The Colorado Rapids live to fight another matchday, but seemingly just barely.
A 1-all home draw to Minnesota on Saturday night felt like a must-win, despite the Rapids starting the night in a playoff spot. A loss would have been detrimental to holding onto that position, but every point in the standings is crucial at this stage.
Rafael Santos opened his Rapids account with a 45+1st minute free kick for his fourth goal contribution in as many starts for the club. From 20 yards out and two yards right of the center of the goal, Santos drilled a lefty shot around Minnesota’s wall and into the opposite side netting past Dayne St. Clair.
“Day by day, (we’ve) been working on this. (I’m) adapting to the style and gaining confidence from everybody — from the coaching staff, the club, everybody,” Santos said through Rapids translator Andre Hilf. “To get them by surprise (with the free kick goal) and for it to go in, (I’m) happy to be able to help the team in this way.”
Santos, acquired from Orlando City for a measly $125,000 in General Allocation Money in August, has been clinical at left back in a short span. Though there have been times his defending has been questionable in transition, his offensive output is already the best this team has seen in years at outside back.
And the production doesn’t end at scoring contributions. He’s taking most set pieces — free kicks and corner kicks — in the absence of the steadfast Djordje Mihailovic at the role. An assist and a goal have come directly from him taking free kicks.
“Late in the season, when we add players, every team has that certain challenge when it’s late, to try to get him up to speed with how you do things, what the demands are in possession and out of possession,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “For him, I think the two things are just his positioning and some of the rotations we do with the ball — sometimes it requires him to be shallow, sometimes it requires him to be higher up. (It’s about) helping him understand what to do and when.”
His acquisition was described as a competition piece for Sam Vines, who plays similarly to Santos, but it doesn’t seem like much of a race anymore. Still, Vines subbed on in the final 10 minutes to get at least some run. But his playing time has slowly diminished as Santos continues to break out.
Minnesota equalized in the 65th minute via a rocket by midfielder Nectarios Triantis. A deflection bounced kindly to Triantis, enough to blast a shot from 25 yards out past a diving Zack Steffen.
The Rapids came inches from a last-kick winner on a Cole Bassett header, which St. Clair saved. Neither side could break through to win.
Colorado remained in eighth place at the end of the night, but the gap between the next few teams has shrunk. A couple of the teams behind the Rapids still have a game in hand, meaning the team’s playoff fate is likely not entirely within its control.
The Rapids’ final two games are away to rival Real Salt Lake and a Decision-Day nightmare home matchup against Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min’s LAFC. That duo of wingers has scored LAFC’s last 18 goals. If the club still has a higher seed to play for, they will be difficult to contend with.
Armas “getting close” on extension: Armas, whose contract is up after this season, told The Denver Post after the match that an extension agreement is “getting close,” and that he and the club have a mutual desire to make it happen.
“Negotiations always take some time, but I love the work that we’ve done here and that it’s been appreciated by the club,” he said. Approaching the end of his second year in Commerce City, the 53-year-old National Soccer Hall of Famer turned a bottom-three club into a playoff team that had a miraculous 2024 Leagues Cup run. He’s got a 26-28-12 MLS regular-season record with the Rapids.
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