DENVER — Colorado Rapids 2 battled Sunday night, but lost to Tacoma Defiance at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
Rapids 2 (9-1-3, 32 pts) suffered its first loss since Sept. 18, 2022, in the 1-2 result against Tacoma (4-3-4, 19 pts).
The team had the longest unbeaten streak in MLS NEXT Pro history, going 12 games unbeaten.
Rapids 2 remain at the top of the Western Conference table and lead the league with 32 points in total.
Rapids 2 defender Blake Malone was able to pull a goal back in 78th minute off a corner kick delivery from Dillon Serna. The lone goal marked Malone's third of the season while Serna recorded his second assist of the season.
"Another tough game. It was an interesting game, probably one not like the others we have played previously this year," said Rapids 2 head coach Erik Bushey. "Unfortunate in some ways, not every way, but in some ways to give up goals early in the first half. We had chances to equalize before halftime came, so we know there are areas for improvement for us. I think that is an overall message as we leave the field tonight. The loss isn't for a lack of trying. The loss isn't for a lack of creating opportunities."
"Yeah, definitely disappointing to fall 2-1. It was our first loss of the season," Malone said. "It definitely hurts, but looking at the performance we were on them pretty much the whole game, had a number of great looks and that is football. Even though we lost, very happy with the performance and looking to get back next week."
"Obviously, we knew that it would be pretty hard to go 28-0 for the season," added Malone. "It is probably unrealistic and at the end of the day, sometimes it's not going to go your way. We are going to look at how we did this week, review it, analyze it and bring the energy for next week."
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