Postgame Note: Debutant Loïc Williams Nets Stoppage Time Winner in Rapids Home Victory
MLS Colorado Rapids

Postgame Note: Debutant Loïc Williams Nets Stoppage Time Winner in Rapids Home Victory

Published on July 23, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release


Colorado Rapids 1, San Diego FC 0

MLS Regular Season | Wednesday, July 22, 2026

DICK'S Sporting Goods Park | Commerce City, CO

Notables:

D Loïc Williams made his MLS debut with the Rapids in tonight's match, starting the match and playing the full 90 minutes.

The defender recorded his first goal for the club in stoppage time of the second half.

Williams became the third Rapids defender to record their first club goal in their home debut this season (Kosi Thompson 4/11/26, Lucas Herrington 2/28/26).

Williams became the fifth active Rapids player to record their first club goal in their home debut (Kosi Thompson 4/11/26, Lucas Herrington 2/28/26, Hamzat Ojediran 2/28/26, Reggie Cannon 9/21/24).

M Paxten Aaronson recorded his fifth assist of the season on Williams' goal.

The midfielder has now recorded four goal contributions in his last five appearances (1g, 3a).

Aaronson is now tied with Wayne Frederick and Dante Sealy for the club lead in assists.

F Dante Sealy recorded his fifth assist of the season and the eighth of his MLS career.

Sealy is now tied with Wayne Frederick and Paxten Aaronson for the club lead in assists.

F Donavan Phillip made his first team debut after being subbed on in stoppage time of the second half.

The Colorado Rapids recorded their 350th MLS regular season win in club history.

F Bryce Jamison made his first appearance on a match roster in tonight's match.

Goal Summary:

Minute Team Player Assist

90' + 6' COL L. Williams P. Aaronson,

D. Sealy

Disciplinary Summary:

Minute Team Player Result

19' SD C. McVey YC

22' COL L. Williams YC

28' COL R. Cannon YC

71' SD I. Murphy YC

82' COL R. Navarro YC

84' COL D. Yapi RC

90' + 5' SD L. Morgan YC

Lineups:

Colorado Rapids: GK Nico Hansen; D Reggie Cannon (90' Lucas Herrington), Rob Holding (90' Noah Cobb), Loïc Williams, Kosi Thompson; M Paxten Aaronson, Josh Atencio (90'+3' Donavan Phillip), Hamzat Ojediran; F Dante Sealy, Rafael Navarro (C), Georgi Minoungou (72' Darren Yapi)

Unused substitutes: Adam Beaudry, Keegan Rosenberry, Ali Fadal, Alex Harris, Bryce Jamison

San Diego FC: GK Cj Dos Santos; D Kieran Sargeant (70' Ian Murphy), Manu Duah, Christopher McVey, Oscar Verhoeven; M Jeppe Tverskov (C), Anni Valkari, Anibal Godoy (70' Alejandro Alvarado); F Alex Mighten (90'+2' Bryan Zamble), Marcus Ingvarsten (83' Lewis Morgan), Anders Dreyer

Unused substitutes: Duran Ferree, Willy Kumado, Pedro Soma, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher

Officials:

Referee: Chris Penso; Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Matt Trotter; Fourth Official: Ricardo Fiero; VAR: Shawn Tehini; AVAR: Robert Schaap

COLORADO RAPIDS POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH MATT WELLS

On Loïc Williams' performance on the night...

"San Diego is a complicated team to play against. They make a lot of good movements on the inside of the pitch. So, we had a pressing strategy coming into the game. We had to change it two or three times within the game. So that's probably why Loïc [Williams] looked like he had different marks because he did. In some moments, he was pressing the outside, sometimes he was jumping into midfield and trying to get to [Anders] Dreyer, certainly more in the second half. I thought it was a great performance from the team overall, and I thought Loïc was a big part of that. I think you see all the qualities that we wanted to bring to the club, including his left foot, it really helped us with the build-up. A couple of lovely switches to Dante [Sealy]. I thought overall a top performance, and obviously he crowns it off with a massive goal for us in the last minute of the game. So, I think that would constitute a pretty good debut from Loïc."

