The Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 (15-3-5, 54 pts) defeated LAFC2 (4-13-6, 18 pts) in a 4-0 victory at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park. The dominant performance saw forward Rémi Cabral record a brace on the night while Blake Malone added his fourth goal of the season and Yosuke Hanya added his 12th. Midfielder Oliver Larraz added his eighth assist of the season off a corner kick in tonight's match to give him a first place standing in the league for assists this season. Rapids 2 maintains its first place standing in the Western Conference and the league overall after tonight's win.
Notable:
- Rapids 2 dominated LAFC2 in a 4-0 win at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park. Forward Rémi Cabral recorded a brace on the night while defender Blake Malone and midfielder Yosuke Hanya both added one of their own.
- Defender Blake Malone scored his fourth goal of the season in tonight's match versus LAFC2.
- Forward Rémi Cabral recorded a brace on the night, bringing his season total to 12 goals.
- Midfielder Yosuke Hanya scored his 12th goal of the season in tonight's game versus LAFC2.
- Cabral and Hanya are now tied for the lead in team goals with 12 goals apiece.
- Midfielder Oliver Larraz recorded his eighth assist of the season in tonight's match versus LAFC2. Larraz now leads the league in assists with eight to his name.
- Midfielder Dillon Serna added his third assist of the season in tonight's match against LAFC2.
- Defender Jackson Travis added his third assist of the season in tonight's game versus LAFC2.
- Goalkeeper Abraham Rodriguez recorded his second clean sheet of the season in tonight's match against LAFC2.
- Midfielder Jackson Walti logged his first start for Rapids 2 in tonight's match against LAFC2.
- Goalkeeper Zackory Campagnolo appeared as a substitute for Rapids 2 for the first time this season in tonight's match against LAFC2.
Postgame Media Availability:
Select postgame quotes transcribed below.
COLORADO RAPIDS 2 HEAD COACH ERIK BUSHEY
On the match:
“Clean sheet. That’s the first thing on my mind. A couple of set piece goals. Both these things are extremely important to us if we want to continue to get the results that we’re seeking, so very pleased about that. Tough after another delay especially where the guys were at in warmup and pregame and it was feeling so good. To have to wait for a couple hours is difficult, but difficult for both teams. So, we got on with our business and yeah, fortunate with the early goal. It can be dangerous sometimes as well because we haven’t done much to earn it at that point, but the guys didn’t fall into that trap, kept playing and secured another goal. Though to me the game never felt perhaps as under control as I might have preferred. The guys worked exceptionally hard. And I know I say this a lot if I’m asked or in reference to LAFC2, I do have a lot of respect for what that team can do. I know their points or in my opinion their points aren’t representative of what that team is. Enrique (LAFC2 head coach) does a very good job and for me that is a very big win."
On earning a clean sheet:
“Yup, just enough. Just enough to get the block in, just enough to get the subtle deflection in. Yes, we had to defend corner kicks from there, but we did that fairly well. Better though I think in terms of our box organization tonight. Even last week against Tacoma, it wasn’t as clear. We wanted to provide more clarity when we’re defending in front of our goal in terms of who has whom and are we tight with players. And then are we aggressive and I thought really in all parts of the pitch tonight we walked a really fine line on being, maintaining aggression but maintaining discipline. I think that went a long way to the clean sheet as well. For sure Abe (Rodriguez) some massive saves, very positive from that standpoint."
On tonight's performance in the attacking third:
"Yeah, that’s a good word, determination. I thought the guys showed proper energy in both boxes. Good goals to be fair. Again, Blake (Malone) gets us off early. Rémi's second take was absolute class, so pleased with all the goals and pleased from four goals that we get three goal scorers. The balance, the danger that different guys can present is something else that bodes very well for our team."
COLORADO RAPIDS 2 DEFENDER JACKSON TRAVIS
On the match:
“Yeah, I thought it was a good game. I thought overall we did solid. One of the big things we wanted, that we as a team really needed over the past couple games, we haven’t been getting it and we have been getting a lot of goals scored on us. We really wanted a clean sheet and I think we did well in accomplishing that tonight. A lot of defensive work was done tonight. Also, kudos to our keeper Abe (Rodriguez) for doing really well in goal as well. So, big up to that. It was a good overall team performance I would say and good goals as well in there."
On the team's clean sheet performance:
“I think what really went into it was mentality over training this week. One of the big emphases was defensive shape and being able to deny the depth and winning the boxes. I think tonight one thing we really did well was win the boxes tonight. I mean four goals to zero goals, that was really good. I mean that was the mentality going into this week and I think we did a good job in accomplishing that."
On staying motivated through the rain delay:
"I would say our mentality has been the same. We know playoffs are around the corner, and we know that even though we’ve clinched from last week, we know every game is going to be important for us to get that first seed. We know how important that’s going to be. So even when we have games like this, it’s always a good test to show when there’s breaks like this in the game, we keep our focus and our momentum going into the game. You can tell in the locker room we had all that down time and then when it was time to go everybody was locked in. We were ready to rock. So, I’d just say everybody was on the same page and we went out and put on a show tonight."
