Diego Rubio scored his second goal of the season midway through the first half, Mark-Anthony Kaye added his first early in the second and the Colorado Rapids defeated Sporting Kansas City 2-0 on Saturday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
William Yarbrough made four saves to keep his second consecutive clean sheet for Colorado, who are unbeaten in 18 consecutive home regular-season matches dating back to early last season.
Lucas Esteves left midway through the second half with what appeared to be a left hamstring injury, after providing the diagonal pass on Rubio's opener.
Kansas City were also forced into an injury substitution, with Peter Vermes sending in midfielder Cameron Duke to replace Felipe Hernandez after 26 minutes.
They've now lost four straight on the road in MLS, a streak dating back to a 2-1 defeat in Minnesota last Halloween Night.
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Darren Yapi made his MLS debut in the 88th minute, with Colorado's 17-year-old Homegrown Player coming on late to spell Michael Barrios. Seven minutes earlier, former Rapids defender Kortne Ford came on for SKC to mark the 26-year-old center back's first MLS minutes since the 2018 season. Ford missed two full seasons due to knee surgeries, before returning to game action in August 2021, on loan from Colorado at San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. He signed for Kansas City in January.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Rubio coolly took Esteves' diagonal feed and drove a low finish past Tim Melia, in the process suggesting maybe he is the answer to the Rapids' periodic striking problems. The Chilean scored only five goals in 26 appearances last year, but has proven capable of double-digit production, scoring 11 in his first season with the Rapids in 2019.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark-Anthony Kaye. His goal, a redirection of an apparent shot from Steven Beitashour, might not exactly be a Puskas candidate, but he was solid all night, connecting a team high-tying three key passes and contesting a team-high 11 duels.
Next Up
- COL: Saturday, March 19 at Houston Dynamo FC | 8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada)
- SKC: Saturday, March 19 at Chicago Fire FC | 6:00 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada)
