Diego Rubio picked a great time to open his account in 2020, scoring a brace inside the opening 10 minutes to lead the Colorado Rapids to a 5-0 win over Real Salt Lake in Week 11 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Sam Vines added his first career MLS goal early in the second half for the Rapids, who snapped a five-match losing streak to their rivals and claimed the Rocky Mountain Cup for 2020, 6-4 on aggregate.
Rubio got things started for the visitors in the 3rd minute with a header inside the six-yard box and he added his second seven minutes later, taking a Younes Namli pass off his chest and running at the heart of the RSL defense. When they slagged off, the Chilean gladly took the space given to him before burying a low shot from distance past goalkeeper Andrew Putna.
Namli picked up his second assist on the night four minutes into the second half, cutting a ball back to the edge of the six where Vines ran onto it, crashing the back post to extend Colorado’s lead.
Moments after stepping onto the pitch, Braian Galvan tacked on a fourth goal, capitalizing on a defensive miscue with a first-time finish.
RSL ended the match with 10 men after Douglas Martinez, who came on at halftime, received a straight red card for violent conduct following Video Review in the 64th minute.
Bassett then added the fifth goal after Jeremy Kelly slalomed through the porous RSL defense two minutes from full time. Tempers flared after the final whistle with players from both teams coming together in a heated exchange.
Goals
- 3’ — COL — Diego Rubio | WATCH
- 10’ — COL — Diego Rubio | WATCH
- 49’ — COL — Sam Vines | WATCH
- 55’ — COL — Braian Galvan | WATCH
- 88’ — COL — Cole Bassett | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Perhaps with that 4-1 home defeat to RSL in the back of their minds, the Rapids earned their revenge in a big way, and gave their supporters something they’ve not had since 2015 — the Rocky Mountain Cup. It was a stunning defeat at Rio Tinto Stadium for a RSL side that just decisively defeated LAFC on Wednesday night.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Colorado got the first goal of the match in their last meeting and then proceeded to concede four unanswered. So Rubio’s second goal was a big statement of intent for what proved to be a shockingly one-sided result.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: There were a few options here, including a two-assist game out of Namli, but we’ll give the nod to Rubio for his first two goals of the season and his second assist, as well.
Next Up
- RSL: Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (9:30 pm ET | TSN, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US)
- COL: Wednesday, Sept. 16 at FC Dallas (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada)
