Sources confirmed to The Denver Post on Monday that the Rapids agreed to a transfer fee of $1.6 million for Israeli international center back Stav Lemkin. The deal might not be finalized until some point during the MLS secondary transfer window, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 14.

Lemkin, 22, is on loan with the Israeli Premier League’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. His contract is with Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. The loan is due to finish at the end of June, with his base contract expiring in June of 2028, according to Transfermarkt.

He has three caps for the Israeli national team, all coming in the group stage of last year’s UEFA Euro qualifying rounds. He’s played in high-level club matches, too, starting or appearing in multiple Europa League matches with Tel Aviv against recognizable clubs like FC Porto and Real Sociedad.

There isn’t much film or many stats available on Lemkin, but he’s a hair below 6-foot-3, basically a prerequisite height for Rapids center backs.

But what his potential signing signals for the Rapids could be much bigger.

Perennial starting center back Andreas Maxsø garnered reported interest from Saudi Arabian teams over the offseason this past winter, but he ended up staying in Colorado.

It’s highly unlikely the Rapids would cough up seven figures for a bench player, and it’s equally unlikely the club would move to a five-back system that includes three center backs. They could move Chidozie Awaziem or Maxsø to the bench, but Awaziem is playing well and Maxsø is well compensated ($1.15 million annually, per the MLS Players’ Association).

Essentially, it may end up being the end of Maxsø in Colorado. If there’s still mutual interest in playing in the Saudi Pro League, he could make more money in a place known for its over-the-top contracts. And at 31, the Danish international doesn’t fit into the youth development prototype the Rapids want to model.

At the price point and with the club’s philosophy, a practical like-for-like pair of transactions would make sense, especially if Colorado could sell Maxsø for around Lemkin’s price or more.

An added wrinkle: Lemkin is eligible for a U-22 Initiative slot, but the Rapids don’t currently have one open. They could, however, shift from the three-Designated Player, three-U-22 model to the new two-DP, four-U-22 setup introduced last offseason. If the club went that direction, a DP — presumably winger Kévin Cabral, who has not produced at a DP level this season and hardly starts anymore — would have to depart for that to happen.

With a pivotal transfer window coming up amid an underwhelming start for the Rapids, an expensive deal for a center back is a puzzling choice for a team struggling to score (18 goals in 17 games, eighth-worst in MLS). But it could start a chain reaction that would continue a movement toward youth and the future.

Securing a young, talented center back is smart in theory, but only if the Rapids can make moves for better attacking talent, particularly on the flanks. Ted Ku-DiPietro is turning into a fantastic signing, but there’s simply not enough threat on the outside to be a 60-goal team like Colorado was last season.

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Austin FC proved early that taking the chance when it comes nets positive results. They pounced early on the principle, and it would have been enough. But Rapids forward Rafael Navarro doubled Austin’s lead in the second half. The Rapids lost, 2-0, their seventh loss of the year.

The Rapids fell to ninth in the Western Conference (6-7-4), just above the playoff line. Saturday night marked the halfway point of the 34-game regular season.

“There’s not a whole lot to (say) other than just real disappointment on the night. It’s not something we’re going to sit and rub our own faces in, it’s a missed opportunity,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “(With) four of the next five at home, there’s more to come in terms of opportunity, but disappointing.

“… There’s a locker room full of guys that put a lot into things around here all week. There’s a good feeling about training and lots of things we’re working on. To not get the reward for that is disappointing.”

Austin, which had not won an MLS game since April 19, scored its earliest goal of the season to open the game’s scoring. In the sixth minute, the ball found Daniel Pereira at the top of the box after a couple of bounces, and his shot bounced off Mikkel Desler and into the bottom left corner while Nico Hansen dove the other direction. Desler was credited with the goal.

In the buildup, a pass was played to Osman Bukari on the right wing for a run well beyond Rapids left back Jackson Travis. He shot from a tough angle to force a save out of Nico Hansen before it dropped to Pereira.

“(The first goal) was a result of a bad counterpress, and they got the ball behind our defense. They’ve got quick strikers, and the goal was something we need to learn from and work better,” centerback Chidozie Awaziem said. “So disappointed because we wanted to win, but it didn’t turn out that way. We got a lot of shots on target and we created a lot of chances, but there’s just some days like that.”

