Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Matt Wells did not want to dwell on the Colorado Rapids’ semi-final exit from the US Open Cup, but instead shift focus to their remaining MLS fixtures.
Colorado were beaten 3-0 by St. Louis City SC at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in midweek, ending their hopes of reaching the competition’s showpiece on October 21.
Jeong Sang-Bin opened the scoring at the end of the first half, with quickfire goals after the break from Simon Becher and Alexandru Matan sending St. Louis through to the final.
However, the Rapids still have plenty to play for. They find themselves seventh in the Western Conference and in a strong position to reach the playoffs this season.
The Rapids welcome the Seattle Sounders to Colorado this weekend, and Wells is confident his team can put their US Open Cup defeat behind them ahead of kick-off.
“You close the book on this chapter. We’re out,” Wells said. “I said to the guys there would be no debrief. We’re out and there’s nothing to learn. This is knockout football.
“The details have to be perfect in the game. I told the guys how we were going to concede if we did not rectify one thing on the pitch, and we conceded from that same action.
“But what are we going to do about it? We’re out of the cup and the chapter is closed. We have one competition left, and our focus is what we need to do to be in the mix.
“We have a massive game against a playoff rival. We need to recover the feeling because our league record still stands, and we need to put this result at the back of our minds.”
When the moment called, he delivered.
Paxten Aaronson is tonight’s HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s Man of the Match! pic.twitter.com/oc5z8jYtnt
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) September 13, 2026
Seattle, meanwhile, have seen their season continue to go downhill since the resumption of MLS play after the World Cup, leaving their postseason hopes at risk.
They are without a victory since a 3-2 triumph over the San Jose Earthquakes on May 13. Seattle have also drawn their last four league matches, including their last outing.
Seattle played out a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy, with Marco Reus’ penalty cancelled out by Paul Arriola’s first goal for the Sounders nine minutes from time.
“It’s been a mental battle this year with physical injuries, playing time, situations — so many things that often times are out of my control,” Arriola said.
“There were times I think I deserved to score throughout the year that hadn’t happened.
“We’re focusing firstly on Colorado. We really do have to go one at a time. We have to find ways to win. I can’t keep reiterating it enough, it doesn’t have to be pretty.
“We’re at a point in the season where playing well and not getting a result is not good enough.”
Colorado Rapids – Paxten Aaronson
Aaronson scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in Colorado’s win over Montreal last time out.
He has been involved in seven of Colorado’s last 11 regular-season goals (three goals, four assists), including each of the last two.
When the moment called, he delivered.
Paxten Aaronson is tonight’s HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s Man of the Match! pic.twitter.com/oc5z8jYtnt
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) September 13, 2026
Arriola came off the bench to score an 81st-minute equaliser in Seattle’s draw with the LA Galaxy in their last league outing.
It was Arriola’s 25th career substitute appearance in MLS but his first goal off the bench, though he will be hoping to make an impact from the start here.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLORADO RAPIDS WIN
Colorado have recorded six straight shutout wins at home in regular-season play, with five of those coming by 1-0 scorelines. The Rapids are the fifth team in MLS history to post six straight shutout wins at home with no team recording a longer streak.
However, Seattle are unbeaten in eight straight meetings with Colorado (W5 D3), including a 2-0 home win in the season opener on February 22.
The Sounders have posted 28 wins over the Rapids in all competitions since joining MLS in 2009, the most wins by one MLS team over another in all competitions in that time.
But Seattle’s regular-season club record winless run extended to 12 matches with a draw at LA Galaxy (D4 L8). The Sounders have managed just one win since the beginning of May (D6 L8), with their nine points the fewest in MLS in that time.
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