Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – 2, Colorado Rapids 2 – 3
MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs, Western Conference Quarterfinals | Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
Press Conference:
The Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 in a 3-2 result in the first round of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. The team will now advance to the Western Conference Semifinals and participate in the second round of the league’s Pick-Your-Opponent selection process.
Colorado and Vancouver took the field on Sunday afternoon to face off in the first round of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. Rapids 2 entered the match as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference while Vancouver sat in the bottom half of the playoff table as seed No. 7.
The match got off to a quick start with the Rapids’ attack searching for an early goal. In the seventh minute of play, first team forward Alex Harris picked off a midfielder and found space to play a ball through to Antony García on a run towards Vancouver’s box. García’s first touched popped up off the ground, setting the Honduran up for a half volley to find the back of the net for the opening goal of the match. The goal marked García’s fifth of the season and his first in the MLS NEXT Pro postseason.
The Rapids would not hold on to the lead long as Vancouver found its equalizer just seven minutes later. A Whitecaps’ corner kick was cleared by the Colorado defense but quickly put back into play by the corner kick taker. The chaos in the box caused the ball to bounce around but ultimately it found the foot of Mark O’Neill who turned to face the goal in traffic to put away the equalizer.
The away side continued to pressure the Colorado backline, asking goalkeeper Zackory Campagnolo to come up big in the 28th minute. A long throw into the box was tapped towards the goal and initially pushed away by Campagnolo. Two additional attempts were played in, but the U.S. Youth National Team keeper managed to get a hand on both to stifle the attack.
Both sides went into the half at an even 1-1 scoreline with 45 minutes left to find the go-ahead goal.
Colorado was first to find an attacking opportunity coming out of the half. In the 49th minute, a poor clearance by the Vancouver defense ended in a dangerous chance for Mamadou Billo Diop. The striker found the back of the net but was ultimately called offside to keep the score level.
Bushey opted for his first change in the 64th minute, bringing on Sydney Wathuta to replace goal scorer García.
The eventual go-ahead goal would come in the 72nd minute from first teamer Harris. A quick throw in from Diop to James Cameron would start the play on the right flank. Cameron carried the ball and found Harris unmarked at the top of the box, leaving the forward to punch in a shot on a first-time finish. The goal marked Harris’ sixth of the season while Cameron adds to his impressive run of goal contributions, having added two goals and three assists across the team’s last four matches.
Much like Harris’ goal, Sam Bassett’s game-winning goal would start with a throw in in the defensive half. Wathuta found substitute Josh Copeland on a run down the sideline with open space. Just before the Vancouver defense could cut him off in the box, Copeland found Bassett on an island of his own at the top of the box. The first team midfielder took one touch and finished a left-footed shot to the far post.
The visiting side would have one last attacking chance in them with O’Neill recording a brace. However, it would not be enough to overcome the Rapids’ lead and would end Vancouver’s postseason run with a loss at altitude.
Colorado’s opponent for the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference Semifinals will be announced on Wednesday, October 22. More information on time, location, date and will be announced in the coming days.
Scoring Summary:
COL – Antony García (Alex Harris) 7’
VAN – Mark O’Neill (Antoine Coupland) 14’
COL – Alex Harris (James Cameron) 72’
COL – Sam Bassett (Josh Copeland) 86’
VAN – Mark O’Neill (Jackson Castro) 90+1’
Notables:
- F Antony García scored the first postseason goal of his MLS NEXT Pro career in the seventh minute.
- García adds to his 2025 total, bringing him to five goals on the season in all competitions.
- F Alex Harris scored his sixth goal for Rapids 2 across all competitions.
- Harris also added his fourth assist for Rapids 2 on García’s opening goal.
- M Sam Bassett recorded his third goal across all competitions for Rapids 2.
- D James Cameron added his third assist of the season on Harris' 72nd minute goal.
- Cameron has added two goals and three assists in the team’s last four matches.
- M Josh Copeland added his first assist of the 2025 season on Bassett’s game-winning goal.
- Colorado Rapids players Zackory Campagnolo, Charlie Harper, Vincent Rinaldi, Anderson Rosa, Alex Harris, Sam Bassett, James Cameron, Mamadou Billo Diop, Sydney Wathuta, Josh Copeland, Matthew Senanou, Noah Strellnauer, Andre Erickson, and Antony García all made their first appearances in an MLS NEXT Pro Playoff match.
COLORADO RAPIDS 2 QUOTE SHEET
COLORADO RAPIDS 2 HEAD COACH ERIK BUSHEY
Opening remarks...