On controlling Anders Dreyer...

"I just said to the guys afterwards, that it's my first experience here, on the sideline [where] it felt almost like a Champions League game. I thought it was that good. I thought both teams participated. I loved their [San Diego] style of play. I loved their ideas. As I said before, they're a complex team, they're complicated, and they combine that with unbelievable composure. And we're the best pressing team, I believe, in the MLS and statistically, that would also be shown. I think you see how composed they are. They made a lot of turnovers in the first half, but generally out for throw-ins, so it was difficult for us to feel the rewards of our press. But, I said to the guys at halftime, we change things a bit tactically, but we have to keep going with the same intensity. We'll get a chance from pressing. I love the way they play. I love how calm the center backs are. Even when you arrive in great positions, they then take you on one against one. I thought it was a real high-level game. You can't make any mistakes. I do think we tactically managed [Anders] Dreyer well, but it took an awful lot of tactical intelligence, organization, and intensity. And there's still times where they got out of our press, and we just had to show a great teamwork ethic to get back under the ball and then be compact. Because if you open up the middle against these guys, then you're going to concede goals. Overall, it was, for me, a very...I hope by now you know me, I never get too carried away. I thought it was a very even game. It could have gone either way, and I'm just delighted for the guys that their hard work paid off, and we end up winning it in the in the last minute. Moments like that, sometimes the thing that really galvanizes a team. So I'm delighted the boys got to have that moment."

On the attacking pieces on the bench he could go to tonight...

"Listen, we've got really good options. You think you look tonight, I'm bringing someone of the quality of Darren Yapi off the bench. I spoke to Yapi yesterday and said 'you need to be disappointed that you're not starting this game, and when you do come into the game, which you inevitably will, you need to come in and prove that point and try and force your way in to have a big moment and try and force your way into to the next game.' We we've got a really good front half unit. We need to add to it in terms of depth and different options and tactical flexibility. I'd say at the moment, we're not one dimensional, but we have...it's difficult to change the profile of our attack, and that's where obviously I went for the game in late stages, as I always do. There's no chance of me playing for a draw. Throwing Donavan [Phillip] into the game and sacrificing the number eight, I actually was stood on the sideline asking Donavan, can you defend as a number eight? Because I don't know. I've never played him there, but I just wanted to go all out attack and try and get the three points. I didn't have any interest today in drawing the game, so it was a case of throwing Donavan on, putting two up top, and then we still had Yapi and we still had Dante [Sealy]. I thought I thought Dante did a fantastic job there. I thought that was his best job, his best performance for the Rapids. Obviously he was unlucky. I haven't seen it back, but unlucky to have the goal disallowed. But for his all-round game, how he pressed, his intensity, his security with the ball, his combinations with Paxten [Aaronson] down that side. In the end, San Diego had to change their shape and defend with a line of five and the main reason they did that was because Dante and Paxten kept finding the spaces. Like, how many times tonight did Pax get into the penalty box on that right-hand side? We just couldn't find the last pass or the last cross and the right finish until the free kick, and Loic [Williams] did the job."

On Loic Williams' toughness tonight...

"I give him massive credit. Since the transfer was agreed, which was obviously a long time ago, he was balancing his, of course, his duty to Granada. But then once that season ended, and we know he's coming here, he prepared for it in such a professional manner. The fact that he turned up after his holiday, and even just the measurement of his body fat is outstanding. Like he's just turned up in supreme condition, so really the job...we didn't really need to build his fitness, we needed to get him acclimatized to the altitude, and you can tell that took him a good week or so in training. Obviously, he's been through that. Tonight, I had no...there wasn't one part of me unless he was going to be injured. I know he had a little knock, but he signaled that he was absolutely fine. There was no part of me that has a fitness concern about him. It's the same for the St. Louis game. He can he can turn it around and go again quite comfortably. I thought his mentality was in line with the teams tonight. I thought it was a really...it was our best performance of the season because you're playing such a high-level opponent. So obviously I'm looking at through the lens of knowing the tactical detail that goes into every movement you have to make without the ball, and every movement you have to make with the ball, and I was constantly throwing changes at the guys. San Diego actually played a little bit differently to what we prepared, so we had to change things again at halftime. We're changing things on the fly in drinks breaks and injury breaks in the game. I really enjoyed this evening. Obviously, it's easy to say that now with the one-nil win but even if, even if the referee had gone to the screen and given the penalty, and we end up conceding and we lose one-nil, or we come back and draw one-one, I'd be saying exactly the same thing because it's always for me about the process and the performance as opposed to outcome. But of course, I'm delighted that we won."

