The Colorado Rapids (9-11-1, 28 pts., 7th West) fell on the road to San Diego FC (7-8-6, 27 pts., 11th West)) 3-0 at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night.
Colorado began the match with promising opportunities, but the scoreline remained even in the early moments of the match. As time went on, San Diego began to settle into the match, eventually leading to the opening goal.
The hosts got on the board in the 27th minute, after a loose ball around the net led to the scoring opportunity from Onni Valakari.
San Diego then doubled their lead when Elias Achouri found the back of the net in the 37th minute to take a 2-0 lead.
That would be all the scoring in the first half as the Rapids looked to bounce back and secure a positive result heading into the break.
Colorado kicked off the second half with a trio of attacking substitutes, with Darren Yapi, Youssef Maziz, and Wayne Frederick all coming on to help regain momentum.
The Rapids made their attempts on net, but weren’t able to convert before San Diego added another in the 71st minute off the foot of Gabriel Pirani.
Despite their efforts to get on the board, Colorado was unable to complete the comeback, losing the contest 3-0.
The Rapids will shift their focus to an all-important match next weekend to determine the winners of the 2026 Rocky Mountain Cup. Colorado will welcome rivals Real Salt Lake to DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, August 27. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m. MT with coverage available on Apple TV, Altitude Sports Radio, ColoradoRapids.com, and the Colorado Rapids app.