Colorado\u2019s listless 3-0 loss at Columbus on Saturday<\/a>. \u201cWe played with the technical quality that still wasn\u2019t our best, but it was certainly a big step up for Columbus. So those things pleased me. But then to be a goal in front, and then we just didn\u2019t have the quality then to go and make it a second goal\u2026 But on the whole, I think the draw was fair.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Colorado goal came in the 22nd minute. Rapids designated player Paxten Aaronson floated a ball to Rapids homegrown star Darren Yapi in the box. Yapi took it down with his chest but couldn\u2019t finish. The ball was cleared up into the air, and Aaronson found it with a volley that hit the post and found the back of the net.\u00a0 Aaronson got on the scoresheet for the first time since May.<\/p>\n
![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293886357.jpg\")
Josh Atencio #12 of the Colorado Rapids and Zan Kolmanic #23 of Austin FC battle for the ball during the second half at Q2 Stadium on September 9, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cMy overriding message to Paxten from Columbus was: I want more,\u201d Wells said. \u201cI want more from you, and I wouldn\u2019t ask that of you if you weren\u2019t capable of it. Paxten\u2019s a reference for us, and I think now he needs to step up and take that role, and I think I was really pleased with his performance this evening \u2014 not just the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very nice,\u201d Aaronson said. \u201cI think the last time I scored was Dallas, so right before the World Cup break. But it\u2019s never like a burden on my shoulders. It\u2019s always really nice feeling hitting the back of the net.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rapids controlled possession in stretches for most of the game. The best example was the second half. From the start of the second half until Austin found the equalizer, Colorado dictated the play. The Rapids were yet again unable to be as dangerous as they would want to be with the amount of possession, but it was something that had been so desperately missed for the Rapids away from home.<\/p>\n
The turning point came in the 77th minute. Rapids substitute Georgi Minoungou was played through on the right wing. His low cross came far too early, but Yapi was able to latch onto it in the Austin box. Yapi took his time and found Aaronson, and the midfielder took a shot that looked to be destined for the back of the net. Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver got a hand to it out of nowhere and kept the game within one.<\/p>\n
![\"Paxten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2293885999.jpg\")
Paxten Aaronson #10 of the Colorado Rapids and Jon Bell #15 of Austin FC battle for the ball during the second half at Q2 Stadium on September 9, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Just two minutes later, in the 79th minute, Austin got its equalizer when defender \u017dan Kolmani\u010d fired a long cross into the Rapids box, and winger Facundo Torres was left unmarked. Torres\u2019 header looped over Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen and found the back of the net. In a half where Colorado dominated in stretches, an easy cross and header leveled the score.<\/p>\n
Colorado will feel like it could have snuck out with all three points, but again, it didn\u2019t create enough to really deserve much out of the game. Neither side exceeded one expected goal. The Rapids\u2019 goal was not very replicable.<\/p>\n
Another disappointment was Rapids midfielder Youssef Maziz, who had to leave early in the second half with an injury. Colorado is still waiting on their three new signings, and the roster is very thin. It\u2019s all hands on deck, and one of Colorado\u2019s best attacking threats going down is not good news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve not really had an update on [Maziz]. My gut instinct when he came off was it was more a byproduct of the schedule, and he\u2019s not been in with us too long, and he\u2019s not had he\u2019s not got the foundation of training that the other guys have got, so I don\u2019t want to jinx it,\u201d Wells said. \u201cBut touch wood. It\u2019s a little bit more precautionary, and I guess proactive rather than reacting to an injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good news for Colorado is that Hansen made his return to the starting lineup for the first time since the injury that took him out of the Rocky Mountain Cup. Hansen had another vintage display. He was good with the ball at his feet, and he made an important save against Cristian Ramirez in the 64th minute. He wasn\u2019t great on the Austin goal, but he wasn\u2019t at fault either.<\/p>\n
Colorado plays this Saturday, Sept. 12, again at Dick\u2019s\u2019s Sporting Goods Park when ex-Rapids player Dante Sealy and CF Montreal come to town.<\/p>\n
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver\u2019s teams.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado Rapids got their first point on the road since the World Cup break with a 1-1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,135,134,133,93482,150124,101640,3607,93650,70694,111281,101642,61151,150125,731,154],"class_list":["post-432107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-fc","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-colorado-rapids","tag-dante-sealy","tag-darren-yapi","tag-latest-headlines","tag-matt-wells","tag-minnesota-united","tag-more-rapids-news","tag-paxten-aaronson","tag-real-salt-lake","tag-rocky-mountain-cup","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}