On turning attacking opportunities into goals...

"We did that tonight. We scored two goals that were disallowed, and don't forget you're playing against a very good side that have also, like us, had five-six weeks of preparation to play against you and also improve aspects of their game, which is certainly not for me to speak for their coach. I thought their recovery runs tonight and how they backfield the penalty box was to the best level that I've faced so far since I've been here in the MLS. We break through their pressure, we attack fast, we arrive in the box, and I'm thinking, oh, the penny box will be wide open. And before you blink, they have 6, 7, 8, bodies back in there. We were doing exactly the same to them. So it's exactly like I said, it's difficult for Anders [Dreyer] to find the space. I just thought it was two really good teams going against each other, and the game could have gone either way. Georgie [Minoungou] scored an excellent goal. It's a finish that he's been working on a lot. Of course, it's offside, and then I think was it Dante [Sealy] who scored the other header from Rafa [Navarro] back across, and again this being ruled out because like if Reggie [Cannon] didn't fall over the advertising boards or get pushed over him, he wouldn't have ever been in that position to come back from an offside position. Those fine margins...the last week we beat Minnesota four-nil, so I keep talking to the guys about we have the ability to keep clean sheets consistently because we have an incredible pressing organization. We have ridiculous fitness because of the work that we've done, which allows us to win in the 95th minute today. We have good organization in our own half. We have good principals around our box, and thankfully for me, we have top quality defenders. Like our defensive group is ridiculous. Like tonight, I'm bringing Noah [Cobb] and Lucas [Herrington] onto the pitch. I'm not even bringing Keegan [Rosenberry] onto the pitch. I've got Miguel [Navarro] suspended. I've got Jackson [Travis] injured. The depth we have in the back half of the group is, I would argue, as good as any other team in the MLS. And then behind them, we have Nico [Hansen], who yet again today doesn't have loads to do, but when it matters, he's a big player. He makes big saves in big moments, We shouldn't forget his contribution tonight because that could have been one-nil to San Diego when he when he made a massive save."

On Kosi Thompson's performance on defense...

"'Kosi Stones'. I thought he was excellent. We do have that flexibility with our fullbacks, and we've worked the last five-six weeks on being pretty unpredictable with it. We have a good variation behind it. Like next game, it could be a right back popping up in there. It could be popping up as a number ten, a second number eight. So, my goal over the last five-six weeks was to make us almost impossible to prepare for. That St. Louis can analyze the game tonight, then we turn up in St. Louis and we're doing something totally different. But the guys are completely in sync because our principles stay the same and our movements and combinations that we try are generally pretty similar, regardless of who's popping up where. It gives us a great dynamic. We've trained it over double sessions for like I said the last five-six weeks because I also had to give the guys loads of repetition, but I also had to see okay who fits where who can cope with coming in as a second six, who can cope as coming in as a central ten who can cope as coming inside in the pocket. I'd say now I've got a really good grasp of the different qualities of what our fullbacks have probably, barring Jackson [Travis] because he's not been able to train due to his injury. I'm delighted. We have, like I said before, a really strong fullback group. It makes us unpredictable tactically, but I thought Kosi [Thompson] dropped off a little bit the last 5-10 minutes of the game at nil-nil, there was a couple of attacks down inside where he wasn't quite in the right defensive position, he lost a little bit of his defensive intensity, but I thought overall from him it was it was a stellar performance."

On Lucas Herrington's growth and his performance in the World Cup...

