2026 US Open Cup Round of 16: 10-man Colorado Rapids end Quarterfinal drought, beat Switchbacks in PKs

A ten-man Colorado Rapids advanced to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Quarterfinals Wednesday night, topping USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks in seven rounds of penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 draw in extra time at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Afte the Rapids missed two consecutive kicks from the mark to send the kicks to sudden death, defender Keegan Rosenberry converted his penalty kick to give the Rapids the win and their first trip to the Quarterfinals in nearly two decades.

“That was a crazy game. And credit to them, we knew we gave them massive respect. Obviously, you see with the lineup we put out there, but also with the preparation and knowing it was going to be a very difficult opponent,” said Rapids manager, Matt Wells. “They play very direct, they’re very physical, so it makes it difficult to establish any rhythm in the game.”

Wednesday night’s Round of 16 was the first meeting between the two Colorado-based clubs in a decade. After taking control of the match early, the Rapids took the lead in the 25th minute when Rafeal Navarro put Alexis Manyoma through to goal, pulling Switchback goalkeeper Christian Herrera off his line. Herrera got a piece of Manyoma’s right-footed poke from close range, but it wasn’t enough.

Nine minutes later, the Switchbacks Brennan Creek turned the game on its side after the Rapids failed to clear a Switchbacks corner played to the near post. Creek found himself unmarked at the far post with the ball at his feet, pushing it past Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen.

With the run of play in the first half, the Rapids added additional firepower during the intermission, bringing on Georgi Minounhou for Hamzat Ojediran. It nearly paid immediate dividends when Minounhou beat the Switchback’s Patrick Burner on the endline, finding Navarro inside the six-yard box before it was cleared off the line by center back Matt Mahoney.

After mostly playing—and allowing the Rapids to play—in the first half, the Switchbacks took a page out of the USL-One side Union Omaha, which did everything but allow the Rapids to play 15 days earlier in the Rapids 1-0 Round 3 win.

After much start-and-stop it looked like the Rapids would finally get its go-ahead goal after Darren Yapi was put through by the captain for the night, Navarro. Yapi rounded Herrera with only green grass and the goal in front of him but slowed enough in collecting the ball to let center back Matthew Mahoney catch up and clear the ball off the line.

Even with the game slowed considerably from the first half, the Rapids maintained control of the match until halftime substitute Kosi Thompson was shown a straight red card with no compunction from referee Rosendo Mendoza for a hard tackle through the back of the legs of Yosuke Hanya at midfield, leaving the Rapids with ten players to finish the game.

“When we went down to ten, we went to another level in terms of commitment of the team, energy, intensity, players doing double jobs, triple jobs, and then still had quality moments so we should have won the game,” Wells said. 

As regulation came to a close, chants of “USL” rang from the 300 or so Switchbacks fans that filled two sections of the north end of the stadium.

The Rapids took a cautious approach entering extra time, moving to a conservative 4-3-2, pushing numbers forward at opportune moments. That moment came in the 114^th minute when Hansen sent a searching goal kick towards Navarro in the center circle. Navarro flicked the restart on to the streaking Minoungou, who won the footrace in on goal, finishing with his right foot 15 yards from goal in what looked like the winner.

Until it wasn’t.

The Switchbacks immediately went searching for the equalizer, again. Substitute Aidan Rochoa found himself free on the right flank, cutting to goal before smashing in a cross that Mendoza caught Rapids deemed to be handled by midfielder Josh Atencio inside the penalty area. With no VAR, the call stood, giving the USL side a lifeline with no time left. After much hemming and hawing, Khori Bennett buried the penalty kick, leveling things at two. After the formality of the restart after the goal Mendoza blew the end of extra time sending the game to kicks from the mark.

“I don’t think it’s ever a penalty with Josh Atencio, so we should have won the game without eating the shootout, but then even once we had the setback,” Wells said. “You go into the shootout probably as the underdogs by that point, but I thought the way the guy is refocused and blocked out all the frustration from the referee.”

As the goalkeepers made their way to the end of the field, the Switchbacks fans made the 120-yard sprint to the other end of the field, filling in the outside edges of the Rapids’ supporters’ section behind the goal.

Bennett buried his second penalty in less than five minutes to put the Switchbacks on the board first. Navarro leveled things at 1-1. Danny Rojas lookalike, Juan Tejada netted the Switchbacks second kick, followed by Rapids substitute, Rob Holding making it 2-2.

Switchbacks Samuel Williams gifted the Rapids the advantage with the third kick when his stutter steps confused only him, making for an easy save for Hanses to his right, then Lucas Herrington put the Rapids up 3-2 scoring to Herrera’s left.

“All the pressure is on the penalty taker,” Hansen said. “As much as possible, I just try to get in their head because at the end of the day, the pressure is on them. And with the fans behind the goal as well, you just want to put as much pressure on them as you can.”

Jon-Talen Maples and Dante Sealy both scored to make it 4-3 Rapids, followed by Tyreek Magee for the Switchbacks, leaving it to Minoungou, whose shot slammed off the post and back into play, leveling things at 4-4.

Not to be outdone, Switchbacks defender Patrick Burner put his following kick off the other post, again handing the advantage to the Rapids before Atencio’s poorly hit penalty down the middle of the goal was kicked away by Herrera keeping the score at 4-4.

After Hanses had little difficulty saving the Switchbacks Jonas Fjeldberg attempt, it was down to veteran Keegan Rosenberry, who thoughtfully placed the winner past Herrera low to the right.

The win puts the Rapids through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2007. With the Switchbacks loss, only MLS teams are left standing entering the quarterfinals.