The Rapids did little to make their own luck, at least in a punchy way. Their misses — and an absurd five blocked shots — were slow burns. At one point in the second half, the ball made its way around the top left to the top right of the box, stopping at four Rapids players on the way, all of whom could have shot, but only one did. It was blocked and went wide for a corner.

On an Austin FC corner, Brendan Hines-Ike faded away for a header on net, but it touched Navarro on the way. He was credited with an own goal. Offensively, he rattled off five shots (one on goal) in his first start since suffering an ankle injury against the San Jose Earthquakes nearly a month ago.

The Rapids had a staggering 11 corners (Austin had three and scored on one), but couldn’t convert — another theme of what’s becoming an underwhelming campaign. Over the past five years, the Rapids have been one of the best offensive set-piece teams in the league, but have been almost a non-factor this year.

“On the attacking end, there were a couple of free headers tonight. The goals haven’t come, but the seeds have been planted,” Armas said. “We’ve just got to keep at it — the deliveries, the runs, the timing, the ways to free up in certain spaces to attack. We’ll look hard at it, set pieces are just such a big part of scoring goals and the guys put a lot into the set pieces.”

The Rapids return to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park next Saturday, June 14, for an Eastern-Conference matchup against an in-form Orlando City.

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The Colorado Rapids announced that the goalkeeper departed the U.S. Men’s National Team training camp on Wednesday after suffering a knee injury ahead of a pair of international friendlies and the Concacaf Gold Cup. He will undergo further evaluation in Colorado before the club sets a timeline for his absence, but ESPN reported he’ll miss 4-6 weeks.

Steffen was part of a 27-man training camp roster, which will be trimmed to a final 26-player group for the Gold Cup by the Wednesday evening deadline for all participating countries. He was the second goalkeeper (Patrick Schulte) to be sidelined from camp with an injury.

Steffen is in the midst of a career year and was challenging perennial starter Matt Turner for the USMNT’s spot, but another extenuating circumstance has gotten in the 30-year-old’s way.

Back in October of last year, Steffen was called up to the USMNT for a camp and friendlies, which marked the first camp roster for new coach Mauricio Pochettino and Steffen’s first time back in the fray since 2022. He didn’t feature, but the claw back from a less-than-fruitful stint in England and 2023 meniscus surgery felt complete.

In January, he took the field for the USMNT in a friendly against Costa Rica, during which he kept a clean sheet with two brilliant saves (three total) in his first international minutes in nearly three years.

This March, he was called up again for the final two rounds of the Nations League tournament. After a late mistake by Turner all but cost the USMNT the semifinal match against Panama, Steffen was set to play in the third-place game against Canada before an illness sidelined him.

In a loss at San Diego FC on May 14, Steffen injured an oblique on an odd scrambling play in the first half, which kept him out until he departed for the current USMNT camp on June 1. The club considered him day-to-day for more than a week, but with third-string keeper Nico Hansen playing well, Steffen sat to err on the side of caution.

Now comes yet another bout of misfortune.

On the MLS side, Steffen had been recognized as an early MVP candidate for his heroics in numerous matches, particularly a 12-save performance in a 2-1 win at high-powered San Jose.

According to American Soccer Analysis, he’s second in the MLS in goals added, an advanced metric to measure goalkeepers’ shot-stopping and overall impact, while playing at least 400 fewer minutes than the rest of the top eight. With 48 saves in 11 games, he leads the league in saves per game at 4.36.

The Gold Cup begins June 14. The USMNT plays its first group stage match against Trinidad and Tobago a day later.

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The Rapids, already up a goal thanks to an incredible solo run and finish by Djordje Mihailovic, nearly doubled the lead with a point-blank shot off the crossbar by Sam Bassett in the 59th minute. It gave the Timbers space and numbers to counter, and Antony, with his sixth goal in as many matches against the Rapids, equalized moments later on the ensuing attack.

A Wayne Frederick red card and another Timbers counterattack goal by Kevin Kelsy later, the Rapids fell, 2-1. The Rapids have struggled at Providence Park historically, but it’s been even worse in recent years, having not won there since 2020. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, the Rapids have beaten Portland once but have been outscored 14-4 in those five matches.

