At a certain point, the Rapids’ obsession with upgrading shots is delaying the inevitable. Either way, the ball does not go into the net.
Austin FC proved early that taking the chance when it comes nets positive results. They pounced early on the principle, and it would have been enough. But Rapids forward Rafael Navarro doubled Austin’s lead in the second half. The Rapids lost, 2-0, their seventh loss of the year.
The Rapids fell to ninth in the Western Conference (6-7-4), just above the playoff line. Saturday night marked the halfway point of the 34-game regular season.
“There’s not a whole lot to (say) other than just real disappointment on the night. It’s not something we’re going to sit and rub our own faces in, it’s a missed opportunity,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “(With) four of the next five at home, there’s more to come in terms of opportunity, but disappointing.
“… There’s a locker room full of guys that put a lot into things around here all week. There’s a good feeling about training and lots of things we’re working on. To not get the reward for that is disappointing.”
Austin, which had not won an MLS game since April 19, scored its earliest goal of the season to open the game’s scoring. In the sixth minute, the ball found Daniel Pereira at the top of the box after a couple of bounces, and his shot bounced off Mikkel Desler and into the bottom left corner while Nico Hansen dove the other direction. Desler was credited with the goal.
In the buildup, a pass was played to Osman Bukari on the right wing for a run well beyond Rapids left back Jackson Travis. He shot from a tough angle to force a save out of Nico Hansen before it dropped to Pereira.
“(The first goal) was a result of a bad counterpress, and they got the ball behind our defense. They’ve got quick strikers, and the goal was something we need to learn from and work better,” centerback Chidozie Awaziem said. “So disappointed because we wanted to win, but it didn’t turn out that way. We got a lot of shots on target and we created a lot of chances, but there’s just some days like that.”
The Rapids did little to make their own luck, at least in a punchy way. Their misses — and an absurd five blocked shots — were slow burns. At one point in the second half, the ball made its way around the top left to the top right of the box, stopping at four Rapids players on the way, all of whom could have shot, but only one did. It was blocked and went wide for a corner.
On an Austin FC corner, Brendan Hines-Ike faded away for a header on net, but it touched Navarro on the way. He was credited with an own goal. Offensively, he rattled off five shots (one on goal) in his first start since suffering an ankle injury against the San Jose Earthquakes nearly a month ago.
The Rapids had a staggering 11 corners (Austin had three and scored on one), but couldn’t convert — another theme of what’s becoming an underwhelming campaign. Over the past five years, the Rapids have been one of the best offensive set-piece teams in the league, but have been almost a non-factor this year.
“On the attacking end, there were a couple of free headers tonight. The goals haven’t come, but the seeds have been planted,” Armas said. “We’ve just got to keep at it — the deliveries, the runs, the timing, the ways to free up in certain spaces to attack. We’ll look hard at it, set pieces are just such a big part of scoring goals and the guys put a lot into the set pieces.”
The Rapids return to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park next Saturday, June 14, for an Eastern-Conference matchup against an in-form Orlando City.
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