Colorado Rapids 2 (0-7-3, 3 pts., 14th West) will hit the road to face Real Monarchs (2-4-3, 12 pts., 10th West) on Wednesday, May 20. Kickoff at Zions Bank Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on OneFootball.com and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Rapids 2 seek to capture their first victory of the campaign as they come off a difficult loss to Austin FC II in Colorado last week. Although the home team brought a fierce intensity and remained competitive throughout the first half, Austin FC II would manage to crack the defense after halftime and put one on the board in the 55th minute. A little while later, the Austin would extend their lead to 2-0 with roughly 25 minutes left of play. Colorado would stay relentless in their efforts but couldn’t find the result as they fell 2-0.
Awaiting Colorado on Wednesday night is a determined Real Monarchs side aiming to snap a five-match stretch without a regulation victory. Last week, Real Monarchs obtained the extra point after drawing with a visiting San Jose Earthquakes II side. Opening the scoring just before the end of the first half, Real Monarchs would sustain the lead for only a short period of time as San Jose hit back with their own in the 58th minute. With neither side able to find the equalizer, the match would move on to a shootout that saw Real Monarchs win the penalty kicks 4-3 and take home the extra point.
Over the course of last season, Colorado and Real Monarchs met twice with Rapids 2 earning a point from a draw and securing three points from their most contest. In their win, Colorado snatched an early lead from a goal by Sydney Wathuta in the eighth minute. Real Monarchs fought back to find their own as the second half was drawing to a close. The match would be closely contested with no additional score from either side in regulation time. However, a penalty kick awarded to Colorado in the sixth minute of added time, taken by Kimani Stewart-Baynes, gave Rapids 2 the go-ahead goal to win the match in the final seconds.
Rapids 2 will look to repeat that magic in this week’s upcoming match while Real Monarchs enter on a mission of their own to secure a regulation win at home.
