The Colorado Rapids’ return to Major League Soccer play will have to wait a few days longer.
The league office announced Friday evening that Sunday’s game at LAFC will be rescheduled “due to safety considerations resulting from inclement weather and forecasted storms in the Los Angeles area stemming from Hurricane Hilary.”
MLS confirmed that the game had been rescheduled for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
On Friday, the National Weather Service issued its first-ever tropical storm watch for Southern California as the storm barreled toward the region, with significant wind gusts and torrential rain expected. The worst of the weather is predicted to hit Sunday evening into Monday morning.
It is the third Rapids game that has been postponed this season due to severe weather, while two more had multi-hour delayed kickoffs.
Navarro, Tavares finding rhythm
The delay could be positive for designated player Rafael Navarro and U-22 Initiative midfielder Sidnei Tavares, as it means more time to build chemistry with their new teammates. Navarro, a goal-dangerous striker on loan from Palmeiras in Brazil, and Tavares, on loan from Porto in Portugal, are in their first weeks of training since arriving during the summer transfer window.
With 11 games remaining, Colorado (3-10-10, 23 points) will look to its two new playmakers to lift itself off the bottom of the Western Conference in an effort to make a late, albeit unlikely, playoff push. When asked about the pressure he feels to deliver goals right away, Navarro is eager to embrace it.
“Yes, it’s a valid question about the pressure. As a forward it’s normal, but I’m confident (because) it’s a group that works a lot and works hard,” he told reporters last week via team language specialist Andre Hilf. “I’m looking forward to my debut so I can help the group the best way possible.”
Colorado has struggled mightily to score this season. For reference, Lionel Messi, who arrived at Inter Miami in July, has scored as many goals (9) in six Leagues Cup games as the Rapids’ entire team have scored since May 10th, or 15 games across all competitions.
“I think (Navarro’s) exactly what we’d hoped,” Club president Pádraig Smith told reporters on Monday. “He’s a prototypical number nine for this league. … So far, I think he’s fit in incredibly well into the group.”
Tavares will also look to make an impact as the final steps of his visa were approved and has trained with the team since Wednesday. He confirmed to outlet Burgundy Wave Friday he will wear the No. 10 jersey, traditionally given to attacking playmakers.
Rapids 2 is playoff-bound
For fans eager to see who’s in the pipeline, there’s plenty of promise in Rapids 2. The group clinched its first playoff spot in MLS NEXT Pro last weekend. R2 leads the league in goals (55), assists (39) and goals inside the 18-yard box (50). Two players are double-digit goal scorers in Yosuke Hanya (11) and Rémi Cabral (10), while homegrown Oli Larraz is tied atop the league with seven assists.
Despite a rotating cast of players ranging from up-and-coming first teamers to academy guys (many of whom leave midseason to join college soccer programs) to a handful specifically on second-team contracts, general manager Brian Crookham credited the team’s culture and trusting the pathway.
“When we talk about what we want to be as a club, this team, I think, mirrors what we say we want to be as a club pretty much every day,” Crookham said Monday. “They’re confident on the ball, they’re bold, they play with intensity. … It says a lot about where we can be as we move this into the future.”
R2 has six regular-season games remaining and if they can lock up the top seed, the team will earn a first-round playoff bye. They will host LAFC2 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at DSGP.
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