2018 Colorado Rapids season

The 2018 Colorado Rapids season will be the Colorado Rapids' 23rd season of existence, their 23rd season in Major League Soccer and their 23rd season in the top-tier of American soccer.

Colorado Rapids

2018 season
Owner	Stan Kroenke
Head coach	Anthony Hudson
Major League Soccer	Conference: 11th Overall: 21st
MLS Cup Playoffs	Did not qualify
U.S. Open Cup	Fourth Round
CONCACAF Champions League	Round of 16
Rocky Mountain Cup	Lost
Top goalscorer	League: Dominique Badji (7) All: Dominique Badji (7)
Highest home attendance	17,837
Lowest home attendance	10,790
Average home league attendance	15,333
Home colors Away colors

Due to a reconfiguration in the CONCACAF Champions League format, the Rapids will begin play in the Champions League this year for their successes during the 2016 season. Colorado opens their slate of competitive fixtures on February 20 in the Champions League Round of 16 with a two-legged series against Canadian champions, Toronto FC in the round of 16. On March 3, the club will have their MLS opener against Chicago Fire. In either May or June, the Rapids will begin play in the U.S. Open Cup.

Background

The 2017 season saw a sharp downturn in the Rapids fortunes. Colorado finished the 2017 season second-bottom of the Western Conference table, with the third-worst overall record in Major League Soccer. Colorado finished 10th in the Western Conference and 20th in the overall table. The team scored a league-low 31 goals in 34 matches and conceded 51 goals. Dominique Badji lead the team with 7 goals across all competitions.

Outside of MLS play, the Rapids played in the 2017 edition of the U.S. Open Cup, where they lost in the fifth round to FC Dallas. The Rapids failed to qualify for the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. At the end of the campaign, four-year head coach, Pablo Mastroeni was relieved of his duties.

Club

Roster

As of October 28, 2018.[1]

No.	Name	Nat	Position	Since	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Games	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Tim Howard		GK	2016	March 6, 1979	Everton	75	0
18	Zac MacMath		GK	2016	August 7, 1991	Philadelphia Union	31	0
50	Andrew Dykstra		GK	2018	February 1, 1986	Sporting Kansas City	0	0
Defenders
2	Edgar Castillo		LB	2018	October 8, 1986	Monterrey (loan)	28	3
4	Danny Wilson		CB	2018	December 27, 1991	Rangers F.C.	23	0
5	Tommy Smith		CB	2018	March 31, 1990	Ipswich Town	33	4
13	Sam Vines		CB	2018	May 31, 1999	Charlotte Independence	1	0
23	Kip Colvey		CB	2018	March 15, 1994	San Jose Earthquakes	3	0
24	Kortne Ford		CB	2017	January 26, 1996	Denver Pioneers	35	1
27	Deklan Wynne		CB	2018	March 20, 1995	Whitecaps FC 2	25	0
44	Axel Sjöberg		CB	2015	March 8, 1991	Marquette Golden Eagles	82	3
Midfielders
8	Johan Blomberg		MF	2018	June 14, 1987	AIK	25	0
10	Kellyn Acosta		MF	2018	July 24, 1995	FC Dallas	13	2
15	Sam Hamilton		MF	2017	July 27, 1995	Denver Pioneers	3	0
17	Dillon Serna		MF	2013	March 25, 1994	Akron Zips	91	9
19	Jack Price		MF	2018	December 19, 1992	Wolverhampton Wanderers	31	1
20	Ricardo Perez		MF	2017	May 30, 1995	Creighton Bluejays	0	0
21	Bismark Adjei-Boateng		MF	2017	May 10, 1994	Strømsgodset	38	1
26	Cole Bassett		MF	2018	July 28, 2001	Colorado Rapids U–23	6	1
28	Sam Nicholson		MF	2018	January 20, 1995	Minnesota United	19	2
90	Enzo Martinez		MF	2018	September 29, 1990	Charlotte Independence	23	0
94	Marlon Hairston		MF	2014	March 23, 1994	Louisville Cardinals	95	7
Forwards
7	Giles Barnes		FW	2018	August 5, 1988	León	12	0
9	Yannick Boli		FW	2018	January 13, 1988	Dalian Yifang	17	2
11	Shkëlzen Gashi		FW	2016	July 15, 1988	Basel	64	13
12	Niki Jackson		FW	2018	August 25, 1995	Grand Canyon Antelopes	15	3
29	Caleb Calvert		FW	2014	October 22, 1996	Chivas USA	21	1
32	Jack McBean		FW	2018	December 15, 1994	LA Galaxy	22	2

