Rapids Earn a Point on the Road in 0-0 Draw with LAFC
MLS Colorado Rapids

Rapids Earn a Point on the Road in 0-0 Draw with LAFC

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


LAFC 0, Colorado Rapids 0

MLS Regular Season | Wednesday, April 22, 2026

BMO Stadium | Los Angeles, CA

Highlights and Match Summary

Postgame Press Conference:

Head Coach Matt Wells

Defender Rob Holding

Notable Notes:

Colorado posted their second clean sheet of the season in MLS play and their third across all competitions.

F Darren Yapi made his 100th career MLS regular season appearance in tonight's match.

D Kosi Thompson made his 100th career MLS regular season appearance in tonight's match.

Goal Summary:

Minute Team Player Assist

-- -- -- --

Disciplinary Summary:

Minute Team Player Result

40' COL K. Thompson YC

64' LAFC S. Palencia YC

68' COL H. Ojediran YC

80' COL G. Minoungou YC

86' COL J. Atencio YC

90' + 2' LAFC N. Tafari YC

Lineups:

Colorado Rapids: GK Zack Steffen (C); D Kosi Thompson, Lucas Herrington, Rob Holding, Jackson Travis (56' Miguel Navarro); M Wayne Frederick, Hamzat Ojediran (82' Alexis Manyoma), Josh Atencio; F Dante Sealy (61' Georgi Minoungou), Rafael Navarro, Darren Yapi (61' Paxten Aaronson)

Unused substitutes: Nico Hansen, Reggie Cannon, Noah Cobb, Keegan Rosenberry

LAFC: GK Hugo Lloris; D Sergi Palencia, Aaron Long (C) (46' Nkosi Tafari), Ryan Porteous, Eddie Segura; M Mark Delgado, Heung Min-Son (77' Jeremy Ebobisse), Mathieu Choiniere (67' Stephen Eustaquio); F Jacob Shaffelburg (67' David Martinez), Denis Bouanga, Tyler Boyd (46' Timothy Tillman)

Unused substitutes: Cabral Carter, Ryan Hollingshead, Artem Smoliakov, Nathan Ordaz

Officials:

Referee: Victor Rivas; Assistants: Eric Weisbrod, Kevin Lock; Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan; VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero; AVAR: Tom Felice

COLORADO RAPIDS POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH MATT WELLS

On tonight's match...

"Yeah, pleased. Really good performance. I think another very high-level technical performance from us. I think what we did, certainly in the opening stage of the game -- I think we had 91% of the ball someone just told me after 12 minutes of the match. I thought we turned up, played with personality, played with courage, just like we did against Miami. Had two big moments early on, forced [Hugo] Lloris into two really good saves, and then the second half was a little bit more even. We started a good process with the ball. We arrived a lot in the final third, but we probably just lacked a little bit of attacking sharpness and conviction tonight to really turn it into chances and the goals that we wanted to score. But overall, I don't think you can-from where we've been, I just showed the guys some stats in the changing room. We've lost nine out of nine here with an aggregate score of 25 to two. So, I think for us to be so dominant with the ball tonight, keep a clean sheet, which is important-we showed that ability and that mentality. That was a challenge I gave the guys off the back of Miami, because that deserved a much better outcome. So, yeah, overall, a lot of pleasing aspects."

On seeing Son Heung-Min...

"Yeah, great to see Sonny. Been looking forward to it. We have a close relationship, and we speak a lot via the phone, but yes, long time since I've seen him in person. So it was -- it was also nice that we managed to keep him relatively quiet. That's never an easy job. That took a lot of work on the training pitch and a lot of effort from the guys tonight. And the same with [Denis] Bouanga, and then obviously they bring [David] Martinez into the game as well. They've got an incredible amount of offensive talent, so we did a good job with that. But yeah, Sonny's, as I said yesterday, an incredible, incredible player, but an even better human being. And he was very, very praiseworthy and positive about the feeling of playing against us and how we've transformed the team. So it was-it was great to catch up with him."

On the approach to each half tonight...

