Paxten Aaronson early strike earns Rapids road point in Austin

The Colorado Rapids (10-12-2, 32 pts., 7th West) earned a point on the road following a 1-1 draw with Austin FC (6-10-8, 26 pts., 14th West) on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium. 

Looking to bounce back from their most recent result, Colorado had a positive result set in their minds as they took the pitch in Texas. The club started off looking to settle into their gameplan, and after a short time, they did just that. For a majority of the first half, the Rapids dominated possession and created the match’s best opportunities up to that point in the match. 

Colorado’s attacking front, which included Donavan Phillip making his first MLS start, managed to take control in the final third as they searched for the opener. After multiple attempts, the Rapids struck first. 

Paxten Aaronson started the play off around the top of the Austin box, looking to get a shot on net. After the ball took multiple deflections, the opposition’s defender attempted a clearance that managed to find the foot of Aaronson once again. The Designated Player then took no time and cleanly struck the ball on a volley to find the back of the net and put Colorado up 1-0.  ​

The goal marked Aaronson’s fifth of the season and the 10th of his career in MLS. The midfielder has now logged a club-high 11 goal contributions this season (5g, 6a). 

From there, the Colorado defense stood strong and prevented any opportunities for the remainder of the half to maintain the lead. 

Austin came out of the halftime break on the front foot as they eyed an equalizer. For a majority of the first half, the Rapids back line cleared away any danger that was presented to them.  

Despite Colorado’s best efforts, Austin managed to equalize in the 79th minute. 

That would be all for the scoring on the night, with the Rapids managing to take a point home in a hard-fought draw.  

The club will quickly shift their focus yet again to this weekend, the start of a three-match homestand. Colorado will host CF Montréal on Saturday, September 12, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park with coverage available on Apple TV, Altitude Sports Radio, TICO Sports Spanish Radio ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids app.