Here are three takeaways from a good night turned ugly in Portland:

Lead fumbled, but squad encouraged

Once Colorado went down a man, Portland broke the game open and created transition opportunities. The Rapids set up in a low block defensively to counteract those moments, but it’s tough to do so with one less guy on the field.

Nonetheless, the Rapids had a few good chances to steal a draw toward the end. Substitute winger Calvin Harris had the two most convincing: a late move and blast right at Timbers keeper Maxime Crépeau from the left side of the six-yard box, then a stoppage-time dribble into the 18-yard box where he was tackled by Diego Chara right at the edge of the area. VAR dismissed calls for a foul.

“I’m proud of my team. The way they showed up tonight and the way they played, the way they stuck to what we set out to do and stood tall in the tough moments after the red card,” Armas said. “I’m proud of the effort. I have to accept that the game does this to you sometimes, where, even when you think things are going alright, little moments can sway games.”

Mihailovic knows he should be USMNT-bound

With a 10-day break from MLS play looming, Mihailovic cancelled personal plans over the next week on a whim that he could replace a U.S. National Team member in the case of an injury or otherwise, according to the Apple TV broadcast.

After being included on the 60-player preliminary USMNT roster for the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup, Mihailovic was left off the 27-man roster for the pre-tournament camp and friendlies. He still has a chance to make the final 26-player Gold Cup roster since he was included on the initial list.

Like Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady did for an injured Patrick Schulte, Mihailovic could theoretically slot into the camp if a midfielder became unavailable.

Either way, with how he’s played for the Rapids, there’s little reason to suggest he shouldn’t be given a shot. He was invited to camp and friendlies in January, but declined to finish rehab on a nasty ankle injury he suffered at the end of last year.

He had to exit the Portland match with a hamstring injury — Armas called it cramps rather than a pull or a strain — but it looked like he treated Wednesday night like a tryout.

His goal was straight out of a video game: Take the ball at midfield, dribble past a pair of defenders and tuck it into the far-post netting against one of the better MLS keepers of this generation.

It was his seventh goal of the season and 10th goal contribution in 16 matches.

A bevy of notable USMNT stars won’t play in the competition, including Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna and Weston McKennie.

“Yeah, of course,” midfielder Oliver Larraz said when asked if Mihailovic deserves a Gold Cup spot. “I’d love to see him there.”

Jackson Travis’s Kobe moment

The youngest Rapids defender is also the toughest, or at least he was against Portland.

He had an early moment Wednesday night that would have made Kobe Bryant proud. In the ninth minute, he went down with a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand. The broadcast showed it briefly before cutting away, but Travis wore an unfazed face while trainers worked to relocate and stabilize the finger.

He played all 90 minutes.

“(Travis) has struggled with injuries before, too, but he’s a trooper and he’s a really hard worker,” midfielder Oliver Larraz said. “I think that’s a common theme amongst us and you see that tonight. Jackson is a good example of that. He stayed ready and he’s coming into these games and has played well.”

The second-year left back missed the latter portion of the offseason and the beginning of the season with a broken right scaphoid bone that required surgery. Against Real Salt Lake just a week and a half ago, he was surrounded in a huddle by teammates just before the second half kicked off while he threw up on the field. Later that game, he finally succumbed to calf cramps and had to be subbed off.

Whether by incidental contact or lack of hydration, Travis has undergone and endured plenty this season, but hasn’t allowed it to halt his development. He’s become a staple on Colorado’s back line, starting six of the last seven first-team matches while beating out Sam Vines and Keegan Rosenberry for starting outside back spots.

At the end of 2024, he was thrust into a bigger role with Vines out with an injury. Typically, it was a win to see Travis blending in. This season, he’s standing out for all the right reasons. He makes good decisions, can disrupt passes or runs and his speed makes him a threat to join the attack.

The Rapids return home to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on June 7 for a rematch against Austin FC.

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In the sixth minute of the match, lightning postponed the contest for more than 90 minutes. After a warmup period, the game resumed nearly two hours from its scheduled kickoff time. The Rapids’ parade was rained on, but they scored and held on for a 1-0 win at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Yapi cleansed the club’s “five-minute problem,” which has seen an abnormal number of goals conceded in the final five minutes of the first half of games, and scored the match’s lone goal in the 41st minute.