"We got stuck a little bit in the second. It wasn't too much of anything that they changed. Obviously, they brought a little bit of energy with the double substitution and obviously two top-quality players, but it was a little bit our process. We got stuck in our half a little bit. We repeated back to Zack [Steffen] when there were opportunities to progress. We actually still arrived probably the same amount in their attacking half. And we just lost all desire to sort of get to the byline. That was the message I was trying to get onto the pitch, that we had to work the outsides a little bit more, and then the passes down the line. And that was a little bit of thinking of bringing in Paxten [Aaronson] and Georgi [Minoungou], not so much that [Darren] Yapi and Dante [Sealy] weren't doing it. But when you bring subs in, you can communicate with them a lot easier. So I felt it was a real important message to try and get on, that we had to try and get down the sides of them because they were jumping it up a little bit more from their mid-block. So anytime we went back to Rob [Holding] and Lucas [Herrington], they were trying to jump up. And again, we had big success with it, but there were a few too many times we got forced to go all the way back to Z [Zack Steffen], so that was that. But we still arrived with some really strong positions. I just felt we lacked a little bit of attacking impetus and conviction in the final third. But that can happen. Obviously, it was a massive effort against Inter Miami only a couple of days ago. So you generally see an occasional drop-off with those things, but the overall, sort of global performance - how we turned up, how we played with the ball, how much attention we paid to stopping their counterattack by putting the ball in the right areas and having players in the correct positions -- you can never switch off against them. And it was a real high level of tactical discipline tonight from the guys."

On the courage displayed by the players tonight...

"I've got to be honest, I think that's prevalent in every one of our performances. I could show you 20 clips of Josh [Atencio] doing the same against Miami on Saturday. I think, like you rightly identified, there was probably more attacking intent from Dante [Sealy]. We had a unit meeting today with all of the forwards, and sort of the profile of how LA are going to defend, their center backs don't tend to jump in. So that was a great game for Rafa [Navarro] and Wayne [Frederick] to get turned between the lines. Them two have got a really good connection. And only then the ball would go wide to the wingers, and they'd have a lot of one-v-one opportunities. And because of the threat on the transition, first half, the plan was that we weren't going to then join with overlaps and underlaps, which is what we typically do. So we generally kept extra bodies behind the ball, but feeling that we could have real big success four against four, and Dante did have a couple of really good positive actions. It was tough to get [Darren] Yapi in the same situations, because the right back was marking him so tightly, so it was more of the inside space. So we tried to target that in the second half, and went a bit more adventurous with Kosi [Thompson], Jackson [Travis], and then later on in the game, Miguel [Navarro], just to give us the over. I just felt as the game progressed, I could see that it was just one of those days where we didn't quite have the one-v-one advantage on the sides. So they really needed a support player to overlap or underlap to create any opportunities. And it's a little bit similar. When Georgi [Minoungou] came into the game, I felt that was probably - I just said to him in the dressing room, you've got to be ready to come in with your identity when I'm bringing you onto the pitch. I want you to go one-v-one every single time. And he started like a house on fire. Then a couple of big moments to go one-v-one and look for the pass too early, which is not the type of player he is. So that's a little learning curve. He'll get used to us as a staff, us as a team, and what we want. But I mean, what we can't undervalue tonight, and what I just said to the guys, is the ability to come here and keep a clean sheet is very, very impressive. You know, they're a tough team - great chance again, I think, earlier in the season, what did they have - six or seven games back-to-back clean sheets, which is pretty formidable. So overall, nothing but positives tonight, in terms of how we play against two massive opponents. We've played Inter Miami and now LA, and we had 60% of the ball against Miami, 70% of the ball tonight. I think we're showing that we're definitely a different team to what we've been in the past. And now it's about layering on that final-third conviction so that we stay - I don't want us to lose our place as top goal scorers in the MLS, which I know we have now done. So we need to get back on that and make sure that we marry the control, the possession, the dominance with being devastating in the final third, which will be the areas of improvement I try and show the guys ahead of Vancouver."

On possession tonight...

