Time For Mullan To Face The Music

The Ivar's Dog, you'll have to go across the street from CLink to Safeco to get it though 

Colorado is in my hometown of Seattle this week to face the neon-green Sounders.  Seattle has been a bit of a house of horrors for the Rapids.  Over the last 3 years we've lost all 3 games at Qwest/CLink, being outscored 9-4 and the less said about the U.S. Open Cup games in Seattle the better.  We've also had our share of injuries, most notably Casey's blown Achilles tendon on the grass lay-over last season.  Tomorrow's game is at an annoying 2pm MDT on Altitude.  Class VI and Pid Army will be at the Pub on Penn for the watch party in Denver.

Injury Report:
OUT: MF Pablo Mastroeni (headache symptoms); MF Jamie Smith (R ACL tear); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear)
QUESTIONABLE: DF Eddie Ababio (concussion); FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear); Ross LaBauex (sports hernia)

Seattle is missing 7 players including, particularly unfortunately, Steve Zakuani still.  Pareja fiddled with the lineup in Salt Lake City last week and it blew up in his face, but he says he still likes the move of Moor to midfield so it leaves this week's lineup a little questionable.  Here's what I guess:

Cascio - Cummings - Mullan

Castrillon - Larentowicz - Rivero

Zapata - Wynne - Moor - Kimura

Pickens

If Moor moves up to midfield then Marshall would probably come in and Cascio would sit with Castrillon up front.  There's a chance that Mullan could sit, given the issues around this game, but I think both Brian and the team want to move past it now and that won't happen until Mullan plays in Seattle.

Key To Look For: Mullan.  There's going to be a lot of emotion coming from the stands and possibly the Sounders in this one.  Most of it is justified, even if some Sounders fans have gone (once again) over the top this week demanding apologies to them from Brian and such.  The Rapids just need to keep their heads down, play the game, and not engage the crowd or, if it happens, get suckered into a cheap-shot match with Seattle.

Prediction: 1-1 draw.  Goal by Cascio.  A very generous prediction but I feel like this is the year we start turning around our fortunes in my birthplace.  This assumes that Moor starts on the backline and Cascio starts up-front.  If Moor starts in the midfield I think we lose and Cascio doesn't score.