COMMERCE CITY, Colo – After a week of rain in the mile high, the Colorado Rapids welcomed the San Jose Earthquakes to DICK’S Sporting Goods Park for a chilly quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday night. Back-to-back first half goals allowed the Rapids to hold the Quakes to a clean sheet.
During the last round of the domestic tournament, the Rapids welcomed their Colorado opponent, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, for what was a competitive Round of 16 I-25 derby. The match’s outcome, eventually being decided by penalty kicks, ruled in the Rapids favor 2:2 and 5:4 after seven rounds allowing the club to advance to the quarterfinal match.
In a successful attempt to not repeat last round’s events or loss on Saturday against Real Salt Lake, Rapids head coach Matt Wells produced a starting XI Wednesday, that left San Jose unable to produce.
Utilizing their normal 4-3-3 lineup, the Rapids welcomed familiar names to the pitch. 18-year-old Lucas Herrington continues his streak as the youngest MLS player to play every minute of every match, securing the Colorado back line. Alongside him, Rob Holding, Reggie Canon, Miquel Navarro and goalkeeper Nico Hansen.
Due to the suspension of defenseman Kosi Thompson, M. Navarro returned to the starting left back position following a week off.
Almost immediately, San Jose showcased a club that was eager to score. A blocked shot from Earthquakes’ Ian Harkes began match shooting during the second minute. However the anticipated energy didn’t last long.
After a successful header ruled Rob Holding offside in the 22nd minute, Designated Player Rafael Navarro remained determined to score as physicality increased. The disallowed goal left confusion amongst fans and the club.
“I’m not contesting – from the delivery, Rob [Holding] is in an offside position, obviously. In my mind, when I look back on the iPad, I’m like, he’s nowhere near challenging for the ball, he’s 10 yards away. They make a deliberate header clear, but what I’m understanding is potentially there is a rule that if the header goes in the attacking direction for them and it’s a deliberate action, if Rob is then coming back from his position, he apparently counts as offside. I’ve never been aware of this. I was thinking of similar situations I faced in the Premier League,” Wells said, in confusion of the call.
“I always thought the rule was that if the defender deflects it accidentally, then Rob is offside, but if the defender heads it like he clearly did, Rob is onside. But apparently, I think I may be in the wrong, so I need to get some clarification on it, but that would have been a nice goal to have scored, and would have been three set play goals on the night, but overall, as I said, really strong performance.”
Numerous fouls and injury concerns continued throughout the match. Directly following his receiving of a yellow card, in the 28th minute Quakes Ronaldo Vieira collided with Wayne Frederick causing the 21-year-old midfielder to briefly exit the pitch, returning with an external head wound taping.
An intense San Jose club continued to showcase as the final minutes of the first half concluded. Reid Roberts, a Fort Collins native, was given a yellow card for an unclean slide tackle on R. Navarro in the 36th minute. In response, back-to-back goals from Darren Yapi and R. Navarro ended the first half.
Homegrown forward Yapi, a product of the Rapids Academy, secured the matches first point with a header up the bottom left corner, recording his first career Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup goal and his fourth of the season across all competitions. Assisted by Dante Sealy and a second assist from Paxten Aaronson.
“I think that was my most complete performance I’ve had this season,” Yapi said. “In terms of, my back against the goal, regaining possession, pressing, recovery runs, everything. It showed tonight. On top of that, the goal as well.”
Directly following, Roberts was called for a handball, resulting in a Rapids penalty kick. With a successful shot to the bottom left corner, All-Star contender R. Navarro was able to convert the penalty, extending the club’s lead to 2:0 entering halftime.
The goal, Navarro’s ninth of the season, ties him with John Spenser for fifth place on the clubs all time goals list.
As energy continued to shift entering the second half, San Jose head coach Bruce Arena was quick to make substitutions. Marking the first change of the game, defender Dave Romeny entered for Roberts.
In the same fashion Wells showcased the dynamic abilities of the Rapids roster, entering three notable names as the second half continued. Georgi Minoungou, Jackson Travis and Hamzat Ojediran all saw competitive minutes on the pitch before fulltime.
As the match reached its final minutes, multiple attempts and rowdy fans played a large factor. Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto was struck by an object thrown by a fan, as Rapids Hansen and Travis each received yellow cards in the 89th and 90th minutes.
Despite Quakes best efforts, Rapids defense held them to a clean sheet, allowing the Rapids to take all three points and dominate the match 2:0. The domestic tournament will continue in the Fall, where the Rapids will compete in the semifinal round for the first time since 1999.
“It’s something for us to look forward to, but between now and then, we’ve got a lot of football to play. We’ve got a lot of improvements to make as a team. I’m really excited for the break. I think you’ve seen with us a clear correlation between training and performance,” Wells said. “In the spells where we’ve gone game, game, game, game, game, it’s nothing to do with physical, like we are. The only way to do that is with training time, but I saw a slight return to our best tonight, but still, still a long way to go.”
The young Rapids team will return home to Commerce City on Saturday for the club’s Summer Kickoff. An exciting final matchup against FC Dallas will mark their final MLS regular season match before the league pauses for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT and will feature a postgame fireworks display, expected to draw a large crowd.
“Super happy to be in the semi-final, super big deal. We just hope to see you guys on Saturday and thank you so much for the support,” Yapi said in an Instagram statement for the fans.
For the summer kickoff match Saturday, the club will look to continue mid-week momentum. Whether senior captain Zack Steffen will return to goal or Hansen will remain in his spot is yet to be announced, but fans can expect to see R. Navarro and the Rapids front line continue to dominate the home pitch, only having lost once at DSGP this season.