"I think there's more to possession than creating chances. I think we have to analyze the game for what it is. The possession is not passive possession. Let's count how many times we arrived in their box, arrived in the final third, arrived in positions. You're also dealing with human beings and individuals that are working hard at their game to improve, and the attackers. We have a great group of attackers here who typically have been very decisive, but it's all part of the journey that they have to just play with more conviction. Today was certainly not a case that we struggled to get the ball between the lines. I lost count of how many times Rafa [Navarro] and Wayne [Frederick] were driving it there, back four wide open. So it's just a case of converting that into meaningful opportunities. If we're playing possession in our own penalty box and in our own half, and we can't get out of our half, and then after 10 passes, we turn it over, and Sonny [Son Heung-Min], [Denis] Bouanga and [David] Martinez are causing trouble, that's a different story, but that was not the reality of tonight, and it's definitely not easy. That's got to look up all the numbers LA ever produces - very, very difficult to stop that team transitioning, to stop them creating chances. You make one wrong pass, you're in the wrong position by two meters as a fullback or a center back, and before you know it, you've lost that ball - Sonny, Bouanga, Martinez, they're down the side of you, and they're one on one with the goalkeeper, which they've shown many, many times. So it was a very high-level tactical and technical performance. And I've got no complaints about the amount of times we arrived in the final third. It's just a case of being one of those nights where they have a very good defense and our attackers on the night couldn't quite find the advantage. So sure, there'll be some movements and ideas we can give the guys before Vancouver, but let's turn up certainly with the same courage, same mentality, and let's be the Colorado Rapids that Heung Min Son just told me is the best team he's faced this season. So let's turn up with our identity."

On Rob Holding's involvement in the attack...

"Yeah, it's one of our movements. We work a lot in training on just how we progress the game. And once Rob [Holding] drives in, that triggers different positions that the guys ahead of the ball then move and rotate into. And it's just about moving bodies higher up the pitch to get behind their midfield line. I thought Rob did it very well. I was a bit critical of the guys at halftime, that as Rob was doing it, and even Lucas [Herrington] - Lucas passed a little bit too early first half, so he wasn't giving Jackson [Travis] time to get up the pitch. But when those guys do that, the movement wasn't great between the fullback, the winger and our number 10 to find the spaces. Like LAFC, they're a very compact team. They block the spaces really well. You can have the overload, but it's difficult to find them. I was critical at halftime of the positions we were taking up, showed the guys a couple of clips from the first half. So the second half was a lot more about trying to get Rob driving with the ball, Kosi [Thompson] up to right wing, and that's trying to get Dante [Sealy] inside the pitch. Credit to LA, every time Rob drove, they're very good at blocking the passing lanes, and we couldn't quite find the progression. We had a couple of nice moments where we managed to at least get Kosi to the byline, but generally from there, the cross was overhit or under hit, and just the story of the day - the last pass, the last 18 yards of the game - was the only element of our match tonight that was not at an extremely high level. But no, you're right to identify that. I thought that was Rob's best performance of the season, defensively or offensively. So it's great that he's gone to another level. But there was a lot of good performances out there."

On Jackson Travis' potential injury...

"Yeah, nothing yet. You know, touch wood. Nothing too serious, because he's been excellent this season, and he's a player that I love in terms of his mentality, his mindset, just who he is as a person. He is the exact type of guy that any fan should want at their football club, because he gives everything on the pitch. He has a great ambition about him. He has a real willingness to learn and take criticism, which is something I always look for. I think that's a really good quality. So it'd be a big blow if he is out for any period of time. The good news is, obviously, Miguel [Navarro] is back fit. Obviously missed the game at the weekend, but good for Miggy to get some minutes today, and I just spoke to him after the game. He had absolutely no issues with his hamstring. So we'll see. You've got two good choices, hopefully, to start at left back against Vancouver. But of course, if Jackson [Travis] is ruled out, then Miguel's a nailed-on starter for that one."

COLORADO RAPIDS DEFENDER ROB HOLDING

On if he knew this was the club's first positive result at BMO Stadium...

"We knew the track record of the team coming here, but the Gaffer said after the game, this is a totally new team and this is how we want to be. We want to dominate games. You see in the first half, we got them pinned in their half, and we were just popping the ball around, trying to create chances. That's what we missed today, was the decisiveness. I think [Hugo] Lloris kept them in the game in the first half with two or three great saves, but we need to be better in terms of our finishing. But the positive was the clean sheet."

On matching up against Son Heung-Min...