Ted Ku-DiPietro, in his first start in a Rapids jersey, was credited with the assist for lofting in a nice ball to Yapi. It was at head height, which made the initial touch difficult for the 6-foot-1 forward, but he somehow got a foot to it and set up a shot that deflected off a St. Louis defender past goalkeeper Roman Bürki into the bottom left corner.

It was Yapi’s third tally this season, already a career single-season high for the 20-year-old in his fifth MLS season.

“Happy to put my name in the score sheet again this year. It’s a new MLS high for me, so just a proud moment for me and just happy to get the three points,” Yapi said. “I think it just came down to instinct. Once I got the touch (from Ku-DiPietro’s pass), I just had one thing in mind, which was to shoot.”

In a perfect world — which in this case would be the world where Bürki wasn’t the opposing goalkeeper — Yapi could have had one or two more goals. In the 60th minute, DU product Sam Bassett, who got his first career start, played a perfect through pass to Yapi on the left wing. He cut back toward the middle, but took a few dribbles too many, and Bürki pounced on it with ease.

In the 80th minute, he found himself open with the ball at the top of the box, fired away, and forced Bürki’s best of five saves of the night, diving to his right.

Yapi’s night signaled a shift in the youngster’s confidence. He’s had to carry the weight up top with Rafael Navarro out with a high ankle sprain. He said he’s put pressure on himself with that sort of responsibility, but his three shots on target against St. Louis were also a career high.

Many other strikers may not have thought to attempt the one that went in with his back shoulder to goal. Luck was on his side with the deflection, but he made it that way.

“Knowing that Rafa is such a key piece for us and he’s such a lethal goal scorer, … just knowing that, I have to step up,” Yapi said. “I know it’s maybe a little worse to put pressure on myself, but at the end of the day, it’s the truth: I have to step up and perform for the team. It’s just the ‘next man up’ mentality.”

The Rapids improved to 3-0-0 on the year when going into the locker room with a halftime lead.

Third-string goalkeeper Nico Hansen had a hand in that Saturday. He’s only made three appearances for the Rapids — and in the MLS, for that matter — but has made the most of them. His only goal conceded was in a 1-all draw to Seattle in his MLS debut, but he’s been lights out since.

With Zack Steffen out with an oblique injury and likely playing it safe until he heads to national team camp in June, Hansen has recorded two straight shutouts in back-to-back games against Real Salt Lake and St. Louis.

He’s looked the part and, according to teammates, has sounded the part as a vocal leader. He dealt with his first real test between the pipes Saturday night when the game was still scoreless. On a weird bounce, the outside of João Klauss’ foot found Cedric Teuchert all by himself with just Hansen between him and the net.

With plenty of time to think, Hansen stood his ground and waited for a mistake, which came right before Teuchert put a less-than-convincing shot off Hansen’s left paw and out for a corner. That mistake? “Bad touch,” Hansen said.

“Guys have been up here and they say, ‘You have to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,’” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “(Hansen) is a good case of that. For a few months in a row, we were talking as a staff, saying, ‘Nico, another good day. Nico, really solid, hard to score on.’

“He steps into the year, not knowing if he’ll play at all. When does, on paper, the third string guy (play)? It’s always a competition, but he’s got a good process. … It’s great to see a guy step in. The breakaway was a great save.”

After a bad stretch that saw three straight losses during which the Rapids only scored once, Colorado has strung together two straight 1-0 victories at home. They’ll take the streak on the road to a solid Portland Timbers team, which sits just a point and a place above the Rapids in the Western Conference standings, at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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That would be the 4-2-2-2 formation the Colorado Rapids (5-5-4, seventh Western Conference) deployed in six straight matches spanning their first match against MLS expansion club San Diego FC in early April to, fittingly, their second match against SDFC last Wednesday.

It worked wonders when it first struck Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in that 2-0 win over a red-hot SDFC last month, but the weaknesses had become increasingly apparent since.

So head coach Chris Armas switched back to the 4-2-3-1 ahead of last Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Cup match against Real Salt Lake. And without their top goalkeeper in Zack Steffen and best striker in Rafael Navarro, the Rapids pulled out a 1-0 win over their biggest rival while simultaneously ending a three-game skid.

