BRONX, N.Y. — Coming off a two-match home winning streak, the Colorado Rapids saw their momentum come to an end Saturday night after a 3-1 away defeat to New York City FC.
In recent weeks, the Colorado team has showcased a variety of lineups and offensive strategies, outscoring their previous two opponents 6-1 and increasing team morale, with the club eager to highlight their mentality before hitting the road.
Head coach Matt Wells introduced a new starting lineup for the match, with senior defender Keegan Rosenberry serving as team captain for the night.
The captain’s armband has circulated the roster due to the absence of starting goalkeeper Zack Steffen. The band (and title) belonged to defenseman Rafael Navarro in the Rapids most recent matchup against the LA Galaxy.
Steffen remains sidelined with a shoulder injury and is on a “day-by-day basis,” according to Wells earlier this week, before announcing he would be out for the match. With Steffen unavailable once again, now missing two matches, Nico Hansen stepped in to replace him in the lineup.
Despite the match opening slowly, both teams showcased early attacking chances before a heavy defensive focus was put on NYC midfielder Keaton Parks.
Parks was a magnet for fouls throughout the match, drawing four fouls in total. One came early in the eighth minute, when Colorado midfielder Hamzat Ojediran (who scored the Rapids’ first goal of the season earlier this year) was given a yellow card after fouling Parks.
New York remained consistent, forcing Hansen to endure early offensive pressure from New York. He ended the match recording five saved goals, including a diving save in the eighth minute, but was unable to defend against NYC midfielder Nicolás Fernández Mercau, who put up two of the club’s three goals.
Fernández opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, finishing a right-footed shot into the lower-left corner after missing a left-footed attempt moments earlier, allowing New York to take an early lead.
The 26-year-old midfielder later increased the home club’s lead in the 45th minute, converting a free kick from the right wing in the 45th minute.
The Rapids, eager for a goal, had missed attempts from Navarro and Ojediran before obtaining a successful response from homegrown forward Darren Yapi, bringing the Rapids onto the board.
Yapi found the lower-left central zone of the net off an assist from Navaroo, marking his second goal in the last two matches and allowed for the club to enter the second half with a one-goal deficit, trailing New York 2-1.
“We checked a lot of boxes of the ‘hard things’ or the ‘difficult things’ when you are coming together still.” Rosenberry said. “Its the other things that unfortuanetly we let our selves down with… being harder to play against, being smatter, a little more savvy. Those things are learned and hopefully we learn them quickly.”
As the match progressed into the second half, yellow cards and fouls became a prominent factor, with both teams receiving a total of two yellows each, three of which occurred within the first ten minutes of the second half.
Though Ojediran opened the gate for fouls earlier in the match, NYC midfielder Aiden O’Neill, Fernández and Yapi were each shown yellow cards throughout the second half.
Similar to previous matches this season, Wells again showcased both the flexibility and depth of his roster, making adjustments early in the second half to allow a variation of players to see the field.
Dante Sealy and Ted Ku-DiPietro were the first substitutes to enter the match, subbing in during the 55th minute as replacements for Alexis Manyoma, who made his first start of the season, and Wayne Fredrick.
NYC made their first adjustments of the match in the 63rd minute, introducing forward Talles Mango for Parks before later substituting Raul Gustavo for Agustín Ojeda later in the match.
Moments after the adjustment, Hansen was faced with New York midfielder Hannes Wolf, shooting towards the left side of the box in the 67th minute and again in the 74th, with both saved by Hansen, showcasing heavy offensive strides from NYC.
With their opponent on the hunt, key roster changes were made for the Rapids. Josh Atencio replaced Ojediran in the 69th minute. Shortly after the Rapids attempted two unsuccessful finishes from both Yapi and Navarro with an unsuccessful header from the center of the box.
Wells made additional changes in the 82nd minute, bringing on Miquel Navarro for Jackson Travis and Mamadou Diop for Keegan Rosenberry.
Diop, who joined the club less than 24 hours before kickoff, was signed from Rapids 2. The 19-year-old was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft and scored 16 goals across 31 appearances last season.
Defensively, the Rapids’ defense remained resilient late in the match. Prominent blocks from Paxten Aaronson and Lucas Herrington in the 83rd and 84th minutes of the match kept Colorado within one point for the majority of the match.
Despite the Rapids’ efforts to level out the scoreboard, NYCFC secured the result with a goal in the final minutes from forward Talles Magno.
In the 86th minute, Magno found the bottom right corner of the net for a third New York goal, assisted by Maxi Moralez and a secondary assist from Kai Trewin, sealing the 3–1 victory and ending Colorado’s two-match winning streak.
“Frustrated, but we’re a team in process and we have to learn from tonight and get better for the weekend,” said Wells.
The Rapids will travel to Kansas City next week with kickoff scheduled for March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Sporting Park and are still in the search for the teams first away win this season.
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