August 9, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Colorado Rapids News Release
Perhaps it was seeing the shower of goals at Red Bull Arena but not being among the scorers. Perhaps it was the fact that he has form against Minnesota United (see below). Or perhaps he was just feeling it, as all good strikers often do.
It doesn’t really matter what spurred on Gyasi Zardes last weekend. All that matters is that his goalscoring instincts put him a position to find the net and he did so with ruthless efficiency. Twice he pounced on spills from Minnesota’s goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. In between, he tracked the run of Michael Barrios and was in the right place at the right time for when Barrios executed his pass.
Zardes arrived in April with a big reputation. With such a reputation comes a certain level of expectation. As a striker closing in on 100 goals (he now has 94), it was clear for many what the expectation was–goals, and lots of them.
He delivered on that expectation this past Saturday, though head coach, Robin Fraser, had this to say to Altitude TV’s Chris Dempsey shortly after the final whistle: “I think Gyasi’s been great since day one for us.
“The difference is everybody looks at goals and only goals, and if he’s not scoring goals people say ‘what’s wrong with him?'”
Fraser added: “He does more things right per game than most people; in terms of what he does defensively, the runs he makes offensively, (he) puts himself in good situations, and now that he’s scoring goals people are actually appreciating him.
“We’ve appreciated him since day one. He’s been a big part of us since he’s been here.”
Fraser was reiterating what he’d outlined to me 24 hours earlier as part of the regular chat we have ahead of each game. In that conversation he spoke of the ground covered by Zardes – the most of any player on the team. He was glowing when speaking of Zardes and his attitude, his team first approach, and how the younger players such as Darren Yapi were able to learn from one of the best in MLS.
A product of the LA Galaxy system, his first five seasons in the league were spent competing for a starting role alongside the likes of Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Giovani dos Santos, Mike Magee, and Alan Gordon, and yet he still managed 34 goals during his time.
He scored double digit goals in his first three seasons in Columbus, 44 in total, including a career-high 19 in 2018, the year he was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
The 30-year-old is a two-time MLS Cup winner…
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