“The formation changes and the identity changes have been kind of (fluid),” said right back Reggie Cannon, who factored into the RSL match’s lone goal. “(Armas) hasn’t abandoned who we are, I think he’s just kind of shaped us in a way that’s going to force us to play to our best strengths.”

The tactical shift in April allowed Armas to get his plethora of quality central midfielders on the field at the same time. With a lack of production from the club’s wingers, Cole Bassett and Djordje Mihailovic — both center mids — acted as pseudo-wingers who pressed hard from the flanks and operated more centrally with the ball.

Effectively, the Rapids’ offense didn’t often go much wider than the 18-yard box when in the later stages of build-ups. It was a stark change from the Rapids’ identity during the Armas era, which has been to pounce in transition with young, speedy wingers like Kévin Cabral and Calvin Harris.

It went cold during the three-game losing streak that saw the Rapids score only once.

“It’s been interesting trying to find my exact position this year,” Bassett said before last Wednesday’s SDFC match. “I’ve only really played the position I did last year about twice so far (this season). That’s been a bit frustrating in terms of (being) a guy who felt like he was at the best in the league in that position and moving around a bit this year, but Djordje has done the same and so have other guys.”

Then came last weekend’s formation change from Armas.

The lone goal could be almost directly attributed to it. And, of course, the entire build-up came from out wide.

Ted Ku-DiPietro, a new winger in the system still gaining his altitude legs, just barely kept the ball in bounds with an outstretched leg and found Mihailovic. Cannon joined the attack and got the ball at the end-line and crossed it low to Bassett. He laid it off to Mihailovic, who struck the far post side netting.

With a more solid foundation, Cannon was granted the freedom to attack and roam deep enough that he ended up on his back outside RSL’s touchline as Mihailovic’s shot crossed the goal line. Armas called the match Cannon’s best in a Rapids jersey.

“(Armas) is pushing me a lot to emphasize my attacking side in the attacking third. I helped create the goal, and it doesn’t show up in the stats, but I’m trying to get in those attacking-third spaces,” Cannon said. “I’m really focusing on that this week.”

The 4-2-3-1 is familiar to the Rapids. Players know where to be and where each other is at almost all times. They don’t have to think too hard. Armas shouldn’t either when it comes to choosing which direction to go against a struggling St. Louis CITY (2-7-5, 14th Western Conference) this weekend.

Even if the 4-2-3-1 had not facilitated a turnaround against RSL, the way St. Louis plays would likely influence continuity. According to FBref, only two teams hold less possession than the Rapids. One of them is St. Louis.

By design, the way the Rapids play the 4-2-2-2 is meant to suffocate possession-based teams and steal the ball back in dangerous areas, which is effective against teams like SDFC, which possesses the ball at the second-highest rate in the MLS. That won’t be the case against St. Louis.

“We want to build on what we just did,” Armas said. “The 4-2-3-1, we were happy with that in many ways. … We had a good performance last week with Djordje in the middle, and that was a positive.”

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The U.S. men’s national team named a 27-player roster on Thursday for its June training camp ahead of a pair of friendlies and ultimately the Concacaf Gold Cup, which is set to start June 14. Steffen, goalkeeper for the Colorado Rapids, was one of four shot-stoppers named to the camp, joining Matt Freese from New York City FC, Patrick Schulte from the Columbus Crew and Crystal Palace’s Matt Turner.

Steffen, as well as Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, made the USMNT’s 60-player preliminary roster for the Gold Cup, which was announced on Monday, but only Steffen will join training camp on the June 1 reporting day in Chicago. The final roster for the Gold Cup is yet to be determined, but it’s likely the majority of the camp roster will be included.

Steffen, 30, shot out of a cannon to start MLS play this year and was considered by some to be an early MVP candidate. His best match was on the road against the high-powered offense of San Jose on March 15, where he made 12 saves in a 2-1 win.

In 11 starts this year, he’s got an impressive 48 saves, good for seventh in the league this season. No keeper ahead of him has played fewer than 13 regular-season games.

In March, he was chosen to the Concacaf Nations League roster for the semifinal and third-place games. After a blunder in the semifinal loss against Panama by perennial starter Turner, Steffen was set to play in the third-place match against Canada, but was sidelined by an illness.