“A tough game, a tough game. First and foremost, credit to our players for the challenges that they faced today – that Vancouver imposed on us, or how they tried to impose themselves on us. Second, credit goes to Vancouver for a positive season and a very tough game today. It's part of our mantra throughout the year, about intensity. Keith, we spoke midweek that we were going to win the battle of intensity. I thought it took us a while to engage strong enough in that battle, because we have more in us, both with the ball and against the ball. That's not to say that there weren't good things happening though. To continue to win games, we're going to have to allow the best of ourselves to come out there. Ultimately, 1-0 to 1-1 at halftime, it feels maybe a little bit like it's 2-1 or one and a half to one to them. We maybe didn’t feel as positive as we could, so we really tried to give some solutions as to how we can allow our aggression and intensity to come out. Obviously, getting the second goal was nice. The third goal even better. It was necessary. It would have been nice maybe just to coast in at 3-1, but we knew there'd be no coasting. Whenever we come out on top of experiences like this, we're going to feel that we can be better for it. So, 3-2 win. Super happy, and once again, super proud.”
On the intense nature of today’s playoff match...
“We wanted to look for opportunities where we could receive the ball facing forward and get behind them. We had those opportunities in the first half and didn't take them. We know, based upon their style that we would have some time on the ball, but we didn't want to always take that time. Again, that’s an example where I think we could be more aggressive. The seven and 11 coming inside, and Tony [García] and [Anderson] Rosa who have such a lovely relationship. How can we use that to get behind the opponent? Then we really tried to address two different ways of pressing to get to their center back so they didn't have such freedom. Really, they were enjoying their game too much because their front five was able to get the ball. The wide guys and the wing backs were able to get the ball because we weren't affecting their center backs enough. So, we looked at a couple of different ways in terms of how we could get to those guys. It was so our guys could walk outside the locker room and say, ‘here's how we're going to win this battle of intensity,’ and I think they made a positive effort to do that.”
On the two goals scored off of throw ins...
“The throw in is another set piece for us, and we had spent a bit more time on it, just because we knew that Vancouver has a long throw, and that's a separate point, but we treat it as a set piece. Our throw ins all year long, are meant to be, as you saw, the fast throw. We want the up-tempo game. We want this higher level of intensity. This has been a big deal for us since day one. Coach Armas has pressed upon that; it's an up-tempo game. We want to follow that. We utilized that to our benefit tonight. That is a yearlong thing. I can't take any credit for that in terms of halftime or pushing encouragement, that's all the players.”
On the mix of players in today’s match...
“We said midweek that, the team that can handle that fluidity of players coming in and that change the management of that – the team that can do that is the team that's going to win. The team that wins the game three games from now, they will have dealt with that. So that was great to see. Guys coming in, Sam [Bassett] and Alex [Harris], big contributions of course. Alex in particular, because he's coming off of a really emotional night. You know, last night, it's not an easy charge. He's coming back out, whatever it is, 12 hours later, he's on the way to the stadium. As we talked about this, it's not just the guys coming in, it's the players who accept the guys coming in and do so with encouragement or without blinking an eye. We made several different changes today, both personnel and system wise, by the end and the core of the group, the group handled them quite well.”
On the staff’s bench reactions...
“These examples of intensity are what we live for, and too often those go uncelebrated. You can understand. We know we have another job to do. Do we want to get back? Do we want to press the throw? The player that has the weariness, the player that has the tired legs, the player that says, ‘well, I hope he blows that whistle.’ We can't have any of that. To enjoy that, to celebrate that, that is another wake up call for everybody that we're still in the fight, the game's not over, and you're doing well. I mean, all those things and more, those plays are to be celebrated.”
On the goal that was called offside...
“No, I did not [get an explanation], except from the coaches who did everything they could to get the explanation, and I haven't seen the goal. It seems that there's a discrepancy of who played the ball when Billo [Diop] was onside on our last touch, he was offside on their last touch without seeing it. I think he should have been on but, yeah, we live in a world without VAR and that human error, whether it was ours or theirs, whichever it exists. I really don't have any problems with that. That's the reality we live in. There's a lot of me that prefers it that way.”
On Sydney Wathuta’s performance...
“He still had some wonderful moments on the ball. But right now, Sid [Wathuta] coming in after where he was on Monday, that's a big victory in itself. So now I'm making a bit of assumption. I haven't seen him necessarily walk off the field, but for him to come off that field, us winning, and him making it through the week and coming out field healthy, that's big time for him. That's big time for our performance and health staff to make sure that happens. So I'm really pleased.”
On Academy and first team players in the stands...
