Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 (0-3-1, 1 pts.) fell to San Jose Earthquakes II (2-1-1, 7 pts.) at home 4-1.
In the opening minutes of the match, Rapids 2 found the back of the net first, capitalizing on a strong start to take an early lead. After a blocked shot by Chris Aquino, Sydney Wathuta would square up to take the team’s first corner kick of the game in the 4th minute. Firing a long ball into the center of the six, Wathuta’s cross found the head of Bryce Jamison putting the Rapids 2 up 1-0 to start the game. This marked Jamison’s first goal for Rapids 2 and Wathuta’s first assist of the season. However, San Jose Earthquakes II’s Zachary Bohane bagged an equalizer two minutes into stoppage time before the end of the first half.
Despite several opportunities for Colorado, the visiting team’s attacks eventually broke through the Rapids 2 defense. San Jose Earthquakes II would take the lead in the 58th minute thanks to Kaedren Spivey after Rapids 2 went down a man due to Andre Erickson’s injury. Five minutes later, San Jose increased their lead over the host team to 3-1 as a result of a Rapids 2 own goal. Scoring again in the 69th minute, Shane De Flores put Earthquakes II in a comfortable three-point lead over Colorado.
Facing adversity, but still pressing, Rapids 2 continued to push until the final whistle. With scoring chances from Sydney Wathuta and James Cameron towards the end of the game, Rapids 2 demonstrated their “fight-to-the-end" mentality. Though they challenged until the last minute, the team walked away with a 4-1 loss.
After the two-week break, Rapids 2 will go on the road to face Saint Louis City 2 on Friday, April 10. Kickoff at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri, is set for 6:00 p.m. MT with coverage available on OneFootball.com and MLSNEXTPro.com.
Notables:
- Forward Bryce Jamison scored his first goal for Rapids 2.
- Jamison’s goal in the 4th minute marks the earliest goal scored by the club so far this season.
- Midfielder Sydney Wathuta recorded his first assist of the season.
Lineups:
Colorado Rapids 2: Zackory Campagnolo, Charlie Harper, Kai Thomas, Jaden Chan Tack (25’ Andre Erickson), Sydney Wathuta, Nathan Tchoumba (76’ Landon Strohmeyer), Jabari De Coteau, Josh Copeland (46’ Quinn Bedwell), Donavan Phillip [C], Chris Aquino (76’ Rogelio Garcia), Bryce Jamison (76’ James Cameron)
Unused substitutes: Kendall Starks, Ali Fadal, Noah Strellnauer, Grant Gilmore
San Jose Earthquakes II: Nathan Crockford, Jack Jasinski, Max Floriani, Niklas Dossmann (82’ Yujin Kikuchi), Martin Mukah Kwende Jr. (65’ Shane De Flores), Kaedren Spivey (65’ Jacob Heisner), Rohan Rajagopal [C], Edwyn Mendoza (64’ Gabriel Bracken Serra), Nonso Adimabua (71’ Tomo Allen), Julian Donnery, Zachary Bohane
Unused substitutes: Connor Lambe
Officials:
Referee: Steven Cardozo; Assistants: Charles Rupert, Joshua Mills ; Fourth Official: Adam Rice
