HOUSTON — Coming off another busy match week, the Colorado Rapids traveled to Texas to face Houston Dynamo FC for the club’s second meetup of the season. Unable to find the goal, the Texas club defeated the Rapids 1-0 for their fifth win in the last six matches.
On Wednesday, the young Colorado team faced off against southern Centennial state opponent, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S Cup Tournament.
After drawing 1-1 during the first 90 minutes, both teams scored one goal each during extra time, before the Rapids eventually defeated the Switchbacks, scoring 5:4 during penalty kicks after seven rounds to advance to the Quarterfinal round later this month.
23-year-old Midfielder Alexis Manyoma was successful for the Rapids singular regular time goal on Wednesday, securing his spot in the starting XI tonight. Though goalkeeper Nico Hansen showcased an impressive penalty performance Wednesday, senior captain Zack Steffen returned to the net.
“These guys are all professionals, they know it. The work that they have to put in, even with all these short weeks of recovery that they have to do and to make sure that they’re right for the game,” Hansen said, remaining as a substitute.
“When you’re in the locker room, you try to be a leader and help out with things as much as possible. When you’re on the pitch, of course, it comes from the manager as well, but the guys know the work that they have to do. You don’t really have to get in their ear too much. We have a good group of guys that really work hard for us.”
In the first contest between the two clubs earlier this season, Colorado dominated the match in a 6-2 home victory. A two goal brace during his Rapids debut from Kosi Thompson and additional goals from Josh Atencio, Rafael Navarro and an own goal from Dynamo defenseman Felipe Andrade led the Rapids to a standout lead.
The Rapids announced an availability report that left many fans questioning the health of the young team. As expected, Connor Ronan remains sidelined for another week due to injury while Ted Ku-DiPietro continues undergoing shoulder surgery rehabilitation. Wayne Frederick was out for the first week with a leg injury.
Both Paxten Aaronson and Minoungou were listed as questionable but remained available as substitutes and each saw minutes on the pitch. Multiple unidentified Rapids injuries left play tonight sporadic.
“Tonight we look like a team that had Paxten on the bench half injured, Georgi [Minoungou] half injured, and Jackson Travis half injured. Not a great spot at the moment in terms of squad availability, but that’s just the nature of the amount of games we’ve had, and have to get through these moments as a team,” Rapids head coach Matt Wells said. “Hopefully Wayne Frederick is not as bad as we first thought. Hopefully another few days and Minoungou is fit again, Aaronson fit again, and Travis fit again. Hopefully Connor Ronan is able to come back into training, because at the moment we’re short on numbers.”
Coming off an eventful match earlier this week and the energy from their last matchup against the Dynamo, the Rapids were expected to apply heavy offensive pressure, carrying momentum from Wednesday’s I-25 Derby. As the gates opened at Shell Energy Stadium and kickoff hit 6:30 p.m. MT, both clubs immediately showed how evenly matched they were, with five free kicks in the first five minutes setting a physical tone early.
A moderately uneventful first half remained, with the first goal attempt happening in the 20th minute. Both able to be saved by Steffen, Dynamo midfielders Jack McGlynn and Diadié Samassékou each produced unsuccessful shots, contributing to a total of four goalkeeper saves for Steffen by the end of the night.
An additional shot from José Artur was blocked by Josh Atencio during the 26th minute before Andrade was given a yellow card for fouling Darren Yapi in the 31st minute. Hamzat Ojediran received the Rapids first yellow card further in the half.
Making the first substitution of the game, Rapids head coach Matt Wells introduced 20-year-old Noah Cobb for Robb Holding. The notably early substitution for the Colorado team, was followed by an additional, welcoming Aaronson to the pitch for Atencio, in hopes for increasing Rapids pressure going into the half and concerns regarding a potential head injury of Atencio.
“I think it was precaution with Josh [Atencio], because he obviously had a pretty nasty knock to the head. Obviously nothing is more important than Josh’s health and safety,” Wells said. “And then Rob [Holding] just obviously took a knock. A dead leg is just sort of where we’re at at the moment, the same sort of injury as Paxten [Aaronson].”
The Rapids were held to zero shots in the first half, while the Dynamo recorded three, two being on target. The score remained at 0:0 entering halftime.
Directly following halftime, Manyoma received a yellow card, starting a series of second half momentum. An unsuccessful header, and arguably best Rapids opportunity, from Dante Sealy highlighted a differently presented team.
Back-to-back shots from Houston were unsuccessful, with one saved by Steffen. Multiple unsuccessful attempts persisted from both teams throughout the remainder of the half.
Two Dynamo yellows were given to Mateusz Bogusz and Lawrence Ennali, with a Rapids card given to Darren Yapi. With the score remaining at 0:0 and both clubs eager to score, things changed in the 72nd minute.
With a long-range shot from outside the box, Ennali responded to the yellow card given moments before with a successful goal from 30-yards out to the top left corner, bringing the Texas club to a 1:0 lead.
The Rapids continued to further introduce substitutes to the pitch as the final moments of the half concluded. Kimani Stewart-Baynes, Jackson Travis and Mamadou Diop all were subbed in during the 80th minutes, with Diop immediately establishing his presence with an unsuccessful shot on goal within seconds. The entrance of Stewart-Baynes marks his first MLS appearance of the season and the 17th of his career.
Multiple unfinished attempts from the club left the Rapids team unable to find the net as fulltime concluded with the Dynamo securing the lead 1:0. Unable to showcase team chemistry while balancing substitutions and health concerns, the Rapids were unable to produce a successful result.
“I think the story tonight is more individual quality in the front half of the pitch. I think we are lacking sharpness and freshness as a front-half group at the moment, and I think tonight we looked inferior to their defenders in one-v-one situations,” Wells said. “I think our lack of team balance and chemistry tonight meant we weren’t able to arrive in the right positions to create constant attacking threat. By the end, the group of players we had on the pitch, there was no balance to our play at all, so the last 15 minutes for it just looks like we’re short of ideas.”
The Rapids once again have an exciting upcoming week. Returning home to DICK’s Sporting Goods Park Saturday, May 9, the team will host St. Louis in a matchup scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. An additional meet and greet and autograph session with forward Darren Yapi will occur Wednesday, May 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at F1 Arcade Denver, giving fans an opportunity to connect with homegrown talent and navigate the Rapids Player Pathway.