"It was a lovely moment for him tonight. Obviously, he's been back training with us, but his first appearance in front of the fans, I think he got an incredible reception from them. I think he's felt the support of the club from day one since he came here. I think he's gone away, he's had the jubilation of getting called up for his country, then he's had the incredible experience of, and this is testament to him that he's gone there, started the first game on the bench, then forced his way into the team, and then become a mainstay with the team. There was no way they were ever going to take him out, no matter how far they went, because his performance levels were so good. And then, of course, he has the penalty experience where he's brave enough and courageous enough to put himself forward, which is a measure of the man, and didn't surprise me one bit that he did that. I think we've supported him throughout all of that. Of course, he was disappointed after he missed the penalty, but I think, as many of us have said to him, and I have said to him, listen, it may not feel like it, but it's [an] unbelievable moment for your career, and you're training your body and your mind to be a big player in the big moment when you play in the Champions League in the future, which he definitely will. You've already trained your body to step up in the big moments. Your career is going to be faced with so many opportunities to step up, and if you don't take a penalty, you train yourself to be the guy that hides in the corner. If you put yourself forward, whether you score or not, to me is irrelevant. Of course, he wanted to score, I wanted him to score, but it's mainly about what he's training himself to become. He's an unbelievable young man. He's so mature. He's a pleasure to coach and deal with and now he also comes back, and he sees what competition he's got here. We kept a clean sheet against Minnesota, so I wanted to stick with that partnership of Rob [Holding] and Loïc [Williams]. Rob was excellent against Minnesota, so I went with that again. We kept another clean sheet, and obviously Noah [Cobb] and Lucas came into the game and contributed to that. I've got an embarrassment of riches at the back, which is nice."

On his substitutions and tactical decisions in the second half...

"What do I think of them? Yeah, they were outstanding. No, listen, as I said, it was a challenging game throughout like from the first passage of play from San Diego, the press that we'd prepared didn't make sense then for the setup they'd gone for. It was impossible for Dante [Sealy] to get to the left center back, and we wanted Dante to arrive on the left center back, Reggie [Cannon] to arrive on the left back, but they were shuffling around to a three, so it was a long run for Dante, and it was an impossible run for Reggie. We quickly had to change that, but it's so difficult in the game. You can get the message to one player, and then we actually saw that through the first half. I've managed to get the message across to about half the team, but the other half was still doing the original press, and that's why sometimes in some passages we went with great intensity. But San Diego always had the spare man around the ball, so we changed it at halftime, and at halftime they changed back to what we prepared. We were back in another position where [Alex] Mighten wasn't wide for the second half, so Reggie couldn't quite find any reference to press, so we ended up plus one at the back. And in my mind, you can't play plus one against San Diego because they're too good. They'll find the solutions. You have to be man [to] man. So that's sort of what I'm referring to when I say it was such a high-level game, and they're the games I enjoy most as a coach. I didn't want to change too much. I really liked us with the ball [in the] second half. I felt the overload on our right hand side, if we faked to go to the left and changed it back to Dante, Paxten [Aaronson] had all the space, but as soon as we start to exploit that, their coach [Mikey Varas] changes to a line of five, and that's when I say it felt like a Champions League game because they're the games I've experienced as an assistant manager, where it is constantly like that. You change one thing to find an advantage, then straight away their coach reacts, then you have to react. So yeah, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. I thought it was a great moment to get Donavan [Phillip] on the pitch. I think I've tried many times with [Nathan] Tchoumba, with Ali Fadal and those guys, I always want to signal to the young players I'm not putting you on when we're five-nil up, whereas I don't ever think that signals trust. But to put Dono on in that stage of the game, I would like to think now he feels complete trust from me that I know I can throw him onto the pitch, and it's not about, 'Oh we need a two or three goal cushion to give a young lad an opportunity,' so hopefully it's a great message for him, but it's also a great message for the rest of Rapids 2 and those guys underneath that if you train well, if you perform well, if you're committed to your profession, if you want to improve as a player, and you can play our game model, then you've got a head coach that will give you opportunity. I thought it was great for him to come on and when we went one-nil up and we put the ball over the top and he was in, I've actually seen him score those scenarios in training, but I think he just missed the header and then [Darren] Yapi took over on a one-man mission to score. Unfortunately he didn't get that opportunity, but he's been first class for us in training, so you'll definitely see more of him on the pitch for us."

