Wounded Colorado Faces Portland

This might be a more accurate badge for this team

Looks like we might have some nice weather for a game at the Dick for the first time this season.  That's about the limit of the good news as the beat up Rapids host the Timbers tomorrow.  With as many as 7 starters missing from the lineup it will be a very different team that takes the field for the home side Saturday. Kickoff is at 4pm with the tailgate starting at 1.  for those who can't make it the game is on Altitude.

Injury Report:

OUT:  DF Diego Calderon (R knee Surgery), MF Jaime Castrillon (R knee surgery), MF Pablo Mastroeni (L quad strain), GK Matt Pickens (L arm fracture), MF Martin Rivero (R foot fracture),
QUESTIONABLE: FW Edson Buddle (R knee soreness), MF Jamie Smith (hamstring tightness), DF Anthony Wallace (L groin strain)

Discipline Report:
SUSPENDED: DF Drew Moor (through 4/6)

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - Still waiting on visa

Portland has 3 players out injured, compared to up to 10 Rapids who may miss tomorrow's game.  I'm practically pulling names from a hat, but here's my guess at tomorrow's starting XI:

That is a very ugly back line, and an attacking group that hasn't shown much, but my guess is that Pareja will try to keep the changes to a minimum in front of a patchwork defense..

Key To Look For: Can we score?  2 goals in 4 games does not suggest we can, but we've won every home game against the Timbers by at least 2 goals.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Brown and LaBrocca.  Portland doesn't even start playing until they get behind, usually by 2.  I think we can take an early lead and then steal a second goal while Portland presses.  They'll make it interesting late but the Rapids get their first win.

Akpan Traded, Calderon Injured, Moor Suspended

Three bits of new today from Commerce City.

• Andre Akpan was traded to NYRB for a conditional 2015 draft pick
• Not a bad trade, I think Akpan's role as the young forward had been supplanted by both Tony Cascio and DeShorn Brown.  We're a little thin on bodies at the moment though!  Also, if you're tracking, we're down to 8 players from the Smith regime now, plus Pablo.  All 9 of them have MLS Cup rings.
• Drew Moor was suspended an extra game for his elbow against LA last week.
• I can't complain, its fair given the off-the-balll and to-the-head nature of the foul.
• Diego Calderon had to have surgery on his knee and is out 4-5 months.
• Ouch.  An already thin back line gets even thinner.  So right now we're out Pickens, Calderon, and Castrillon for multiple months, plus Mastroeni, Rivero, and possibly Buddle for multiple weeks (though there are rumors Buddle could start this weekend).  With Moor being out two weeks our backline will look something like Wynne - O'Neill - Klute - Mullan.

Champions!!!

This evening (afternoon Denver time) Queen of the South defeated Brechin 6-0.  Brechin was the only team able to catch Queen of the South at the top of the Division 2 table, a chance that with today's result is no longer mathematically possible.  The Doonhamers will be back in Division 1 next season and they have 6 games left to play.  Really the only game of note left on Queens schedule is the Challenge Cup final a week from Sunday where they'll face the current leaders of the First Division, Partick Thistle.

Queen of the South - 2012-2013 Division Two Champions

Debacle In LA

From the high of Friday night to a disaster on Saturday.  The Rapids came out flat, got injured, lost their minds, and lost the game.  The game started with the Avs still playing, so those of us in Denver missed the first 6-7 minutes, which included (apparently) the first of many great stops by Irwin.  Once coverage started it took 10-15 minutes of play before the Rapids had a decent offensive chance compared to a handful for LA.  The Pablo went down and had to be subbed off in the first half (again).  Shortly afterwards Irwin was beat but Calderon cleared the ball off the line, however in the process he slammed into the post giving himself a leg contusion requiring he be subbed off.  The Rapids were lucky to get to half at 0-0.

That all ended minutes into the second half when Drew Moor went mental.  At the top of the box he suddenly snapped his elbow back into the face of Marcelo Sarvas.  The AR saw it and the CR correctly gave Moor a red card and awarded a PK.  Irwin made a good attempt but Magee finished the penalty to give LA a 1-0 lead.  Pareja was forced to use the final sub to put O'Neill on into the hole Moor's ejection created, taking Harbottle off.  After that LA took the air out of the ball, Brown made a couple of chances happen but for the most part the game was over.

My key to the match was Irwin, and he got the job done.  Unfortunately he was the only one.

Random Thoughts:

• Really there's not much else to say.  DeShorn Brown tried to create something, but with no service he was fighting a losing battle.  Once the injuries started forcing substitutions it was downhill and Moor's idiocy sealed it.