The availability bug struck again recently, with an oblique injury sidelining him for last Saturday’s game between the Rapids and Real Salt Lake. He obtained the injury trying to scramble for a loose ball in the box in a loss to San Diego FC last Wednesday.

The club considers him day-to-day at the moment, but with weaker opposition in the near future, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sidelined this weekend against St. Louis City, and perhaps even next Wednesday’s match at Portland, though the Timbers are a stronger group.

With Rapids backup Adam Beaudry also out with an ankle injury, third-stringer Nico Hansen has done a tremendous job in two starts. He held his own in a 1-all draw to Seattle, then kept a clean sheet against RSL last week. His performance and apparent comfort in the role would make the decision to sit Steffen a bit easier if it came down to it.

Of the keepers on the camp roster, Steffen has perhaps the strongest argument to start come mid-June. Turner has been the unrivaled No. 1 for the past few years, but USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino has said he prefers players who play regularly for their club teams, no matter the level. Steffen, on a new team and recovering from a knee injury and surgery ahead of the 2024 season, took a while to catch form but lit up the 2024 Leagues Cup and caught national eyes again before taking another massive leap to start this season.

Freese and Schulte have impressed, too, but haven’t been quite at Steffen’s pure shot-stopping level to start the year. Turner, while arguably the most skilled and experienced at the international level, rides the bench at Crystal Palace and hasn’t played in the Premier League this season (the campaign ends Sunday). He last played on March 1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

After training camp, Steffen and the squad will play two friendlies — one on June 7 against Turkey and one on June 10 against Switzerland — before the USMNT starts its Gold Cup campaign against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15. Final rosters will be submitted on June 4, to be announced before the competition begins.

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All it took was the sort of play Colorado had been trying to emulate for weeks. On the right side of the field, four players connected on one-touch passing before Cole Bassett found Djordje Mihailovic to set up a collected far-post finish from the star No. 10.

The tally was enough to come away with a 1-0 win over rival Real Salt Lake at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday evening. With a new schedule structure due to MLS expansion into San Diego, the two clubs play each other only twice this season instead of the usual three games. To secure the Cup, the Rapids will need a win or a draw at Salt Lake in October.

“We were aware that the last three games we weren’t up to our standard,” Mihailovic said. “But we spoke about how important this game is, how important it could be as a turning point in our season to get out of the certain rut that we’re in. I think we played a very professionally tactical game.”

It was Bassett’s fifth assist all-time against RSL, making him the all-time club leader in assists in the matchup, passing former Rapid Terry Cooke. Mihailovic’s goal was his sixth of the season, pushing his goal contributions total to nine in just 14 regular-season games.

Off the bench, just a few minutes after he opened up the look at goal Colorado converted, Ted Ku-DiPietro was the recipient of a Darren Yapi pass at the top of the box on a breakaway, but cut it back toward the middle, fired away with his left foot and bruised the crossbar instead of doubling the lead.

Bassett could have done the same a minute later, but rifled a tough-angled shot at RSL goalkeeper Rafael Cabral. Bassett was injured on the play and was subbed off for his brother, Sam Bassett.

The clean sheet was produced by third-string goalkeeper Nicolas Hansen, who only found out he would play at 1 p.m. on Saturday as Zack Steffen was ruled out. Second-year left back Jackson Travis had one of his best games in a Rapids jersey. Reggie Cannon, too, according to coach Chris Armas.

Collectively, the team’s ability to resist a late RSL push was a welcome boost at this point in the season.

“The shutout was big. To have to suffer is great,” Armas said. “I love watching the team suffer, and with it, some maturity. We didn’t crumble at all. We had structure and real belief.”

The Rapids, coming off a three-game losing streak, needed some good fortune to creep back up the MLS standings. Even better, as Armas often preaches, they forced the coincidence against a compact RSL team clearly looking for a scoreless draw, if not a smash-and-grab win on a counter of its own.

“It feels like so much more than just three points,” Armas said. “There’s just so many little victories tonight. The way the team, when we say this is a tough moment for us, we’re trying to produce players and people who can really show up when things are tough. For me, that’s a big victory, the way those guys stepped on the field and showed real grit and quality at times. And I think we beat a really good team tonight.”

