Recap | Navarro reaches career milestone in Rapids' result in Vancouver

The Colorado Rapids (4-5-1) fell on the road to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8-1-0) by a final score of 3-1 at BC Place on Saturday night.  

Playing their fourth game in 12 days, the Rapids took a trip up north of the border to face the Whitecaps. 

As the match started, it was the hosts who came out on the front foot. The reigning Western Conference champions were connecting on the attacking end early, leading to the match’s first two goals. 

In the seventh minute, Cheikh Sabaly scored the opener after recieving a pass from Thomas Müller to put his side up by one. 

Vancouver then doubled their lead in the 23rd minute, with Brian White scoring off a breakaway chance. 

From there, the Rapids began regain control of the match. The club began to play their style of play that started with dominating posession. Colorado created their best opportunities up to that point of the match, eventually leading to the club halving their deficit in the 33rd minute.  

Play started off with a long ball from Hamzat Ojediran, who played his pass to a sprinting Georgi Minoungou. The winger then took a touch and sent in a cross to the middle of the box, where multiple deflections led to a congested area right at the goal mouth. There to clean up the opportunity was forward Rafael Navarro, who continued his impressive run of form by finding the back of the net. 

The goal marked Navarro's 50th regular-season goal contribution as a member of the Rapids, making him just the eighth player in club history to reach this mark. The Brazilian has now recorded 11 goal contributions (7g, 4a) across his last nine matches.

The half would end there with the scoreline the same, with the Rapids looking to build on their momentum to close out the match. 

Colorado played the remainder of the match in a similar fashion, creating their opportunities following solid build-up play from the back. Despite their chances, the club was unable to find the scoresheet again for the remainder of the contest. 

Vancouver added a third late in the game to seal the three points, with White recording his second of the night. 

The Rapids will switch their focus to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with their next match coming against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Wednesday, April 29. Kickoff at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park is set for 7:00 p.m. MT with coverage available Paramount+, Altitude Sports Radio, Tico Sports Spanish Radio, ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids app.