"We know he's dangerous on the transition and [Denis] Bouanga as well above. They like to play that counter attacking football. So we knew we were going to have a lot of the ball -- which is most games now where we have a lot of the ball -- and the question was, how do we control that? I think the shape that we played, we controlled that. Then when they changed their shape towards the end of the first half, it then became a different defensive setup for dealing with their transitions, which I think we managed well as well. That was what they looked for, and we managed to just negate that and make sure that it wasn't an issue."

On the cohesion of the gameplan tonight...

"Definitely. I think in the Miami game as well, you saw how dominant we can be. Obviously, we didn't get the result there, but tonight we showed the lads driving the ball forward. When we played through their press, taking the game by the scruff of their neck, Josh [Atencio] did that well, and did it straight to the end of the game. It drove the game forward. You could see he was searching for that, for that winner. We were the team that was looking for that winner, and they were looking to counter, which was the story of the game, really. Yeah, Dante [Sealy] was great. He stayed out wide, gave us width, and then was dangerous coming in on his left foot. I liked the fact that he didn't dribble into dead ends today. I know some games I've gotten on to him about that. Three guys are on you and you're driving into three guys, there must be space somewhere else. So, he recognized that if two guys doubled upon him, he'd look to pass the ball into the midfield, and there'll be, surely, some spaces there. So I was happy with his performance. He was good for the team today."

His thoughts on the defensive gameplan...

"I think there were a few times in the first half where I stepped in and squashed the counter before it happened. If we can do that, and we can affect their first touch as the counter, that was obviously an ideal way to deal with counter. But there are times with the good players, they're going to get out. It was, how quick could we get bodies behind the ball, narrow up as a back four, and prevent the spaces that they like to run into? I think we did that pretty well on the odd occasions that they did break out."

On Head Coach Matt Wells saying this was his best performance so far...

"It's great to hear that, but I know myself, I can play better. I had two passes -- I played one in the second half, just behind Kosi [Thompson] and it went out for a throw in for them. Don't like that. Don't like doing that. That's on me. That's me being my own self critic. There was a pass that I looked to play in the first half into Rafa [Navarro's] feet, and their center mid just read it and intercepted it. So yeah, there's two occasions straight away that I know I need to be better with and be take better care of the ball. Defensively, the clean sheet, it was good. I think a lot of the times in our build up, when they pressed a bit more aggressively in the second half, I liked the fact that we, as a team, were true to our roots. We played back to Zack [Steffen] and let them press again and played out, and we didn't get too scared to boot the ball long, which I think was really good and really mature of us. I think, since the Toronto game, I feel like I've been playing good with the ball in possession, been definitely driving the team forward and working out patterns. It's been like that the last couple of games. So yeah, it's definitely something with the ball to build on, and even more so now with a clean sheet and defending our box. I think it's another step in the right direction as well."

On the benefits of the intense preseason so far...

"It's definitely paying its dues now on how much we did in preseason. We have two game weeks now, pretty much for the next two or three, after already doing two. It's how we trained since preseason as well. We do high meters, high distance, high speed running. Everyone's ready to step in when needed. The gaffer, you see, likes to rotate with the players, like the wingers that didn't start against Miami started this one. So it shows that there's versatility, there's competition, and lads are raring to go. I don't think it's going to be a problem with the amount of games we're going to have."

On the mood in the locker room...

"We want to win every game, so we know we dominated the game and we deserved the three points. We didn't get the three points, but we can't get the three points, then we don't concede a goal, we at least came away with a with a point and a draw. It was the same feeling after the Miami game. We were looking at it thinking like, oh, we played nice football, but we didn't get what we deserved. I think that's where we are right now, and that will eventually change, and we'll start picking up the three points. We go from our performances, and we just keep building on them."

On the differences in play in recent matches...

"I thought we looked comfortable in Miami. Obviously, the first goal, Josh [Atencio] gets caught, and then trying to recover, gives away a penalty. But I don't remember Miami pressing us and us struggling to play through that. Again tonight, the first half, I think we had 91% possession in the first 12 minutes of the game. It's crazy stats, but that's who we want to be. We want to dominate the ball and invite teams to press us, and we're going to stick to our guns and build up."

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