The Rapids went the previous two games scoreless in two 2-0 losses to San Jose and San Diego, which ultimately sent them down to just outside the playoff picture with a third of the season gone.

Salt Lake, which lost a bevy of formidable attackers in the offseason, has been searching for a run of good form itself, but couldn’t find it in Colorado. Interestingly, RSL coach and former Rapid Pablo Mastroeni opted to sub off his best player, Diego Luna, in the 58th minute.

The Rapids will return home next Saturday for a Western Conference rematch with St. Louis City. In the regular-season opener, those teams battled to a scoreless draw.

A goalkeeper himself as a partner on the Colorado Rapids’ Special Olympics Unified Team, Colin had idolized Steffen since his days at Manchester City — Colin’s favorite club.

The two met after the Unified team beat Real Salt Lake last May. The bond was instant.

“It was awesome. He’s a funny kid, man. Very sarcastic and a goofy guy, loves to make jokes and crack jokes,” Steffen said. “I just really loved his demeanor and his wittiness, and it was just fun to be around. It’s always a privilege to have room to be a role model and for kids to look up to you.”

Their connection is central to what the Unified program is all about: Inclusion, joy and community.

This weekend, as the Unified team begins its 13th season as an exchange program between the Rapids and Special Olympics Colorado, Steffen is helping to fill the stands for the team’s match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

In late April, the club announced a campaign to sell out the Unified match between the Rapids and club rival RSL, which kicks off after the Rapids game. To help the push, Steffen bought and donated 100 tickets, most of which will go to friends and family of Special Olympics athletes and the team’s partners, like Colin.

Steffen and Underly often chop it up on the field or at Unified events, and it isn’t uncommon for the two to like each other’s posts on Instagram — something Underly still can’t quite believe.

“It’s amazing. Colin will be like, ‘Everyone looks up to (Lionel) Messi or whoever, but I have my own hero right here in Colorado,’” said Molly Underly, Colin’s mom and coach of the Unified team. “It’s definitely been really special for us. It goes beyond soccer.”

Admission to the Unified match comes with a ticket to the first team’s game, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Fans who stay for the 10 p.m. Unified kickoff will have a chance to win prizes, including signed jerseys and tickets to the U.S. Women’s National Team match at DSGP later this summer.

Rapids VP of community, events and entertainment Caitlin Kinser, one of the driving forces behind the sell-out effort, thinks fans will walk away from the Unified match with more.

“My hope is that it would provide perspective for people,” Kinser said. “You see these athletes coming out here, they’re getting this amazing experience, and they’re playing with all their heart, they’re playing for a trophy, they’re playing for the badge. They’re playing for the same things that the first team is playing for.

“I think just being able to see why inclusion matters and why it’s important to provide these opportunities for that community … it will bring (fans) a lot of joy.”

The Rapids have given strong support to the Unified program since its inception, providing charter flights with the first team, contract signing events before the season and matches on the fields their favorite players play on. In 2020, the club chose Special Olympics athlete Scotty Stephens as its model for the MLS kit release event in New York.

The most glaring difference that remains between the MLS and Unified teams is in the stands — a gap the club hopes to bridge Saturday night and beyond.

“It’s really hard to put into words how much it means to our players. I think this is such a special and unique opportunity and we really are changing what it means to be unified and including. There’s not other opportunities like this,” Molly Underly said. “It’s definitely changing lives in ways I never really could have thought possible. The players and the coaches from the first team all say, ‘One team, one club,’ and they really embrace that.”

For years, players like Cole Bassett and former Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar have made it a priority to attend Unified events. This year, Steffen, midfielder Oliver Larraz and coach Chris Armas joined the fray and have become mainstays.

Steffen said that beyond the ticket donation, he wants even more of a presence from his teammates at the Unified games.

“I just want to see kids having fun with smiles,” he said. “I’m a father, so all I would want to see for my daughter is all the role models in the community treating her well and treating her friends well and spreading love and kindness. That’s what I’m trying to do here.”

The first team will begin its Rocky Mountain Cup defense Saturday after a string of bad losses. The Unified squad, which only plays RSL’s team once per year, is searching for a three-peat in the rivalry.

For Molly, whose son has a Steffen poster hanging in his room and a gifted pair of his goalie gloves emblazoned with his daughter’s name, it’s a goalkeeper relationship neither of them would have foreseen.