Player of the Match: Clint Irwin.  Apparently the only Rapid who showed up to do his job, and he did it well.

Epic Night In Commerce City

View of the NW corner from 108 right at the end of half

We'll get to the Rapids debacle in LA tomorrow.  First lets look at Friday night's epic World Cup Qualifier.  Yeah, as a game it stunk.  After the first 20 minutes or so it was 22 guys against the elements, not two teams.  Who cares though, that doesn't detract from one of the more memorable games I've ever attended.

The evening started with a great tailgate put on for the American Outlaws by the Centennial 38 tailgate crew.  I'd say a rough estimate is that we went through over 1500 hot dogs for close to 2000 people.  I helped the grillers out as much as possible once I arrived, so I didn't see much of the tailgate, but it was a great job by everyone to pull it off.  Denver has set the bar high for pre-game entertainment going forward.  About midway through the tailgate, the snow started.

After shutting down the tailgate and helping to clean up Hibbie and I headed over to the Dick, where I ran into the one negative moment of the evening.  Smartly, KSE opened every gate for the game (during most Rapids games they only use about half the gates) but at least at the two gates immediately next to the Cantina their staffing left something to be desired.  The gate just West of the Cantina had no readers for Flash Seat tickets, and when I got to the one just East of the Cantina the guy with the reader had left but would be back "momentarily".  WTF?  It only amounted to a few minute delay but I really have to wonder what KSE is thinking, not fully staffing every gate.

Once I got in I realized we were headed to a record attendance (actually we missed it by 306 as FIFA doesn't allow standing-room only tickets for World Cup Qualifiers like the Rapids do for 4th of July games.  Still broke 19K though.) so I decided to just get to my seat and not worry about doing any shopping or buying any concessions for this one.  I had eaten enough at the tailgate and the free scarf had the game listed on it so I had my souvenir of the game.  The first 20 minutes or so the U.S. controlled play and Clint finished off a deflected shot to get the Yanks the important early goal.  Between the 20 and 30 minute mark the weather became the dominant force in the game but the game was still playable.  The U.S. did a good job keeping possession and protecting the lead.

At halftime apparently the party moved to the men's bathroom in the south end as everybody crammed in there for warmth and continued the singing and chanting.  I stayed at my seat to enjoy the unusual weather as it kicked up a couple of notches.  By the end of the half, as you can see above, it was really coming down.  The second half was just about survival as there was no way for either team to play as a team.  In the 55th minute the game was paused.  ESPN's announcers said it was because the officials were calling the game, but post-games reports suggest that the Center Referee just wanted to give the grounds crew time to clear the lines.  In a vacuum the game should have been called, nobody was really able to play in that storm and while it was safe to play and the game could go on, there wasn't much of an actual game going on.  Life doesn't exist in a vacuum though, and while the ref isn't supposed to take schedules into consideration I'm sure he knew that the storm was supposed to last through Saturday (and it did) and both teams had to fly to Central America for games on Tuesday, so stopping the game and getting replayed was a bigger headache than just continuing to play.  Late in the match Costa Rica managed to equalize, but it was correctly called offside.  That woke the U.S. up a bit and they realized there was still something on the line.  They finished the job and grabbed the crucial 3 points.

Men of the Match (and possibly women as well) were clearly the grounds crew.  They were out there at every stoppage, and even at times when the play was in the other half of the field (something Costa Rica is using to file a pointless protest) keeping the lines clear and the field playable.  The team rewarded them with a perfect memento, a signed snow shovel:

DeMarcus Beasley was probably the player of the match, while Clint Dempsey stepped up as captain.  Even if Landon Donovan returns, this is Clint's team now.

Rapids In Warm LA-LA Land

A bit different than what we're seeing in Colorado

After an epic game at the Dick last night (more on that later) the Rapids are in LA tonight to face the Galaxy.  This isn't the same Galaxy as Old Spice has gone to Paris, PrimaDonnanvan is still on walkabout, and Robbie Keane is off with the Irish Nats.  That might give us an opening to steal a point or three.  Game time is 8:30pm MDT and the game is on Altitude.  If there's any energy left in C38 you can find watch parties at the usual locations but eeryone is probably going to be a little more low-key as they recover from last night,. ;)

Injury Report:

OUT:  MF Jaime Castrillon (R knee surgery), GK Matt Pickens (L arm fracture), MF Martin Rivero (R foot fracture), DF Anthony Wallace (L groin strain)
QUESTIONABLE: FW Edson Buddle (R knee soreness), MF Pablo Mastroeni (L hamstring strain)

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - Still waiting on visa

LA has 3 players out, 1 questionable, 2 on Nats duty, and Donovan on walkabout so both teams are pretty close to equally crippled.  Hard to tell what Pareja will do with the young keeper but here's my guess at the starting XI:

This is the lineup we used against FSL once Pickens was injured, and it wasn't too bad, but there are still players who aren't excelling.   If Pablo's healthy I'm guessing Harbottle moves back up front for Cascio.  If Buddle can go Brown will move outside and Cascio or Harris will sit.

