Tied 1-1 at the half, the Colorado Rapids 2 were stung by two second half goals from North Texas SC, ultimately falling 3-1 to the Texas-based side on Sunday evening.
Rapids 2 forward Yaya Toure opened the scoring in the 35th minute of the match after receiving a cross into the box from defender Sebastian Anderson. Toure’s strike marked the first Rapids 2 away goal of the season and his first MLS NEXT Pro goal of the year.
"It was a great play. It was something we have worked on a lot. Me and Yosuke kind of exchanged positions and I was sitting in the eight pocket and ran through. Omar played a great ball in from behind, I took a touch, drove to the end line and then I heard Yaya screaming, so I got the cut back and thankfully he finished it. It was great to see a play like that, that we have worked on many times with the first team and with Rapids 2, pay off like that,” said Rapids 2 defender Sebastian Anderson.
The team continued to dominate in the first half, creating multiple chances in the attacking third while taking six shots inside the box. However, it was a converted penalty from North Texas’s Blaine Ferri that leveled the score to 1-1 before the half.
North Texas continued to push forward in the second half, netting the second goal of the night off a rebound save from Abraham Rodriguez. Bushey made his first change of the night in the 75th minute, exchanging defender Gustavo Vallecilla, midfielder Philip Mayaka and forward Yaya Toure for Academy products Steve Flores, Vladimir Walent and Connor Miller.
"Ultimately, we made a couple of errors that led to them getting chances and good teams finish chances. We tried and we kept pushing right to the end, so I am proud of the guys for that," said Rapids 2 head coach Erik Bushey. "But we lost, and we will be celebrating our first loss. It is another first for us, but an awesome opportunity to grow. We have to check our pride at the door a little bit, but once we do that there will be some great pictures there and more opportunities to learn"
In the 77th minute, North Texas extended their lead to two as forward Bernard Kamungo added one final goal to end the match. Bushey proceeded with his second round of substitutions for the night giving Nicholas Legendre and Jackson Travis some play time in the last few minutes of the first away match of the season.
Rapids 2 return to action next Sunday as they head to Minnesota for a second consecutive road match. Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM MT on Sunday, April 17.