“(Colin) is reminded a lot that (Steffen) is not only his friend, but that he’s looking out for him,” she said. “And so for Colin, I really do think it’s one of those moments that have been life-changing for him.”

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An apt reaction to a prayer just as fittingly unanswered in a 2-0 loss for Colorado. It was the Rapids’ third straight defeat — their first such skid of the year — and it dropped them to 10th in the Western Conference standings. A month ago, they shared second place.

Four minutes before Mihailovic’s heave, dos Santos denied him from the penalty spot to force the Rapids midfielder’s first miss of the season. He had previously converted all four of his penalties this year in all competitions. At the end of the first half, dos Santos only just got his fingertips to Mihailovic’s first — much more threatening — half-field shot.

Those were Colorado’s two best chances.

San Diego scored in the 33rd minute on a corner kick when a flick-on by Jeppe Tverskov found the head of a wide-open Chris McVey from four yards out. Anders Dreyer doubled the lead in the 58th minute with his sixth goal of the season on an impressive counterattack.

“It’s a tough game tonight for us. The margins are thin in the sport, in our league and in the Western Conference,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “At home, we put San Diego in a tough game, and tonight, they put us in one. … There’s not a lot of room for error and we didn’t do enough.”

A key Armas flaw of 2024, which ultimately set the campaign on a downward course, was a lack of squad rotation during fixture congestion. In weeks like this one that included three games in a span of seven days, Armas might’ve made two or three changes in the starting lineup between games.

Wednesday evening — the first midweek game of the MLS season for the Rapids — featured six changes to the starting lineup after last Saturday’s 2-0 home loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. Some were due to injury — Rafael Navarro was unavailable with an ankle injury and Cole Bassett is returning to fitness — but others were not.

Ultimately, Armas’ malleability signals increased trust in depth pieces, like 2023 Rapids MVP Connor Ronan and second-year Trinidad and Tobago international Wayne Frederick, both of whom started Wednesday night.

“We have a roster that’s deep. We have players that are performing all year long and (it’s) time, in a three-game week, to give guys opportunities,” Armas said. “Sam Vines, Keegan Rosenberry, starters from last year. Connor Ronan, the same. Wayne Frederick’s a guy coming through. We made a big move to get Ian Murphy. If I don’t play guys like this on nights like this, they may never play, right?”

The Rapids play a pivotal first match this season against Real Salt Lake this weekend to begin their defense of the Rocky Mountain Cup, which Colorado won in dramatic fashion last season. Armas insisted the lineup changes on Wednesday had nothing to do with looking ahead to RSL.

“This was about putting a team out there that would and could win the game and to put our best foot forward,” Armas said. “We said we’d worry about Salt Lake after (this game) and now it’s the time to do that. It was not about saving legs tonight.”

The most heavily rotated group was the defense, which only returned one starter from the San Jose match (Andreas Maxsø). Vines and Murphy have been used in various roles in recent games, but Rosenberry started for the first time since a loss at Vancouver more than a month ago.

His absences of late has been curious for the Rapids. The team captain hasn’t been injured, and the stretch of no-shows and short substitute appearances came after he signed a two-year extension right before the MLS season started.

According to Armas, it’s all about internal competition at the outside back position. It’s a solid group between the likes of Rosenberry, Vines and Reggie Cannon, but there have been games where second-year left back Jackson Travis has been selected over Rosenberry. Even Murphy, a center back, has taken precedence over Rosenberry out wide.

Wednesday night, he was the best defender in a light blue jersey. Assigned to mark one of the best attacking players in the league in Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, Rosenberry was solid, particularly with no consistent minutes in the past month.

When the Rapids’ defense had the ball, though, SDFC took advantage of what turned out to be a disjointed build-up game from Colorado. In the 3-2 Rapids win over San Diego last month, the Rapids feasted with their press. That script flipped from kickoff on Wednesday, even if SDFC had no goals to show for the press in particular.

“One of the hardest parts of the game is trying to solve things on the fly,” Rosenberry said. “I think tonight, we struggled at times to connect that first pass under pressure and the ball turns over. That’s a huge part of escaping a counterpress. … I thought we could have done that better.”

The first leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup against RSL kicks off Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at 7:30 p.m.

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