The Colorado Rapids (11-12-2, 35 pts., 7th West) earned all three points in a record-setting clean sheet victory at home over CF Montréal (5-14-6, 21 pts., 15th East) on Saturday night.
On a beautiful Saturday night in Colorado, the Rapids looked to continue their scorching hot run of form at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park as of late.
The home side started with all the momentum in the first half, creating quality chances early in the attacking third in addition to maintaining most of the game’s possession early on. Chances from Georgi Minoungou, Donavan Phillip, and Darren Yapi came up just short but showed that Colorado was on the doorstep of taking the lead in the match.
After their multiple attempts, Colorado finally found their breakthrough after Phillip drew a penalty kick following a slick move in the box. Stepping up to take the penalty was Paxten Aaronson, who calmly placed the ball into the right side of the net to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead.
The Designated Player has now recorded goals in consecutive matches and extended his club lead in goal contributions to 12 (6g, 6a).
Now with the lead, the Rapids went into the halftime break looking to close out yet another clean sheet victory.
Colorado continued their dominance to start the second half, but this time with some new faces. Making their debut for the Rapids were the club’s newest signings, striker Sayed Abu Farkhi and Designated Player Morgan Whittaker, who subbed into the match together in the 54th minute.
The duo added their energy into the match almost instantly, creating multiple high-quality chances that resulted in shots on net.
Despite the fresh attackers’ opportunities, one goal was all the Rapids would need to secure the clean sheet victory and set numerous club records.
The club has now recorded six consecutive clean sheets at home, setting a new club record. The steak also marks a tie for the second longest in MLS history, only behind the 2000 KC Wizards, who recorded eight clean sheet wins in a row.
In addition to the clean sheet record, Colorado has now posted six straight wins at home to tie a club record for the most in a single season. Overall, the club has posted a 12-2-0 record at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park this season across all competitions with nine clean sheets in that span.
To add to the club’s success at home, this win marked their ninth in MLS this season, which is a tie for the most in the Western Conference and is tied for the second most in all of MLS.
Colorado will quickly shift their focus for a crucial matchup next week against St. Louis CITY SC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals. Kickoff for the match at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park is set for 7:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, Altitude Sports Radio, ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids app.
Colorado Rapids vs. St. Louis CITY SC | Open Cup Semifinal
Wednesday, September 16 at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park | 7:30 PM