Key To Look For: Clint Irwin.  He did well against FSL off the bench, but what confidence does he have as the starter and what confidence does the team have in him?

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Brown.  The weakened LA sets up well for us to steal a point, which would be a great result.  Brown continues to figure out MLS and gets his second of the year.

USA - Costa Rica

Denver USSF artwork by Shaw Nielsen

Well its finally here, possibly the biggest home game the U.S. National Team will play this cycle and its here in Denver.  Tomorrow night, USA-Costa Rica, 8pm, Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  Anything less than 3 points tomorrow night and the U.S.'s qualifying path to Brazil 2014 gets significantly steeper.  3 points and everybody gets to take a breath and go into the Azteca Tuesday night with no real pressure.

Prior to the game the American Outlaws and Centennial 38 will co-host what some are legitimately suggesting might be the largest tailgate in U.S. Soccer history.  For example, here's Grillmaster Perry's fridge last night.  Turns out a standard size fridge can hold 1700 hot dogs!

That doesn't include the two full pigs that are being roasted as well, not to mention the 13(?) kegs that are being dropped off.  700 people are going in by bus with an expected total of somewhere around 2000.  Official start time is 3pm, but setup will begin between 12-1 if you want to help.  Tailgate ends at 7 to give everyone plenty of time to clean up this massive tailgate and get into the stadium before the 8pm kickoff.  U.S. Soccer has claim-jumped our normal tailgate location for their $50/head tailgate featuring celebrity Denver chefs, so we've moved around the corner to the South end of Lot F.

Remember, parking is $20 for this one!

Bad Break In Utah

From Saturday:

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Brown.  This is nothing but hopeful optimism as Salt Lake should win this game.  But I can't bring myself to credit those punks with a win:.

Looking pretty good huh?  The Rapids got a 1-1 draw with DeShorn Brown getting the goal.  Normally that would leave everyone pretty happy but the way it happened left it a bit of a consolation prize.  Inside the first 5 minutes Pickens came out to punch a ball, cleared it, but in a collision with a FSL player he broke his forearm.  It was a clean play, no blame to be placed on the attacker, but after surgery in Utah Saturday night Pickens will miss the next 3-4 months.  New signing Clint Irwin was quickly called off the bench to take his place, the second game in a row where the Rapids have made an injury substitution inside the first 10 minutes.

In the 37th minute DeShorn Brown took the ball of the FSL left back, drove directly into the box, and beat the keeper on the far post for the Rapids first lead of the season.  This was after both he and Harris had just missed wide right and left.  Along with those the Rapids had two other shots on target in the first half.

In the second half the team became more conservative, to its detriment.  At the 60th minute I said "If we bunker for the next 30 minutes we will lose".  It wasn't quite that bad but we did let FSL have far too much of the play and it eventually burned us.  In the 80th minute the Rapdis tried to push the ball out of their box but didn't get it very far.  For the second week in a row Thomas challenged for the ball, missed, and went tot he round.  The flick back in was headed out as best as possible by Moor, but Mullan's attempt to clear Moor's header failed and the ball bounced into the path of Plata in the box.  He put Saborio through on the far side of goal and he beat Irwin far post.  Tie game.  Both teams had a couple of chances to win it late but couldn't convert.

Random Thoughts:

• Despite having a lead until the 80th minute, if you had told me before the game we'd lose Pickens inside of 5 minutes and still get a draw I would have taken it every time.  A good result.
• Now we have 2 home games left in the Rocky Mountain Cup.  To reclaim the Cup we need two wins, a win and a draw, or a win and a loss as long as we win by more goals than we lose by.
• Great to see Brown get a deserved goal for all his work in the first 3 weeks.  As long as he doesn't hit a rookie wall he's earned a starting spot somewhere, even after Buddle is healthy.
• It was interesting to see Harbottle slide into midfield for the injured Pablo.  I'm not sure it worked, I don't think Kevin has figured out how to play with his teammates yet.
• LaBrocca was somewhat ineffective in his 25 minutes replacing Harbottle though, so maybe its not just Kevin.
• Harris created a couple of good chances late, but I'm still not impressed overall.
• Wynne - Moor - Calderon are working across the back, but Mullan is still struggling a bit.
• Thomas' biggest problem is that the only time he's been noticeable in the last two weeks is when he's been on the ground as a goal is scored.  You expected an experienced player like him to know better than to get caught in situations like that, especially repeatedly.
• The Rapids have now used 3 different keepers in 3 games, and probably started 3 different ones in 4 games after next week in LA.  That's gotta be some sort of team single-season record.
• Ceus had another massive blunder in the Reserves game.  I really have no faith in him right now so Irwin is the guy to go with, unless the team signs a keeper this week.

