Oct 3rd, 1777 - Americans March To Germantown

On October 3rd 1777 the American revolutionary army under George Washington began its march to Germantown to face the British. On October 3rd 2009 the Revolution under Steve Nicol will march into Commerce City to face the British-led Rapids. The battle of Germantown was a victory for the British, let's hope history repeats itself tomorrow night. Its the final home regular season game for the Rapids and kickoff is at 7pm at the Dick. The supporter's tailgate starts at 5pm.

A special congrats go out to Class VI members Josh and Greta who will be missing this game for a more important event, their wedding. May you have many happy years together.

Official Injury Report:
OUT: MF Colin Clark (L ACL tear); MF Jacob Peterson (R ACL tear); MF Jamie Smith (L knee strain); DOUBTFUL: GK Matt Pickens (R knee sprain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Cory Gibbs (R thigh strain)

Official Discipline Report:
ONE CAUTION FROM SUSPENSION: Mehdi Ballouchy, Conor Casey
TWO CAUTIONS FROM SUSPENSION: Omar Cummings, Cory Gibbs, Kosuke Kimura, Scott Palguta

The Revs have 6 players who are questionable or worse on the injury report and Wells Thompson is suspended from a red card he got in their midweek game against Dallas. Both teams are going to be playing patchwork lineups for this one. My guess at our lineup:

Burpo

Moor - Baudet - Palguta
Pablo - LaBrocca

Kimura - Ballouchy -Harvey

Cummings - Casey

This is the same lineup we used in Kansas City last week. It did well on the defensive end but didn't generate many chances on the offensive end. Still these are our best eleven players on our roster that are healthy and the most logical way to get them on the field.

Key To Look For:
Pablo Mastroeni vs. Shalrie Joseph. Despite what others may say I think these are the best two defensive midfielders in the league. Joseph is also the best healthy forward the Revs have right now, and they'll be looking to him to run the offense. He's reportedly a little banged up and if Pablo can take him out of the game New England will have a hard time doing anything tomorrow night.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Conor Casey. I think the home field advantage is enough of an edge for the Rapids to get a win. It won't be pretty soccer, what with the Rapids midfield injury issues and the Revs playing a second game in 4 days, but 3 points is 3 points.