2018 Colorado Rapids season explained

Club:	Colorado Rapids
Season:	2018
League:	Major League Soccer
League Result:	Conference 11th Overall: 21st
Owner:	Stan Kroenke
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Manager:	Anthony Hudson
Cup1:	MLS Cup Playoffs
Cup1 Result:	Did not qualify
Cup2 Result:	Fourth Round
Cup3:	CONCACAF Champions League
Cup3 Result:	Round of 16
Cup4:	Rocky Mountain Cup
Cup4 Result:	Lost
League Topscorer:	Dominique Badji (7)
Season Topscorer:	Dominique Badji (7)
Highest Attendance:	17,837
Lowest Attendance:	10,790
Average Attendance:	15,333
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Prevseason:	2017
Nextseason:	2019

The 2018 Colorado Rapids season was the Colorado Rapids' 23rd season of existence, their 23rd season in Major League Soccer and their 23rd season in the top-tier of American soccer.

Due to a reconfiguration in the CONCACAF Champions League format, the Rapids behan play in the Champions League after they qualified in the 2016 season. Colorado opened their slate of competitive fixtures on February 20 in the Champions League Round of 16 with a two-legged series against Canadian champions, Toronto FC in the round of 16. On March 3, the club played their regular season opener against the Chicago Fire. The Rapids also played in the U.S. Open Cup.

Background

See main article: 2017 Colorado Rapids season.

The 2017 season saw a sharp downturn in the Rapids fortunes. Colorado finished the 2017 season second-bottom of the Western Conference table, with the third-worst overall record in Major League Soccer. Colorado finished 10th in the Western Conference and 20th in the overall table. The team scored a league-low 31 goals in 34 matches and conceded 51 goals. Dominique Badji lead the team with 7 goals across all competitions.

Outside of MLS play, the Rapids played in the 2017 edition of the U.S. Open Cup, where they lost in the fifth round to FC Dallas. The Rapids failed to qualify for the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. At the end of the campaign, four-year head coach, Pablo Mastroeni was relieved of his duties.

Club

Roster

^[1]

	Name	Nat	Position	Since	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from
Goalkeepers
1	Tim Howard		GK	2016	6 March 1979	Everton	75	0
18	Zac MacMath		GK	2016	7 August 1991	Philadelphia Union	31	0
50	Andrew Dykstra		GK	2018	1 February 1986	Sporting Kansas City	0	0
Defenders
2	Edgar Castillo		LB	2018	8 October 1986	Monterrey (loan)	28	3
4	Danny Wilson		CB	2018	27 December 1991	Rangers F.C.	23	0
5	Tommy Smith		CB	2018	31 March 1990	Ipswich Town	33	4
13	Sam Vines		CB	2018	31 May 1999	Charlotte Independence	1	0
23	Kip Colvey		CB	2018	15 March 1994	San Jose Earthquakes	3	0
24	Kortne Ford		CB	2017	26 January 1996	Denver Pioneers	35	1
27	Deklan Wynne		CB	2018	20 March 1995	Whitecaps FC 2	25	0
44	Axel Sjöberg		CB	2015	8 March 1991	Marquette Golden Eagles	82	3
Midfielders
8	Johan Blomberg		MF	2018	14 June 1987	AIK	25	0
10	Kellyn Acosta		MF	2018	24 July 1995	FC Dallas	13	2
15	Sam Hamilton		MF	2017	27 July 1995	Denver Pioneers	3	0
17	Dillon Serna		MF	2013	25 March 1994	Akron Zips	91	9
19	Jack Price		MF	2018	19 December 1992	Wolverhampton Wanderers	31	1
20	Ricardo Perez		MF	2017	30 May 1995	Creighton Bluejays	0	0
21	Bismark Adjei-Boateng		MF	2017	10 May 1994	Strømsgodset	38	1
26	Cole Bassett		MF	2018	28 July 2001	Colorado Rapids U–23	6	1
28	Sam Nicholson		MF	2018	20 January 1995	Minnesota United FC	19	2
90	Enzo Martinez		MF	2018	29 September 1990	Charlotte Independence	23	0
94	Marlon Hairston		MF	2014	23 March 1994	Louisville Cardinals	95	7
Forwards
7	Giles Barnes		FW	2018	5 August 1988	León	12	0
9	Yannick Boli		FW	2018	13 January 1988	Dalian Yifang	17	2
11	Shkëlzen Gashi		FW	2016	15 July 1988	Basel	64	13
12	Niki Jackson		FW	2018	25 August 1995	Grand Canyon Antelopes	15	3
29	Caleb Calvert		FW	2014	22 October 1996	Chivas USA	21	1
32	Jack McBean		FW	2018	15 December 1994	LA Galaxy	22	2