Team management

Position	Staff
General Manager	Pádraig Smith
Asst. General Manager	Fran Taylor
Personnel Director	Ena Patel
Scouting Director	Mitch Murray
Scouting Coordinator	Chris Zitterbart
Head Coach	Anthony Hudson
Asst. Coach	Conor Casey
Goalkeeper Coach	Chris Sharpe
Head of Sports Science	Chad Kolarcik
Head Athletic Trainer	Keith Garnett
Asst. Athletic Trainer	Sean O'Neill
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Miguel Motolongo
Physical Therapist	Andy Free
Team Chiropractor	Nicholas Studholme
Chief Medical Officer	Dr. Wayne Gersoff
Team Physician	Dr. Mary-Catherine Husney

Last updated: February 9, 2018
Source: Colorado Rapids

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
7	FW	Giles Barnes	Club León	Undisclosed	July 13, 2018	[2]

Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster.

2018 Colorado Rapids SuperDraft Picks
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Status
2	25	Alan Winn	FW	North Carolina	Declined contract, signed with Nashville SC
	27	Frantzdy Pierrot	MF	Coastal Carolina	Invited to training camp
3	50	Thomas Olsen	GK	San Diego	Signed to roster
4	72	Brian Iloski	MF	UCLA	Invited to training camp, signed with Legia Warsaw
	73	Niki Jackson	FW	Grand Canyon	Signed to roster

Out

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
12	GK	John Berner	Phoenix Rising FC	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
23	DF	Bobby Burling		Free	November 27, 2017	[3]
26	DF	Dennis Castillo	Pérez Zeledón	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
45	MF	Joshua Gatt	Detroit City	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
27	MF	Luis Gil	Querétaro	Loan expired, purchase declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
16	FW	Alan Gordon	Chicago Fire	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
90	MF	Mohammed Saeid	Lyngby	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]
5	DF	Mekeil Williams	Richmond Kickers	Option declined	November 27, 2017	[3]

Loan in

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Start	End	Source
2	DF	Edgar Castillo	Monterrey	January 1, 2018	December 31, 2018	[4]
10	F	Joe Mason	Wolverhampton Wanderers	February 20, 2018	July 12, 2018	[5]

Loan out

Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Start	End	Source
DF	Mike da Fonte	Phoenix Rising FC	February 10, 2018		[6]
GK	Andrew Dykstra	Charlotte Independence	March 8, 2018		[7]
DF	Sam Vines	Charlotte Independence	March 8, 2018		[7]
MF	Ricardo Perez	Charlotte Independence	March 8, 2018		[7]
FW	Caleb Calvert	Charlotte Independence	March 8, 2018		[7]
DF	Kip Colvey	Colorado Springs Switchbacks	July 13, 2018		[8]

Competitions

Friendlies

January 31 Preseason	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Columbus Crew	Casa Grande, Arizona
11:00 a.m. MST	Ford  26'	Report	Zardes  2' Argudo  58'	Stadium: Grande Sports Academy Soccer Complex

February 3 Preseason	Colorado Rapids	0–2	Sporting Kansas City	Scottsdale, Arizona
11:00 a.m. MST		Report	Shelton  12' Gerso  22'	Stadium: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex

February 9 Preseason	Sporting Arizona	0–9	Colorado Rapids	Tucson, Arizona
11:00 a.m. MST		Report	Castillo  2' McBean  25' Calvert  63' Aigner  67' Jackson  78', 120' Blomberg  102' Perez  106'	Stadium: Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium
Note: 120 minute match of two 60-minute periods

February 14 Preseason	Phoenix Rising	0–2	Colorado Rapids	Scottsdale, Arizona
6:00 p.m. MST		Report	Badji  75' Smith  80'	Stadium: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex

July 24 Midseason	Colorado Rapids	2–2 (5–4 p)	Boca Juniors	Commerce City, Colorado
7:00 p.m. MST	Boli  30' Martínez  59'	Report	Barrios  11' Villa  14'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
	Penalties
	McBean Serna Martínez Wynne MacMath		Cardona Goltz Reynoso Zárate Tevez

September 1 Midseason	Tulsa Roughnecks FC	2-3	Colorado Rapids	Memphis, Tennessee
6:00 p.m. MST	Morton  14' Rivas  26'	Report	N. Jackson  15', 30', 47'	Stadium: AutoZone Park Attendance: 8,957

Major League Soccer

March 10, 2018 1	New England Revolution	2–1	Colorado Rapids	Foxborough, Massachusetts
11:30 MST	Fagúndez  48' Tierney  90+3'	Report	Jackson  66'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 13,305 Referee: Armando Vilarreal

