Rapids’ road struggles
While Sporting KC has found success at home, Wednesday night’s opponent have struggled on the road. The Rapids have yet to find a win away from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2022, earning one draw on the road in regular season play. In all competitions, the Rapids are 0-6-1, with a defeat to Comunicaciones (Guatemala) in the Concacaf Champions League and a loss in the Open Cup at Minnesota.
The Rapids lone result on the road was a 1-1 draw at the Houston Dynamo, who Sporting defeated 1-0 at home on March 5. Colorado at home has been a different animal, boasting a 4-0-2 record in the Mile high city Out of the altitude, they scored just three goals in MLS play.
Sporting KC and Children’s Mercy Park will host a midweek match for the second of three weeks in a row. Last Tuesday, Sporting hosted Dallas in the thrilling Open Cup comeback win, this Wednesday, Colorado comes to town and next Wednesday, Sporting will host the Dynamo for the Open Cup Round of 16. Due to the congestion of the schedule, Sporting will play seven competitive matches in just 22 days. In between the Wednesday matches, Sporting has a road match with the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, May 22.
Centerback Kortne Ford has stepped up in a significant way for Sporting KC this season. His performance in a scoreless draw against the Columbus Crew on April 23 earned him a spot on the MLS Team of the Week and he made seven consecutive starts on the backline in all competitions. Ford is very familiar with the Rapids as he came up through their academy system, signing as a homegrown for the first team in 2017. He started 33 of 35 appearances for the Rapids including his debut appearance which came at Children’s Mercy Park against Sporting KC. Wednesday night, Ford will be facing his former club in the stadium where he made his MLS debut.