Colorado Rapids goalie Zack Steffen came up with five saves Saturday night to help his team manage a 0-0 tie with host St. Louis City SC in each team’s season opener.
Playing in cold conditions that plummeted to 29 degrees by match’s end, St. Louis tilted the field toward the Colorado net all night, posting an 18-2 advantage in shots and not allowing the Rapids to put a shot on frame.
But Steffen and the Colorado defense managed to hold off St. Louis’ repeated forays towards net to steal a point. St. Louis owned a 6-1 advantage in corners and generated 1.8 expected goals but could never finish.
Simon Becher and Joao Klauss were particularly dangerous for St. Louis. Becher put three of his five shots on net in his 81 minutes while Klauss got two of his four shots on frame. St. Louis possessed the ball for 54.3 percent of the match.
Cole Bassett and Oliver Larraz were the only players to attempt a shot for the Rapids, which were top 10 in scoring in 2024. Reggie Cannon helped keep the game scoreless at the end when he blocked Cedric Teuchert’s left-footed shot in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Coming into the match, the storylines were twofold: Could Colorado follow up its vastly improved 2024 season with a step forward from playoff team to possible Western Conference contender, and could St. Louis play more like the postseason team it was in 2023 instead of the disappointment of last year?
The Rapids generated next to nothing after a couple of early corners but were kept level by Steffen. He came up with a big save in the 17th minute on Becher’s point-blank opportunity from the middle of the box that was given a 61 percent goal expectancy.
Becher had another opportunity late in the half on a header from the center of the box but it sailed over the crossbar and the teams headed for the warmth of the locker rooms scoreless.
–Field Level Media