March 24, 2018 2	Colorado Rapids	2–2	Sporting Kansas City	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Badji  5' Mason  8'	Report	Gutierrez  57' Rubio  90+1'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 17,424 Referee: Sorin Stoica

March 31, 2018 3	Colorado Rapids	3–0	Philadelphia Union	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Badji  53', 61', 87'	Report		Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 10,790 Referee: Robert Sibiga

April 7, 2018 4	FC Dallas	1–1	Colorado Rapids	Frisco, Texas
18:00 MDT	Colmán  89'	Report	Mason  62'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 13,147 Referee: Rubiel Vasquez

April 14, 2018 5	Colorado Rapids	2–0	Toronto FC	Commerce City, Colorado
13:00 MDT	Price  2' Gashi  78' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 11,232 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

April 21, 2018 6	Real Salt Lake	3–0	Colorado Rapids	Sandy, Utah
19:00 MDT	Plata  82' (pen.) Kreilach  89' Rusnák  90+2'	Report		Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 17,461 Referee: Joseph Dickerson

April 29, 2018 7	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Orlando City SC	Commerce City, Colorado
14:00 MDT	Badji  26'	Report	Higuita  52' Yotún  77' (pen.)	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 15,702 Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero

May 5, 2018 8	Sporting Kansas City	1–0	Colorado Rapids	Kansas City, Kansas
18:30 MDT	Sallói  16'	Report		Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 20,553 Referee: Armando Villarreal

May 12, 2018 9	Colorado Rapids	1–2	New York Red Bulls	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	McBean  85'	Report	Royer  5' Etienne  76'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 15,691 Referee: Ismail Elfath

May 19, 2018 10	NYCFC	4–0	Colorado Rapids	Bronx, New York
11:00 MDT	Villa  22', 74' Matarrita  49' Moralez  56'	Report		Stadium: Yankee Stadium Attendance: 21,494 Referee: David Gantar

May 26, 2018 11	Colorado Rapids	2–3	Portland Timbers	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Cascante  31' (o.g.) Boli  90+9' (pen.)	Report	Armenteros  29', 37' Valeri  56'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 17,424 Referee: Sorin Stoica

June 1, 2018 12	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Castillo  41'	Report	Techera  17' Reyna  39'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 16,746

June 9, 2018 13	Houston Dynamo	2–0	Colorado Rapids	Houston, Texas
19:00 MDT	Martinez  30' Manotas  36' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 16,058 Referee: Drew Fischer

June 13, 2018 14	Colorado Rapids	2–2	Chicago Fire	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Badji  7' Smith  15'	Report	Wilson  21' Katai  24'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 16,068 Referee: José Carlos Rivero

June 23, 2018 15	Colorado Rapids	3–2	Minnesota United FC	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Castillo  50' Mason  74' Smith  90+7'	Report	Ibarra  20' Ramirez  65'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

July 1, 2018 16	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0–1	Colorado Rapids	Vancouver, British Columbia
17:00 MDT		Report	de Jong  43' (o.g.)	Stadium: BC Place

July 4, 2018 17	Colorado Rapids	1–2	Seattle Sounders FC	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Nicholson  40'	Report	Bruin  19', 59'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 16,374 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

July 7, 2018 18	Montreal Impact	2–1	Colorado Rapids	Montreal, Quebec
17:30 MDT	Taider  55', 56'	Report	Badji  78'	Stadium: Stade Saputo

July 14, 2018 19	Colorado Rapids	0–0	Houston Dynamo	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT		Report		Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 14,327 Referee: Ted Unkel

July 21, 2018 20	Real Salt Lake	2–2	Colorado Rapids	Sandy, Utah
20:00 MDT	Kreilach  11' Plata  17'	Report	McBean  33' (pen.) Serna  88'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 19,207

July 28, 2018 21	D.C. United	2–1	Colorado Rapids	Washington, D.C.
17:00 MDT	Rooney  33' Jackson  90' (o.g.)	Report	Acosta  82'	Stadium: Audi Field Attendance: 18,931

August 4, 2018 22	Colorado Rapids	2–1	LA Galaxy	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Acosta  50' Nicholson  90'	Report	Alessandrini  33'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 17,837 Referee: Sorin Stoica

August 11, 2018 23	Colorado Rapids	2–1	San Jose Earthquakes	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT	Smith  24' Boateng  90+3'	Report	Eriksson  58' (pen)	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 15,383 Referee: Alan Kelly

August 15, 2018 26	LA Galaxy	2–2	Colorado Rapids	Carson, California
15:30 MDT	Cole  59' Lletget  78'	Report	Castillo  74' Jackson  82'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 16,231

