Youth soccer in Colorado is continuing to rise in the ranks nationally. MLS NEXT announced eight expansion clubs Wednesday morning for its national youth leagues for the 2024-25 season from the U13 level all the way up to U19. Among those are the U13 and U14 squads for the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, based in Aurora. “At their core, each expansion club has their own unique commitment to player development through high-level leadership and an emphasis on the holistic growth of each player, coach and staff member,” MLS Executive Vice President Charles Altchek said in a news release. “We a ..read more

In another world, Kévin Cabral scored a hat trick within the first 33 minutes of a cold night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. One, a great look at goal in the 26th minute which was blocked. Another just two minutes later: a free header off a free kick which sailed right over the net. The third would have been in the 33rd minute: a shot off the crossbar and out. Instead, he’ll have to settle for making up for early shortcomings with an assist to Calvin Harris in the 49th minute, which was enough for the Colorado Rapids to take home three points. Compounded by an FC Dallas own goal just before ha ..read more

The Colorado Rapids (3-2-3) extended their unbeaten streak to three games Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes (1-7-0) at PayPal Park with a dominant 3-0 victory over a side struggling to find any sort of momentum. Rafael Navarro took initiative early by drawing a penalty on his former teammate, San Jose keeper William Yarbrough, and proceeded to bury the try in the 10th minute. In the 60th minute, Navarro struck again by scoring his first goal from the run of play for the first brace of his career in Colorado. On a funky play where the ball bounced around until it found a wandering ..read more

With five minutes left in a game the Colorado Rapids trailed 2-1 last week at Inter Miami, the decision to sub out forward Rafael Navarro for defensive midfielder Lamine Diack raised a few eyebrows, to say the least. Three minutes later, it looked like a stroke of genius from Chris Armas. Colorado needed some sort of defensive presence to break Miami’s run of play, and the Rapids head coach called on his Senegalese six to deliver it in Diack’s debut with the Burgundy Boys. “Watching the game, we didn’t have a great grasp of it. … We’re pushing the game, we’re trying to get a goal,” Armas said ..read more

A wild 2-2 draw in the Colorado Rapids’ first matchup against Inter Miami, which included 45 minutes of Lionel Messi, was full of minute details that affected not only the match, but also some of the outlooks on the team for the near future. From injury updates to who wore the captain’s armband in light of one of those injuries, here are some notes from this week’s media availability: Rosenberry good to go, Löffelsend nearing return Keegan Rosenberry suffered a thigh contusion during training last week that kept him out of the game against Miami. The MLS availability report listed him as quest ..read more

The Colorado Rapids did their best to not let the unknown complicate the preparation. During the week leading up to the road trip to Inter Miami — which includes on its roster soccer legends like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba — nobody really knew if any of them would start, come off the bench or even play at all. The Rapids could not read too much into one game plan tailored to slowing down any specific players. As a result, coach Chris Armas was cautious and intentional about how he’d speak to his team during the week. “The preparation this week, ‘If Messi plays, i ..read more

Three minutes of Lionel Messi magic was all it took for Inter Miami to be in position to steal three points away from the Colorado Rapids at Chase Stadium Saturday night. But the resolve of the Rapids showed for the second straight Saturday, and Cole Bassett found the net in the 88th minute to tie it up at two goals a piece. The Rapids earned their first halftime lead of the season thanks to a penalty taken by Rafael Navarro in the 45th minute. Kévin Cabral earned the penalty just seconds after taking a yellow card after committing a foul to stop a counterattack. Navarro calmly buried it to Mi ..read more

Moïse Bombito and Kévin Cabral could be found dancing on the sideline alongside the Colorado Rapids’ bench after Saturday’s match, seemingly with the crowd. In reality, they were dancing in response to Bombito’s mom, who danced in celebration of her son’s first career goal, which was the first of the team’s three goals en route to a 3-2 win over defending MLS runner-up LAFC in front of a Dick’s Sporting Goods Park crowd of 14,368 Saturday afternoon. It was just her second time watching Bombito play professionally in person; the first time she’d seen him start a game. Want it to be even more pi ..read more

The Colorado Rapids lost to the Houston Dynamo in controversial fashion at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park late Saturday night, with the deciding blow in a 1-0 loss coming basically at the death of a six-minute stoppage time period. With 95 minutes and change on the clock, Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø went down in Houston’s penalty box, bloodied after being elbowed in the face. But play went on, leading to a breakaway that saw Houston’s Sebastián Ferreira find Brad Smith, who calmly tucked it past Zack Steffen with his left foot. Smith had only been on the pitch for six minutes, having been subbed ..read more

The Nuggets’ and the Avalanche’s regular seasons are winding down. The Rockies’ 2024 campaign is set to start. And the Broncos are in full rebuild mode with the offseason underway. So, which of Colorado’s “Big Four” pro teams has the best odds at bringing Denver another championship? Here’s a look at what sportsbooks have to say. The Nuggets have +325 odds — meaning a $100 bet would win $325 — to repeat as NBA champions, according to BetMGM. They have the second-best odds, behind the Celtics (+225), the team with the league’s best record, according to the oddsmaker. Denver also has the second ..read more