Kévin Cabral, Cole Bassett guide Rapids to 4-1 victory over St. Louis City
Colorado Rapids forward Jonathan Lewis, right, flies after tripping over the foot of St. Louis City midfielder Indiana Vassilev in the second half of a MLS soccer match Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Commerce City, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Kévin Cabral and Cole Bassett both had a goal and an assist in the first half to spark the Colorado Rapids to a 4-1 victory over St. Louis City on Sunday night.
Cabral staked the Rapids (11-8-4) to a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute with assists from Bassett and Rafael Navarro. It was the fourth goal of the season for Cabral and the fourth assist for both Bassett and Navarro.
St. Louis City (4-8-10) pulled even six minutes later when John David Klein III took a pass from rookie defender Jayden Reid and scored the first goal of his career. Klein was making his third start and sixth appearance this season after subbing in twice and playing 22 minutes last season. Reid notched his second assist in his third appearance — all starts. He made one appearance and played one minute for the New York Red Bulls last season.
Colorado regained the lead in the 35th minute when Bassett took passes from Cabral and Omir Fernández and scored his seventh goal of the season. It was the fourth assist for both Cabral and Fernández.
Jonathan Lewis scored for the first time this season with an assist from Calvin Harris in the 81st minute — to give the Rapids a two-goal lead. Harris has three assists in his second season with the club after two years with FC Cincinnati.
Lewis notched his first assist of the campaign in the final minute of regulation on 19-year-old Darren Yapi’s first career goal to complete the scoring. Yapi, who subbed in for Navarro in the 83rd minute, has made 12 starts and 53 appearances over the past three seasons with the club.
Zack Steffen finished with five saves in goal for the Rapids. Roman Bürki saved two shots for St. Louis City.
Colorado posted a 3-0 victory in St. Louis two weeks ago. Djordje Mihailovic scored all three goals for the Rapids to notch his first career hat trick. It was the fourth shutout for Steffen.
St. Louis City earned a home victory and a 1-1 draw in Colorado last season on its way to the Western Conference regular-season title its first year in the league.
St. Louis City has not won on the road this season, falling to 0-5-5.
Colorado improves to 7-2-2 at home.
St. Louis City heads home to play the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. The Rapids will host the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