Player of the Match: Clint Irwin.  Nothing he could do on the goal, and he came up with two big saves.  Pretty good for a guy who was a backup keeper in the USL at this time last year (and yes, that is a picture of him at the top).

I'm Not Dead Yet!

My wife went to Walt Disney World and all I got was this lousy cold bug she brought back.  Started knocking me out on Monday afternoon, completely laid me flat through Thursday, and yesterday I managed to put together 8 hours of actual work so my projects for the people who pay me didn't fall too far behind.  So that's why this blog has been dead since this time last week when the game was rescheduled.  so a quick review of last week and a quick preview of tonight's game.

Last week:
Again no offensive spark in the final third, again a goal keeping blunder cost us a goal.  Jamie Smith, brought on at halftime, was clearly the MOTM.  With him in there the team actually dangerous from time to time, and of course Jamie got the first Rapids goal of the season off a great first-time shot.  Powers, who was MOTM in the first game, was benched at half for Jamie, suffering the typical up and down of a rookie starter.  The second Philly goal started when Hendry Thomas tried to step up and stop the Union advance, missed, and fell down, which created a hole in the defense that Calderon stepped into, but the Union played the ball into the hole that created and it was all over.

This week:

Not much more needs to be said.  FSL doesn't look as strong as they have in past years and we have 2 of the 3 RMC matches at home this year.  Today is the one game in Utah.  Go get it back guys.  Rivero and Castrillon are still out, while Pickens, Buddle, and Pablo are questionable.  Former Rapids Borchers and Wingert are out for FSL, along with Morales, and Mansally is suspended for headbutting Kitchen last week.  Both teams will be playing with less than their starting lineups.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Brown.  This is nothing but hopeful optimism as Salt Lake should win this game.  But I can't bring myself to credit those punks with a win:

GAME TIME NOW 1pm SUNDAY

The Rapids have officially moved the game to 1pm Sunday March 10th.  Tailgate will start at 10.

A smart move by the club.

Snow Way This Game Should Be Played

Gulp!

That's the forecast for Commerce City tomorrow leading up to kickoff.  The National Weather Service is expecting blowing snow and blizzard conditions east of I-25 tomorrow afternoon with 8-13 inches of snow by the end of the storm tomorrow evening/night.  Their Winter Storm Warning from 2am-5pm tomorrow warns of hazardous driving conditions and states that people should only travel in an emergency and if they do travel they should take food, water, and a flashlight with them to be safe.  Quite simply, this game should not be played tomorrow.

However all the public comments from the Rapids are that the game is on as scheduled.  Multiple tweets, two different official communications via email and a press release this afternoon state that they don't expect the storm to effect the game schedule.  If the storm shows up overnight as expected at best the Rapids will look like idiots and at worst they're being irresponsible.  The only good outcome for Colorado at this point is a weaker than expected storm.  Otherwise they'll be asking their fans, and more importantly requiring their staff, to travel in unsafe conditions, or after a week of posturing they'll have to fold and move the game to Sunday (reportedly the contingency plan is a Sunday afternoon game).  In neither case do they come out looking good.

As it is, if the weather is as bad as predicted I won't be going to the game tomorrow if its played.  I won't risk myself or my wife in our Civic on roads in hazardous conditions and who knows how many idiots driving in it.  This would be the first time since I became a season ticket holder in 2008 that I've skipped a home game when I didn't have a conflicting event.

Whenever the game does get played though, I want to remind everyone of this:

That was Philadelphia Union right back Sheanon Williams the day after the Union's last visit to the Dick in 2011.  I don't think he appreciated being the target of Class VI that night.  Let's make sure he feels welcome this time, shall we? :D

The game is currently scheduled for 4pm tomorrow and will air on Altritude and the new Univision Deportes Network.  The Centennial 38 tailgate will start at 1pm.  Should the game be rescheduled I'll post the details as soon as possible.

