The finish line to the opening half of the 2026 season is in sight. Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is the last game on the schedule for FC Dallas before the World Cup takes over the planet and MLS hits the pause button until late July.
Win or lose, Dallas doesn’t play again for nearly two months. That changes the math on this one in ways that matter for motivation, rotation decisions, and how much weight this result carries into the summer break.
The Rapids enter this weekend‘s match on a 5-8-1 record, good enough for 11th in the Western Conference on 16 points. Wednesday night, the Rapids beat San Jose 2-0 in the US Open Cup quarterfinals, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since the 1999 season (hey, remember that one? That was the last time a non-MLS side won that tournament.) They’re not a pushover, but they’re also no juggernaut. This should be a winnable road game for Dallas if they come with the right mentality like we saw a week ago in San Jose.
Here’s what we’ll be watching for tomorrow night.
Don’t let Wednesday’s USOC win fool you, but also respect it
Let’s give the Rapids credit where it is due, they just knocked off the same San Jose team that Dallas downed last weekend with goals from Darren Yapi and Rafael Navarro, while also earning a clean sheet in the process.
Before this win, Colorado hadn’t defeated a MLS opponent in the USOC since 2006. It also snapped a seven-game losing streak in domestic knockout play against top-division sides. That’s not nothing. Colorado played with confidence and defensive organization that they haven’t always shown in league play this season.
Colorado Rapids set piece special on the Yapi (2/3rds of an) Hour! No offsides here! pic.twitter.com/ZqkKVMYjHj
— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) May 21, 2026
But as we saw last weekend in San Jose, there is some context here that matters. The Quakes were lacking Timo Werner and Niko Tsakiris, and it was the Quakes fourth game in two weeks. They were likely still gassed from chasing Sam Sarver in the 90th minute.
Still, the Rapids were clinical when they needed to be. Dallas should be wary, but not spooked.
The World Cup is in Dallas this summer. Nine matches at AT&T Stadium.
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Navarro is the danger - stop him early and their attack dries up
This is a simple equation: Rafael Navarro leads the rapids with eight goals on the season, and 12 goal contributions. He is the engine of everything Colorado is doing offensively this year and when he is clicking, he is as good as any striker in MLS.
Add Darren Yapi and Paxten Aaronson to what Navarro is doing and you get a group of 20 goal contributions this season. While Navarro is the goal scorer, Aaronson is the creative spark in the midfield and Yapi is the wildcard that can hurt you in transition.
Dallas’ backline has seen some top-level attacks in recent weeks and have done…alright. Three goals given up against Vancouver last Wednesday and two more to San Jose over the weekend. Both of those teams are very good attacking teams and the Rapids aren’t that far away from them.
Saturday is going to be a big test of whether or not the defensive structure can contain young, energetic attackers, and hold off a guy like Navarro who can hurt you in many different ways.