The first of three Rocky Mountain Cup matches was a painful exercise for the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium.

For William Yarbrough, the hurt was mental in a 3-0 Rapids’ loss in the first meeting against their rivals this season. The Colorado goalkeeper gifted Real Salt Lake a goal in the 14th minute when he tried to settle a pass from teammate Lalas Abubakar only to redirect the ball with the inside of his heel into his goal.

“Will’s been fantastic for us this season, you know. … He’s one of the best if not leading the MLS in clean sheets, and he’s made some fantastic saves,” Rapids captain Jack Price said. “So one error … I’m not going to put a guy in the ground because it is what it is. That happens. Unfortunately, as a goalkeeper if he makes a mistake, it usually ends in a goal. Will’s been fantastic. He stood up at the end there. He’s a proper man. He took the blame for the first goal, so that’s all you can ask. He accepts responsibility, and we move on. Like I said, I’ll be doing my best to keep his confidence high.”

Colorado coach Robin Fraser felt similarly.

“How do you handle it? You say we made a mistake, and we move on,” Fraser said. “There’s a game next week. It doesn’t really need to be anything more than that.”

For Danny Wilson, the pain was more palpable. After picking up a yellow card trying to slow Real Salt Lake striker Bobby Wood, who went on to double the hosts’ lead in the 30th minute, Wilson had to leave the game just before halftime with an injury to his right ankle or shin. Wilson and the Rapids were awaiting test results when Fraser spoke postgame.

“I imagine we’ll know more by the morning, but it was just an odd scenario where he just felt like his leg buckled,” Fraser said. “We had to run some tests, obviously, and see what that might be.”

Real Salt Lake took a 2-0 lead after 45 minutes despite registering just one shot on goal. The Rapids matched Salt Lake’s total with four shots in the first half but failed to put one on target.

Colorado had a couple of chances to get back in the match early in the second half, but Cole Bassett sent a free kick just over the bar, while Auston Trusty had a header cleared off the goal line. The teams finished with two shots on goal apiece, while the Rapids controlled 58% of possession and outshot Salt Lake 9-5.

“We were not clinical enough in those chances, and in our final actions at times not precise enough,” Fraser said.

Rubio Rubin capped the scoring in the 76th minute when he lost his marker and slotted a finish past Yarbrough.

The Rapids played without Diego Rubio, the club’s starting striker for much of the season. Fraser hoped Rubio’s return would happen “very soon.”

The Rapids return to action next Saturday at Austin FC. The Major League Soccer newcomers own a 3-1 victory over the Rapids from the clubs’ first meeting in April. Wilson will not be available even if he’s healthy, due to yellow card accumulation.

“We’ll get the lads right,” Price said. “Obviously, a few of the boys will be a bit disappointed with the goals we conceded, but … it’s my role at the club, and we’ve got great bunch of lads. We’ve just got to pick the heads up. It’s one game. It’s a minor blip in the road.”