The Colorado Rapids have secured third place in the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup after their penalty shootout victory over Philadelphia Union on Sunday. Goals from Oliver Larraz and Calvin Harris, aided by another heroic performance from Zack Steffen, helped the club to a 3-1 penalty shootout victory after a 2-2 draw in regulation time. With the win, the club secured its first Concacaf Champions Cup berth since the 2022 season.
Although these two teams lost in their respective semifinals earlier this week, both still had a lot at stake in the third-place match in the Leagues Cup. The winner of Sunday’s match would secure their place in the opening round of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
From kickoff, there was plenty of action in the first meeting between Colorado and Philadelphia since 2021.
Union was dangerous from the start, but Rapids’ defense stood firm and thwarted all of their opponents’ attempts. While the first half was largely goalless, the last ten minutes were full of action on both sides.
Colorado broke the ice in the 38th minute, scoring its first goal since the quarterfinals against Deportivo Toluca FC. After Philadelphia lost possession, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic played a smooth through ball to Rafael Navarro in open space. The Brazilian then played a one-on-one pass with the outside of his right foot to Calvin Harris, who calmly shot past goalkeeper Andre Blake and into the net for the lead.
The goal was Harris’ second of the tournament and his sixth of the season in all competitions. Navarro’s goal was his second assist of the tournament and his seventh of the season in all competitions.
Philadelphia quickly recovered just three minutes later. The home team equalized after a header from Kai Wagner found teammate Tai Baribo, who headed the ball into the net. Union were not satisfied with that and scored again before halftime.
Similar to the first goal, it was Wagner again for Baribo. Baribo was able to parry a shot attempt by Wagner and scored the goal that gave his team the lead just before both teams went to the dressing rooms.
In a game with only one goal difference and 45 minutes to go, everything was still possible for these clubs to complete their participation in the tournament.
Although they were behind and had just conceded two goals in a row, the Rapids came out of the break motivated and managed to equalise just four minutes into the second half.
The move began with a Mihailovic corner that flew into the air after Philadelphia attempted to clear. At the other end of the high ball was Larraz, who took the ball cleanly and volleyed it into the net to equalise. The goal was Larraz’s second of his career in all competitions in 2024.
From then on, both sides played a tight defense. The opposing attacks created chances, but this game would go down to penalties to decide who would take home the third and final spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
The Rapids were familiar with the high-stakes atmosphere as they prepared for their third penalty shootout of this year’s Leagues Cup. The first three shooters for Colorado did their best, with Mihailovic, Cole Bassett and Andreas Maxsø all sinking their chances from the penalty spot. On the other side, the Rapids had a familiar hero in Steffen. The Pennsylvania-born goalkeeper saved the first two shots fired at him, leaving Philadelphia with little chance of a comeback. In the fourth round, the Union missed their final shot, giving the Rapids the title of third place in the 2024 Leagues Cup.
With the win, the Rapids secured a spot in the opening round of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, their first participation in the tournament since 2022. In addition to that spot, the win also made Steffen the first goalkeeper in tournament history to participate in and win three separate penalty shootouts.
The Rapids return to MLS regular season action on Saturday, August 31st against FC Dallas, with kickoff at Toyota Stadium set for 2:30 p.m. MT. (Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, Altitude Sports Radio 950AM).
