COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Colorado Rapids 2 (1-2-1, 4 pts) is set to face off against Portland Timbers2 (0-1-3,4pts ) on Sunday, April 14, for the teams’ first meeting of the 2024 season. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. MT (Apple TV - MLS Season Pass) at Providence Park in Portland.
Rapids 2 is coming off a back-and-forth 3-5 result against Sporting KC II in Colorado this past weekend. After going down early, goals from Patrick Dormoh, Marlon Vargas and Alec Díaz turned the scoreline in the home side’s favor heading into halftime. The visitors took over the advantage in the second half, scoring four unanswered goals to finish the game at 3-5.
Multiple Rapids 2 players reached important milestones in the contest, including Dormoh’s first professional goal in the 24th minute, first assists of the season for Noah Strellnauer, Daouda Amadou and Daniel Garcia, and an MLS NEXT Pro and Rapids debut for Uruguayan forward Facundo Núñez.
Vargas’ goal in the 30th minute marked his fourth in as many MLS NEXT Pro games this season, placing him at the top of the leaderboards for the league. He is currently tied for most goals with three other players.
Timbers2 enters the matchup coming off a draw and subsequent penalty shootout loss to St. Louis CITY2, playing to a 1-1 scoreline in regulation before falling 5-3 in penalties. A goal from Jaden Jones-Riley, assisted by Harvey Neville, marked the lone goal for Timbers2 on the night.
The Rapids hold the advantage in the series (3-1-0), suffering the lone loss to their Western Conference opponent in August 2023, a 2-0 result at Providence Park. The loss was Colorado’s second and final road loss of the season, and only the third time they’d been held scoreless in a match in 2023.
