The Colorado Rapids have a talented academy and a pipeline of players on the cusp of being first-team regulars. Wednesday night will show just how deep they are.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the longest-running soccer tournament dating back to 1914, is a proving ground for budding stars at the least, and a full representation of the United States’ soccer landscape at its finest.
A total of 103 teams entered the competition across all divisions of American soccer. Now it’s down to the final 32, with the Rapids set to visit Minnesota United at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Allianz Field in Saint Paul.
Historically, the Open Cup has not been kind to the Burgundy Boys. The Rapids have a losing record all-time (13-19), with this year’s tournament the first for the Rapids since 2019 after the last two editions were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It could be the fresh start the team needs.
The Rapids were “cupset” in the past two Round of 32 games against New Mexico United (2019) and Nashville S.C. (2018) before the latter joined MLS. Including those two results, the team is 9-11 all-time against teams from the second division or lower.
It gets drearier from there. The last time Colorado won a knockout game across all competitions — including MLS Cup Playoffs and the Concacaf Champions League — was in 2017, when it reached the Open Cup Round of 16. Against MLS opponents in the Open Cup, the Rapids are just 4-8 with a current five-game losing streak and the last win coming against Real Salt Lake in 2006. They are also just 5-16 all-time in road games.
Still, all it takes is one spark to turn it around. This will be Robin Fraser’s first time leading the team in Open Cup play. In 2012, he guided Chivas USA to the semifinals, and he fully understands how important the tournament is.
“Most teams don’t take it that seriously,” Fraser told the Rapids’ digital team Tuesday. ” … My approach is to treat it like any other game that we want to win. The thing about the Open Cup is, if you win six games in a row, you’re in Champions League. So for anyone who may not take it as seriously, they’re looking at it slightly differently than us.”
Fraser will likely use a heavily-rotated squad with a mix of up-and-comers and veterans, with much of the starters focused on Saturday’s clash with top-of-the-table LAFC at home. Players like Darren Yapi, Sebastian Anderson and SuperDraft pick Anthony Markanich should feature in the starting lineup along with veterans in need of minutes such as Collen Warner, Bryan Acosta, Steven Beitashour and goalkeeper Clint Irwin.
“We do have good, young players and we do want to give them opportunities, because they’ve trained well,” Fraser said. “Everyone needs an opportunity and you never know how someone’s gonna be until they have that opportunity.”
Union Omaha vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Up north, things are quite sunny for newcomer Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, the other local in the Round of 32.
The Hailstorm travel to face Union Omaha 6 p.m. Wednesday, guaranteeing a USL League One side will reach the Round of 16 for the first time in the modern era (2014). If NoCo can continue its run, it would place itself on the cusp of history: Since 1996 when MLS teams entered the tournament, only six teams from the third division have reached the quarterfinals or beyond, with the last time coming in 2010.
Hailstorm has had a stunning start in the Open Cup, beating in-state rival Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the third round and knocking out Real Salt Lake 1-0 in the fourth round last month.
Every game can be streamed on ESPN Plus without local blackouts. On Wednesday, the Fútbol Americas team of Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez will host a whip-around show for all 10 games that night starting at 4:30 p.m. MDT and going all the way through the remainder of the evening.