Team management

Transfers

In

Draft picks

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster.

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Status
2	25	Alan Winn	align=center	FW	North Carolina	Declined contract, signed with Nashville SC
	27	Frantzdy Pierrot	align=center	MF	Coastal Carolina	Invited to training camp
3	50	Thomas Olsen	align=center	GK	San Diego	Signed to roster
4	72	Brian Iloski	align=center	MF	UCLA	Invited to training camp, signed with Legia Warsaw
	73	Niki Jackson	FW	Grand Canyon	Signed to roster

Out

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
12				Option declined	November 27, 2017	^[3]
23				Free	November 27, 2017
26				Option declined	November 27, 2017
45				Option declined	November 27, 2017
27				Loan expired, purchase declined	November 27, 2017
16				Option declined	November 27, 2017
90				Option declined	November 27, 2017
5				Option declined	November 27, 2017

Loan in

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Start	End	Source
2				January 1, 2018	December 31, 2018	^[4]
10				February 20, 2018	July 12, 2018	^[5]

Loan out

Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Start	End	Source
			February 10, 2018		^[6]
			March 8, 2018		^[7]
			March 8, 2018
			March 8, 2018
			March 8, 2018
			July 13, 2018		^[8]

Competitions

Major League Soccer

See main article: 2018 Major League Soccer season.

U.S. Open Cup

See main article: 2018 U.S. Open Cup.

CONCACAF Champions League

See main article: 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.

Round of 16

Statistics

Top scorers

width=30	Place	width=30	Position	width=30	Number	width=175	Name	width=75		width=75		width=75	Total
1	FW	14	Dominique Badji	7	0	7
2	DF	5	Tommy Smith	4	0	4
3	DF	2	Edgar Castillo	3	0	3
	FW	12	Niki Jackson	3	0	3
	FW	10	Joe Mason	3	0	3
6	MF	11	Shkëlzen Gashi	2	0	2
	MF	10	Kellyn Acosta	2	0	2
	MF	28	Sam Nicholson	2	0	2
	FW	32	Jack McBean	2	0	2
	FW	9	Yannick Boli	2	0	2
11	MF	19	Jack Price	1	0	1
	MF	21	Nana Boateng	1	0	1
	MF	17	Dillon Serna	1	0	1
	MF	26	Cole Bassett	1	0	1
Total				34	0	34

As of 28 October 2018.

Notes and References

1. Web site: First team roster. Colorado Rapids. October 28, 2018.
2. Web site: Colorado Rapids sign forward Giles Barnes from Club León. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. July 25, 2018. July 13, 2018.
3. Web site: Colorado Rapids announce roster moves ahead of 2018 campaign. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. February 6, 2018. November 27, 2017.
4. Web site: Colorado Rapids acquire USMNT international Edgar Castillo on loan. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. February 9, 2018. January 9, 2018.
5. Web site: Colorado Rapids acquire striker Joe Mason on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. May 2, 2018. February 20, 2018.
6. Web site: Colorado Rapids loan defender Mike da Fonte to Phoenix Rising FC. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. February 19, 2018. February 10, 2018.
7. Web site: Colorado Rapids loan Vines, Calvert, Perez and Dykstra to Charlotte Independence. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. April 16, 2018. March 8, 2018.
8. Web site: Colorado Rapids loan defender Kip Colvey to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids. July 25, 2018. July 13, 2018.