COLORADO RAPIDS DEFENDER KOSI THOMPSON

On about Loic Williams' performance so far...

"Since [Loic Williams] came in, he's a very hardworking guy, and he has that that energy to him, that knack to him, where it's you want to fight for him, and he'll fight for you. We've been building a strong relationship, and the chemistry is slowly getting there. But, at the end of the day, we are both very clear in the types of players that we are, and he's a joy to work with. I know that he has my back at all times, so it's lovely to know that I have that scapegoat, almost, if things don't go too well for me. He's just an electric player. He has a presence in the back line that is very rare. It's very rare to have someone like that in your backline. It's wonderful that he can score on his debut. It was just amazing. It was coming for a long time, and it's something that we've talked about in the past couple weeks, where we just keep going. We keep going till that last whistle because it will come, and it came."

On what it was like to play various positions tonight...

"That's one aspect of football that I love, especially when you get the freedom to play in the middle and with a free flowing team like we have, it feels amazing to just open up my legs and being able to get involved in all aspects of the play, in all aspects of the game For those that don't know, I have played a couple years as a six and an eight in the league, Ss, to get back in there, it brings back old memories. I just love the way that we play, and I feel like it suits me very well when I'm in the six. At the end of the day, it's just pure joy. It's just pure joy in all the action. That's what I live for."

On playing a tough team like San Diego to restart the season...

"Well, first things first, they got thrown in the lion's den with us. Everyone knows how hard it is to play here. From the first minute to the 95th, we showed that. They're coming to our pitch, our stadium, and they're playing on our field, and we're going to play our football. With the long buildup, it's just been work, work, work, work, work, and everyone is on the same page. Everyone has clear minds, and the way that the guys are clicking and the chemistry right now is absolutely amazing. The last five weeks it's been, I feel like it's been just pure quality. Everyone working towards the same goal, and this was a great start for us to start a run before we get into playoffs."

On the importance of tonight's win...

"It does loads. Honestly, the biggest thing for me, as well as for the squad, is how we got the win. Yes, there's a process to it. There's the tactical part, the technical part. But at the end of the day, as everyone saw, it's just the grit, the will, the dog mentality, to just come away with three points, and that is something that we were missing at the beginning of the year. Starting the second half of the year with that in our hands, we're miles ahead of where we were, and it's absolutely amazing that we have come to a place where we know that we can win games in the last minutes."

On what he thinks about Canada's performance in the World Cup....

"I loved it. Watching the guys go out there and give their everything. It's a special group. This era of Canadians, it really is a special group. The pathway that these guys are burning is absolutely stunning. It's amazing to watch, and in a couple years time, I'll find myself in there, and I'll be the one that's inspiring the younger Canadians to keep the Canadian football at a certain standard."

On the success of the defenders during their debut...

"I'd like to say it's just the mentality of a defender. As a player in the backline, it's all or nothing at all times. The chances that we get, we get very few. So, we got to make them count. Loic [Williams] did wonders to get himself in the box. It's a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill, and it's just determination at the end of the day."

On having strong options in the backline and competition...

"That's what we thrive for. You want to have a squad that's just full of guys that are always competing for the starting eleven. When the games come around, at the end of the day, it's iron sharpening iron. There's no negatives with it. Healthy competition is probably one of the best things that you can have in a squad, especially in a successful squad. I'm loving it. The other guys are loving it, and at the same time, we're all wishing for each other success. It's just been absolutely amazing."

On how to continue to win and earn points in future games...

"There's the tactical piece, the technical piece, but then at the end of the day, it's just that mentality, it's that will to win. This little preseason has been great for that. There's been a massive emphasis on that. Where at the end of the day, yes, there's the technical ability, yes, there's the tactical ability, but then it's who wants it more. It really is who wants it more. Everyone knows how hard it is to play here, and we really need to punish teams when they come here and they think that they can come away with a point or three points. No chance."

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