“I appreciate you bringing that up. Grant [Gilmore] is a big part of what we're doing here. He's with us every single day. He just wasn't on the Match Day roster today. We hope that he wants to be around it and be in support. [Darren] Yapi coming out, what a wonderful goal last night, but it's trumped by the difficult emotions. For these guys to support the cause is great. Obviously, Cole [Bassett] has a brother on the field. I'm sure he would have been here anyway. I'm proud of that. The opportunities to look at the 'One Club’ element which we do our best to not only profess, but to live by. There's a lot of work in progress with that, but these are great examples. Really pleased and proud. Last night is not lost on me either. The cross from Oli [Larraz], the finish from Yapi. There's a club component to all that as well. So really pleased about that.”
On the performance of the backline...
“Any win there is a good win. Sometimes you can't see who wins it, you're just looking for the ball to go up and out. They [Zack Campagnolo and Charlie Harper] both had an impact there. Vancouver is very good on set pieces, we knew that coming in, so it's a little bit disappointing that we conceded in that manner in their second goal. But again, because we come out on top, it also provides a wonderful example for us to learn and not make that same mistake again. Without a big personality and big presence in the box, you're that much more vulnerable. For me, there’s a goal conceded, but I really do have a lot of confidence in our ball winning ability in the box.”
On the feeling in the locker room...
“I think every time you take a step forward, it should increase. I don't know what it is right now in the locker room, but I saw some of the emotion post game. I expect that it's increasing there. The guys will know they've played a good team and came out on top. Guys will know, instead of getting on planes later in the week that they're here, and back to work, and I think they're looking forward to that. So right now, I hope they're flying. They should feel good. Then I expect them to be focused on the next task on Tuesday.”
On the second round of the league’s Pick-Your-Opponent process...
“We don't know. I have some thoughts of who it might be. But as we learned last night throughout the MLS, you can't predict some results. I think we might have spoken before, but you know our staff, you know, Cullen Freeman, Colin Harrison, Collen Warner, Brandyn Bumpas, in particular, those guys did a ton of work when we were going into the initial process of pick your opponent. So we have a high level of confidence in terms of the research that we've already done. We'll add this weekend's game on top of that. So whomever it is, wherever we go, or if it's here, I have a real confidence that we'll be ready.”
COLORADO RAPIDS 2 DEFENDER JAMES CAMERON
Opening remarks...
“I think we started a little slow, but we came into the half. We discussed some things that we thought needed to be better, things we could work on and improve on. We came out in the second half flying, and ultimately, we got the result we were looking for.”
On facing off against a Canadian side...
“I'm not going into these games salty or anything, but I was never selected by the Whitecaps growing up. When I get an opportunity to play them, there's always a little extra on the line. That's just a little extra motivation going into the games, so it feels great to get this result.”
On his accomplishments across the season...
“I don't think I've quite scratched my itch yet. I think I'm just starting to get things going. Obviously, I was out for quite a long time with my knee injury in the middle of the season. Now I'm finally fit again, getting things going, slight position change. I think it's been a pretty uphill battle from my return from injury.”
On the halftime adjustments...
“Before the game, we discussed how we wanted to really bring it to them, really bring a lot of energy and aggressiveness in our press especially. That was our biggest change going into the second half. You could see it right away. Every time they had the ball, we were all on the same page, ready to hunt or go for the ball. Ultimately, we got two goals off of those situations where winning the ball high up, playing quick, and then playing our brand of football.”
On the assist to Alex Harris...
“I wasn't really thinking anything. I kind of just cut the ball back. I heard Alex [Harris] screaming. It's pretty well known he has a rocket of a right foot, so I just tried to tee him up, and then he kind of did the rest of the work there.”
On his position change this season...
“I’ve played most of my matches previously as a wing back, mostly off the left side. If you were to compare the positions, going from a left wing back to a left winger, it's probably slightly closer than going from a left wing back to a right back. I just think naturally, today I was off the right, but the last maybe six or seven games I've been playing off the left. I'm just more comfortable there. It's just more experience playing off that side.”
On the goal that was called offside...
“We were upset. But then again, I think collectively, we all felt that energy coming into the second half. We were still positive that we were going to get another one or two goals. We were bummed that it got called back. I didn't even know until I was already getting a sip of water and heading back to the halfway line. Once it got called, we remained positive. I think we scored maybe five something minutes right after that, so we really kept it on them. We didn't let it bring us down.”
On the fluidity of the roster...
“We have a great locker room. We all get along really well, so I think that's something that that certainly makes things easier. When we have guys coming in and out, or guys playing different positions, I think overall, we're all very comfortable with each other off the field, and I think that helps us on the field.”
