The Colorado Rapids (6-5-4, 21 pts.) earn their second consecutive victory at home against St. Louis CITY SC (2-8-5, 11 pts.) on Saturday night by a final score of 1-0. Homegrown forward Darren Yapi recorded the lone goal in the match and goalkeeper Nico Hansen posted his second consecutive clean sheet in the contest.
Heading into Saturday night, Colorado looked to capitalize on their third home match in three weeks with a strong performance against St. Louis CITY SC, who has not had the best of luck at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park since they entered the league in 2023. In their two matches prior to tonight’s match, the visitors were yet to earn a victory on the road in Colorado.
Making their first starts in the match for the Rapids were midfielders Sam Bassett and Ted Ku-DiPietro.
The match kicked off in the midst of heavy rain, which eventually led to a delay in the seventh minute due to lightning in the vicinity of DSGP.
Following close to an hour and a half of a delay, the two sides kicked back off and quickly got into action.
The Rapids seemed fresh following the lengthy delay, as the home side began play on the front foot. The club created multiple high-quality chances in the attacking third but were unable to break the ice in the early portions of the first half.
Coming up big for the Rapids in the first half was goalkeeper Nico Hansen, who was making his second consecutive start in net. The 23-year-old was faced with a breakaway chance against one of MLS’ premier strikers, João Klauss, and greeted him with a denial thanks to a strong save with his left hand.
From there, the Rapids looked to turn that save into energy on the attacking end. The group was successful in their attempts, eventually scoring their first of the match in the 41st minute.
Starting the play was Ku-DiPietro, who made his was down the right side of the pitch. The midfielder managed to send in a cross through traffic to find Yapi in the middle of the box. The Homegrown forward then took a dribble away from net and sent in a shot with pace to the lower left corner to find the back of the net.
The goal was Yapi’s third of the season, setting a single-season career high for his young career. Ku-DiPietro's assist on the goal was his first as a member of the Rapids and the fifth of his MLS career.
Colorado would head into the halftime break with the lead and were steadfast in maintaining that throughout the second half of play.
The Rapids received impressive play from their back line and Hansen in the final 45 minutes of the match. In cold, rainy conditions, the squad managed to stay strong and minimize any chances from their opposition.
Hansen made multiple stops in the second half to maintain the clean sheet, finishing the night with three total saves.
The match ended with the same scoreline from the halftime whistle, with the Rapids claiming all three points at home for the second consecutive week. Colorado also extended their unbeaten record at home against St. Louis to three matches (2-0-1).
Colorado now shifts their focus for a quick turnaround on the road against the Portland Timbers on Wednesday, May 28. Kickoff at Providence Park is set for 8:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on MLS Season Pass with Apple TV, ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids App.
