FC (13-12-6, 45 pts.) on Saturday night at Allianz Field. A Kelvin Yeboah brace and a Hassani Dotson goal were the difference-makers on the night. The Rapids will now shift their focus to a two-match week at home against LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders.
With only four matches left in the 2024 MLS regular season for both Colorado and Minnesota heading into Saturday night, every point earned would be crucial in improving playoff seeding. The Rapids entered the night at third in the Western Conference while Minnesota were placed at ninth.
The match started off with both sides settling in to try and find their footing. Colorado maintained most of the possession in an attempt to build up their attacks, but it would be the hosts that would strike first and take an early lead.
A Minnesota counterattack led to Joseph Rosales finding space down the left wing and sending a cross to Robin Lod at the far post. The midfielder took a shot on the volley that deflected off the head of Kelvin Yeboah to put the Loons up one.
Despite the deficit, the Rapids maintained their possession in an attempt to grab an equalizer in the first half.
Those attempts did not pan out for Colorado, as Minnesota would go into halftime with the 1-0 lead at Allianz Field.
Two minutes after the break, the home side would strike again. Following a run down the left side of the pitch, Joaquin Pereyra sent in a cross on the ground to Yeboah, who found the back of the net for a second time in the match.
The Rapids were able to create chances in an attempt to claw back and salvage points, but Minnesota would cap off the scoring in the 82nd minute.
After cutting into the middle of the pitch, midfielder Hassani Dotson sent in a shot from the edge of the eighteen to put his side up by three and seal the victory.
Following the loss, Head Coach Chris Armas shared a positive outlook:
“I can tell you that our group responds, they respond when we have losses. We've done it all year in a big way. So, we'll look to do that again. We around here at the Rapids this year, from the very first game, we've not gotten too low, we've not gotten too high – this is another case of that. We rebound, take a hard look, we recover, and we get things ready for Wednesday.”
Colorado currently holds a 7-1-2 record in MLS play following a loss and will look to continue that success on Wednesday when they take on the Western Conference’s top contender LA Galaxy at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT (Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, Altitude Sports Radio 950AM).