August 19, 2018 24	Los Angeles FC	2–0	Colorado Rapids	Los Angeles, California
20:30 MDT	Nguyen  49' Rossi  80'	Report		Stadium: Banc of California Stadium Attendance: 22,000

August 25, 2018 25 (RMC)	Colorado Rapids	0–6	Real Salt Lake	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT		Report	Kreilach  6' Savarino  33', 58' Plata  69' Baird  74' Rusnák  86'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 16,669

September 8, 2018 27	Portland Timbers	2–0	Colorado Rapids	Portland, Oregon
20:30 MDT	Ebobisse  45' Valeri  65'	Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,144

September 15, 2018 28	Colorado Rapids	0–3	Atlanta United FC	Commerce City, Colorado
13:30 MDT		Report	Almirón  10', 18' Villalba  37'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 14,788

September 22, 2018 29	Columbus Crew SC	2–1	Colorado Rapids	Columbus, Ohio
17:30 MDT	Zardes  17' Higuaín  57'	Report	Gashi  26'	Stadium: Mapfre Stadium Attendance: 19,121

September 29, 2018 30	Seattle Sounders FC	4–0	Colorado Rapids	Seattle, Washington
14:00 MDT	Ruidíaz  22', 73' Lodeiro  52' (pen.) Rodríguez  80'	Report		Stadium: CenturyLink Stadium Attendance: 40,042 Referee: Nima Saghafi

October 6, 2018 31	Colorado Rapids	0–3	Los Angeles FC	Commerce City, Colorado
19:00 MDT		Report	Zimmerman  15' Diomande  42', 48'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 15,369 Referee: Armando Villarreal

October 13, 2018 32	Minnesota United FC	0–2	Colorado Rapids	Minneapolis, Minnesota
12:00 MDT		Report	Boli  61' Jackson  90+7'	Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium Attendance: 19,733 Referee: Guido Gonzales, Jr

October 21, 2018 33	San Jose Earthquakes	0–0	Colorado Rapids	San Jose, California
15:00 MDT		Report		Stadium: Avaya Stadium Attendance: 17,474 Referee: Tim Ford

October 28, 2018 34	Colorado Rapids	2–1	FC Dallas	Commerce City, Colorado
14:30 MDT	Bassett  80' Smith  84'	Report	Urruti  18'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

U.S. Open Cup

June 6, 2018 Fourth	Nashville SC	2–0	Colorado Rapids	Nashville, Tennessee
17:30	Azira  39' (o.g.) Mensah  78'	Report		Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium Referee: Kevin Broadley

CONCACAF Champions League

Round of 16

February 20 First leg	Colorado Rapids	0–2	Toronto FC	Commerce City, United States
20:00 MST	Price  28' Castillo  69'	Report Box Score	Osorio  55' Giovinco  73' Bradley  86'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 2,673 Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

February 27 Second leg	Toronto FC	0–0 (2–0 agg.)	Colorado Rapids	Toronto, Canada
18:00 MST		Report		Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 23,383 Referee: Luis Santander (Mexico)

Statistics

Top scorers

Place	Position	Number	Name	MLS	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	FW	14	Dominique Badji	7	0	7
2	DF	5	Tommy Smith	4	0	4
3	DF	2	Edgar Castillo	3	0	3
	FW	12	Niki Jackson	3	0	3
	FW	10	Joe Mason	3	0	3
6	MF	11	Shkëlzen Gashi	2	0	2
	MF	10	Kellyn Acosta	2	0	2
	MF	28	Sam Nicholson	2	0	2
	FW	32	Jack McBean	2	0	2
	FW	9	Yannick Boli	2	0	2
11	MF	19	Jack Price	1	0	1
	MF	21	Nana Boateng	1	0	1
	MF	17	Dillon Serna	1	0	1
	MF	26	Cole Bassett	1	0	1
Total				34	0	34

As of 28 October 2018.

References

1. "First team roster". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
2. "Colorado Rapids sign forward Giles Barnes from Club León". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
3. "Colorado Rapids announce roster moves ahead of 2018 campaign". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. November 27, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
4. "Colorado Rapids acquire USMNT international Edgar Castillo on loan". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. January 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
5. "Colorado Rapids acquire striker Joe Mason on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. February 20, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
6. "Colorado Rapids loan defender Mike da Fonte to Phoenix Rising FC". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
7. "Colorado Rapids loan Vines, Calvert, Perez and Dykstra to Charlotte Independence". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
8. "Colorado Rapids loan defender Kip Colvey to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.