The Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 (6-4-2, 20 pts.) defeated Sporting KC II (0-8-3, 4 pts.) on the road in a 1-4 result at Children’s Mercy Victory Field on Sunday afternoon. All four of the team’s goals came from different goal scorers, including Mamadou Billo Diop, Daouda Amadou, Sydney Wathuta and Rogelio Garcia.
Rapids 2 came out of the gates with attacking prowess, immediately testing a Kansas City side that was searching for its first win of the season.
The front three of Diop, Josh Copeland and Antony García did well to create dangerous opportunities in the final third, hoping to find the game opener early in the half. A constant stream of shots on target eventually led to the first goal of the game, which came off the foot of Diop.
In stoppage time of the first half, the Rapids were able to push the ball up the pitch to Antony who won an aerial duel in the midfield to bring the ball to Wathuta. The forward settled the ball outside of the box and found an unmarked Diop who finished a shot into the far-right corner for his second of the season.
The halftime whistle blew with Colorado up by one and plenty more goals to come in the second half.
Minutes after the start of the second 45, Wathuta was fouled on a run into the box by the Kansas City goalkeeper, resulting in a penalty kick opportunity. Captain Amadou stepped up to the spot and calmly finished his penalty to give the Rapids a two-goal lead in the 48th minute.
The half would be characterized by a master class in attack with Wathuta and Diop continuing to give the Rapids hope for yet another goal. Wathuta’s number would be called in the 60th minute on a team play that ended in a tap in finish for the 2025 SuperDraft pick.
The play started off with a long throw in from Anderson Rosa to find Copeland in the midfield. Copeland did well to carry the ball up the center of the field before laying off a through ball to Antony on the left flank. With the ball at his feet, Antony placed a perfect first-time cross to Wathuta who slid into the six-yard box and tapped the ball in off his right foot for his second goal of the season.
The fourth and final of the night marked the first of the season for Rogelio who happened to be in the right place at the right time, cleaning up a shot from Malik Pinto in the box. Pinto shook off two defenders and found a slight opening outside of the box to let a left-footed shot ring off the post. Rogelio beat the defenders and collected the shot and slid one into the near post to give the Rapids a sure fire three points on the night in the 82nd minute.
The game would end with Kansas City pulling one back in the 86th minute, but it was not enough for the team to protect their home from a Rapids victory.
Colorado ended the afternoon with a single-game high for the season, putting up 21 shots with nine on target.
Rapids 2 will return home next weekend to face Austin FC II on Sunday, June 8, at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT with coverage available on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Scoring Summary:
COL – Mamadou Billo Diop (Sydney Wathuta) 45+1’
COL – Daouda Amadou 48’
COL – Sydney Wathuta (Antony García) 60’
COL – Rogelio Garcia 82’
SKC – Nati Clarke (Shane Donovan) 86’
Notables:
- F Mamadou Billo Diop recorded his second goal of the season, netting the game opener against Kansas City.
- M Daouda Amadou scored his second goal of the season off of a penalty kick in the 48th minute of the match.
- F Sydney Wathuta added his second goal and his second assist of the season during today’s match against Kansas City.
- F Rogelio Garcia scored his first goal of the season for Rapids 2 in the 82nd minute.
- F Antony García recorded his second assist of the season on Wathuta’s 60th minute goal.
- Rapids Academy defender Andre Erickson made his professional debut during today’s match against Sporting KC II, starting and playing all 90 minutes.
- Colorado Rapids 2 put up a single-game high for the 2025 season with 21 shots and nine shots on target.
