Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 (0-9-4, 4 pts.) picked up a point after drawing 1-1 with St. Louis CITY2 (7-2-5, 29 pts.).
In a first half full of attacking opportunities, Rapids 2 made their presence known from the first whistle. Colorado opened the match with a promising play when a long ball delivered by goalkeeper Kendall Starks was headered over the St. Louis backline for a sprinting Rogelio Garcia. Trapping the ball and cutting back, Garcia put a shot high, but the opportunity signaled a strong start for the home team. A little while later, both Josh Copeland and Mamadou Billo Diop put back-to-back shots on goal, but CITY2’s goalkeeper shut them down. Another window came from a breakaway by Sydney Wathuta in the 15th minute. His run showed potential, but a touch too many gave the visiting goalkeeper space to stop it.
Colorado’s efforts eventually paid off as they found the back of the net first in the 34th minute. A battle won by Rapids 2 in the offensive third set up Wathuta to spin with the ball and slide a pass to a waiting Copeland. Gathering the ball with his left foot, Copeland took a touch forward and unleashed a shot into the top of the goal to give Rapids 2 the lead. Copeland’s goal marks his third of the season while Wathuta notched his second assist in this campaign.
Starks and the Rapids 2 backline worked to eliminate opportunities for St. Louis and create plays for the offense. However, CITY2 broke the deadlock as a result of a header from Palmer Ault that gave the visiting team the equalizer just before halftime.
Put to the test at the start of the second half, Starks delivered a diving save to block a soaring shot from just outside the box. Unphased, Rapids 2 bounced back quick and put St. Louis under pressure, firing off multiple shot attempts to challenge their goalkeeper. Offensively pressing, the home team generated chances in the final third while limiting attacks at the other end. With chances traded back and forth between each side, Starks continued with his game-saving stops including a denial on an attempt created by a free kick by St. Louis.
Never letting up, Rapids 2 left everything on the field, but the match would end in a stalemate, pushing the teams to a shootout. Falling four to three, left with a point after a hard-fought draw.
Rapids 2 will visit the west coast next weekend to take on Ventura County FC on Saturday, June 13. Kickoff at William Rolland Stadium in Thousand Oaks, California is set for 8:00 p.m. MT with coverage available on OneFootball.com and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Notables:
- Forward Josh Copeland netted his third goal of the season.
- With this goal, Copeland now has four goal contributions this season, three of which have come against St. Louis CITY2.
- Forward Sydney Wathuta secured his second assist of the season.
- Midfielder Luis García made his first start for Rapids 2.
- Rapids Academy midfielder Jonathan De La Fuente made his Rapids 2 and professional debut.
Lineups:
Colorado Rapids 2: Kendall Starks, Jaden Chan Tack, Vincent Rinaldi (64’ Charlie Harper), Grant Gilmore, Jabari De Coteau, Luis García (65’ Jonathan De La Fuente), Sydney Wathuta, Nathan Tchoumba, Josh Copeland [C] (86’ Chris Aquino), Mamadou Billo Diop (82’ Landon Strohmeyer), Rogelio Garcia (65’ Donavan Phillip)
Unused substitutes: Dash Williams, Sebastian Siegler, Kamal Sawadogo, Kai Thomas
St. Louis CITY2: Nate Martinez, Christopher Pearson [C], Owen Jogensen, Adeteye Gbadehan (86’ Cobe Hamler), Evan Carlock (86’ Miroslav Levkovsky), Patrick McDonald, Palmer Ault, Riley Lynch, Joe Andrews (60’ Jemone Barclay), Lorenzo Cornelius (71’ Drew Dowling), Andrew De Gannes
Unused substitutes: Colin Welsh, Blake Wilson
Officials:
Referee: Emmy Nonso-Anyakwo; Assistants: Melissa Beck, Jared Mosher; Fourth Official: Bowen Taylor
