We are at the point in the season where matches are coming fast and furiously at the Vancouver Whitecaps and their full schedule will continue with the surprisingly resurgent Colorado Rapids next up on the schedule Wednesday in Commerce City.

After a couple years of being the Western Conference doormat, the Rapids sacked Robin Fraser and replaced him with former New York Red Bulls manager Chris Armas and dropped a (by Rapids standards) impressive chunk of change this offseason.

The results have been encouraging for Rapids fans, with the team sitting on 18 points in the Western Conference. That is good enough for sixth in the table, tied with the Caps’ most recent opponent, LAFC.

In 2023, the Rapids ranked nearly dead last in goals per match and underperformed their expected goals by over 12 goals. To put it mildly, this was not a team that was an offensive juggernaut.

This year, however, with a modified version of Armas’ press-heavy system that sees the Rapids holding onto more of the ball than a Red Bulls type team would be expected to do. Djordje Mihailovic, the piece de resistance of the offseason spending spree, leads the team in assists and while the fit isn’t quite as neatly as Wilfried Nancy’s Montreal teams, he is finding lots of space to create danger.

The midfield, meanwhile, has been bolstered by better play from d mid Oliver Larraz, which allows some of their other pieces (namely Cole Bassett) function better than they did last year.

And they have improved the defense somewhat since last season, in large part due to the development of Moise Bombito, who is turning into a burgeoning star. Their other defensive pieces aren’t going to set the world on fire but have largely been solid and the Rapids are a team that is going to minimize the number of self-inflicted wounds they cause.

That being said, the San Jose Earthquakes forced some real mistakes from the Rapids over the weekend (including off of set pieces) to come away with a 3-2 win. There were positive signs for Colorado, including Rafa Navarro continuing to turn into a bona fide goal scorer, but this was perhaps the most disappointing loss yet for Armas’ side.

Zach Steffen, meanwhile, was supposed to be another plum signing but he has struggled to maintain the levels he hit before departing for England.

This is a long way of saying that this isn’t the same Rapids team that the Caps faced last year. And Vancouver has struggled against Colorado in recent years, drawing both times last year. You have to go back to pre-pandemic times to find the last time they got a win in Commerce City as well.

And the Caps are reeling a bit for possibly the first time all year. While they arguably held their own in losses to Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy, the heavy 3-0 defeat to LAFC on Saturday was the first time all season they looked genuinely outclassed. Part of this was a lack of attacking crispness but LAFC simply overwhelmed Vancouver’s defensive organization, with Denis Bouanga ripping apart the right side of the backline to cause near-constant headaches.

In that sense, Colorado will feel a bit more manageable. Omir Fernandez has been solid this year but he and Kevin Cabral are not Bouanga and Cristian Oliveira by a long shot.

But with a rivalry clash looming with Seattle over the weekend, you wonder how much Vanni Sartini might rotate in this one, particularly on the backline, where some players have played several matches straight. Bjorn Utvik could get a look here, as could Javain Brown and, possibly, Giuseppe Bovalina if Sartini is feeling extra spicy.

The Rapids aren’t as loaded as LAFC but this is a very good team that is patient in picking apart their opponents and will force the Caps to be more defensively sound than they were last weekend. If Vancouver can rebound and be more sound in possession, there likely will be opportunities going forward for them. But anyone assuming this will be a cakewalk should think otherwise.