The Colorado Rapids scored twice in the first half and Dillon Serna found the back of the net twice in the second half bracen route to a commanding 4-1 win over the USL side.

The 21-year-old midfielder had not really been playing much in league, having just played in a little over 130 minutes in six total apperances. However, he certainly made his presence felt in this match by also adding an assist to his name, making a statement to Pablo Mastroeni. 

It was slow in the early going for the MLS side as neither club had any clear-cut chances in the first 15 minutes of the match, but the Rapids were moving the ball around the pitch a little crisper. In fact, the first decent look at goal came in the 25th minute. Sam Cronin played an absolutely inch perfect throughball to Dominique Badji and the forward simply tapped the ball in behind the Switchbacks' Devala Gorrick. 

Rapids score second of the half

Joseph Greenspan made his debut for the Rapids in the Open Cup and came away with a memory for a lifetime as he headed home a cross from Dillon Serna off of excellent a free kick, 32 minutes into the cup tie. 

Colorado Springs tried hard to make this a competitive match. When they did manage to hold onto the ball, they would not be able to make more than five or six passes before losing the ball as the Switchbacks just did not have the quality of players around the pitch to compete with their MLS counterpart. 

There was nearly a third goal of the half, ten minutes before the halftime interval. Unfortunately, 20-year-old, Cameroonian-born, Charles Eloundou could not get the right technique behind his shot and just missed the target. 

Former Kitsap Pumas forward, Miguel Gonzalez, got the first chance of the night for the Switchbacks in the 39th minute. His effort from outside the box fell straight into the hands of Zac MacMath. 

HT: Colorado Rapids 2-0 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 

Major Leauge Soccer's Colorado Rapids were by far the better of the two sides in the opening 45 minutes of the match and deserved their lead despite the few chances created from either of the two clubs. 

Four minutes after the restart, the Rapids had a glorious chance to really open up this clash. Eloundou whipped in a cross into the box and Serna nearly got his first goal, however, his shot rattled the crossbar. 

Matters were made worse for the visitors in the 61st minute when Josh Phillips went in hard on a tackle that caught Badji very late and was promptley given his marching orders by the referee. 

Dillon Serna gave the perfect response going a man-up by scoring five minutes after the hour mark. This was a great individual effort as he shrugged off two defenders before firing the ball past the desperate Switchbacks goalkeeper. 

Switchbacks get a consolation 

The USL outfit did manage to score a goal through Jordan Burt. There was an initial shot from Kley Bejarano that was blocked. The ball then fell to Burt who burried it past MacMath.  Unfortunately, it came in the 90th minute minute, making it merely one for the history books. 

Shortly before the 80th minute, Serna had to go off the pitch to receive treatment for an injury. Luckily it would not be anything serious because he would score his second of the game in stoppage time, whipping in a low cross from Luis Solignac. 

For the Rapids, they will continue their quest for the US Open Cup while the Colorado Springs Switchbacks' hopes of making a Cinderella-esque run to the final is over.