Keys against Austin: Deny Driussi and Finish Right

October 8, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Colorado Rapids News Release

Here we are, Rapids fans. We’ve reached the end of the season. The Colorado Rapids will play their final match of the year before heading off into their off-season hibernation. We’ll all follow the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the World Cup in Qatar, transfer windows opening and closing and the much-anticipated beginning of preseason in 2023.

But there are still 90 minutes left in 2022. 90 minutes to create some positive feelings, go for goal and play together. This is the final time this iteration of the Rapids will be together. When the boys lace up their boots in the locker room of Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, it will be the last time for Drew Moor, and it will be the last time they all do so together. The 2023 Rapids will inevitably feature different faces. This is one last hurrah.

The swan song will be against the second place team in the Western Conference, Austin FC. In their second MLS season, the Verde and Black have clinched a playoff berth for the first time, they have a dynamic MPV candidate in Sebastian Driussi and they’ve announced to the MLS world they’re legitimate MLS Cup contenders.

In 2021, Austin scored 35 goals and conceded 56. Through 33 games in 2022, they’ve scored 64 and let in 48. Their defending is still their achilles heel, but they’ve made it practically irrelevant by scoring in buckets. Who cares if you give up two goals if you score three every time out? They are maybe the most intriguing playoff team, because they could run the table and win the Cup with ease, but they could also be bounced in the first round while losing by multiple goals.

So here are my final keys to the game for 2022:

Deny Driussi

The Argentine has 21 goals and five assists in 33 matches in 2022. He’s the key cog in the machine that is the Austin FC attack. He is at times unplayable on the pitch, and all anybody can do is watch and hope he trips over his own feet. He’s that good. The Rapids can help themselves by denying him the ball, sticking to him when he has the ball and generally disrupting everything he does. He’s the one player on the pitch that, if he beats you, you tip your cap and say, “Well done,” but you do everything in your power to make it impossible for him.

Rubio’s Record

Forward Diego Rubio already broke one club record this season. He has the most goal contributions in club history with 22. Fifteen goals and seven assists. It’s been a career year for the Chilean, but…