Injury Report:

Looks like the injury reports this year are only listing Out and Questionable.
OUT: FW Edson Buddle (knee), MF Jaime Castrillon (knee surgery), MF Martin Rivero (R foot fracture)

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - No word that his visa has come through yet

Philly's only reported injury is that Conor Casy is questionable due to a hamstring.  I'm sure he wants to play back in Colorado though.  Here's my guess at our starting XI:

Since Buddle isn't ready I expect we'll see the same group as last week except Pickens is reportedly ready to play.

Key To Look For: Obviously the weather.  That could turn a game where the Rapids are probably the favorite into a complete toss-up.

Prediction:
If the game is played Saturday: No prediction.  Playing in a near blizzard makes it a complete unknown (though probably low scoring)
If the game is played Sunday: 2-1 Rapids win, goals by Brown and Moor.

Meeting the Don

Commissioner Garber, accepting a Class VI scarf at the DSG Park Opening

Today I was invited by the Rapids to a media lunch with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Rapids President Tim Hinchey.  Also included were media from Goal.com, MileHighSports, the Denver Post, and Centennial 38, among others.  There were 7 of us total.  We only had 45 minutes or so of the Commissioner's schedule but it was a chance to have a round table and ask him questions.  Most of the discussion focused on growing the league and youth development.  If you follow the league closely you'll have heard everything Garber had to say on those issues before, but he mentioned the new partnership with the French Football Federation to train our coaches, the supporters culture in Seattle and Portland and how it relates to the newly combined C38, and where the league needs to go to meet its 2022 goal of being one of the top leagues in the world.

I did get to ask him a couple of questions that relate to Colorado.  The first question I asked him was the status of the trademark dispute between C10 and MLS over the Rocky Mountain Cup.

I haven't mentioned this issue here before, so for a quick backstory over the offseason MLS filed U.S. trademarks on all the supporter cups in the league (the RMC, Cascadia Cup, Trillum Cup, etc.).  The only groups to really object were the Cascadia Cup between the 3 pacific NW teams and C10 to protect the Rocky Mountain Cup.  Last summer, after the Subaru sponsorship mess, C10 filed state trademarks on Rocky Mountain Cup in Utah and Colorado but MLS filed for a federal trademark.

Garber admitted to not being up to date on the status of the RMC dispute, being more focused on the more public (and as such, the bigger black eye for the league) Cascadia Cup dispute.  He did say that their goal in filing these trademarks is not to commercialize the cups, but to protect them from being picked up by other groups that would put the league in an awkward position.  The example he used was what if Sports Authority stepped in and trademarked the RMC to sponsor it.  The inference being that Dick's Sporting Goods might have an issue if the Sports Authority Rocky Mountain Cup was being played in Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  I was hoping for a more complete answer than that, but I wasn't expecting one. ;)

The other question I was able to ask him was about the push by a number of vocal fans that MLS should be playing the traditional Western Europe Fall-to-Spring schedule to reach the top level.  Given the forecast for Saturday's home opener calls for blizzard conditions and 6-12 inches of snow I asked him if MLS sees that at all realistic.  He essentially said no, and that the schedule isn't what's holding back the league from growing its fanbase.  Eventually, maybe its possible, but no time soon.

Afterwards I was able to talk to Hinchey one-on-one to ask him to follow up on the media hour last August where he "put his stake in the ground" and declared we would start 2013 with a jersey sponsor.  Clearly that didn't happen and he admitted it and took the blame.  He said its been harder than he expected and referred back to something he said in August, where they had a deal lined up and signed off on, only for the CEO of the company to kill it at the last moment (a source has said the deal was with Molson Coors and it was killed in a bit of political maneuvering between execs of the two former companies).  Because of their ongoing failure he said that they've hired an outside company to help them find a sponsor, and they're widening their scope to beyond Colorado-based companies to national companies that have something to offer Colorado.  He also said that the Western Union team sponsorship, which will be officially announced next week, came out of their attempts to sign them as a jersey sponsor and will amount to the 4th largest sponsorship deal in team history.

He does admit that at this point its almost less about the money and more a credibility issues, which I was happy to hear.  This carrot has been held out there under Hinchey long enough that its starting to become hard to believe that everything else is going as well as they say when they can't get this done.  You can't get up in front of the media and "put your stake in the ground" and then fail to follow through on that without taking a hit.  I don't really care about walking around with a corporate sponsor on my jersey but for me its a bit of the "canary in the coal mine".  If the FO can't get this done, what other opportunities to advance the club are they missing or failing to take advantage of?

Goalkeeping Blunder Cost Rapids A Point

A pretty even game on Saturday night was marred by a spectacular goalkeeping blunder, giving Dallas the win.  The teams were fairly even in the first half, with the difference coming in the 11th minute.  A high looping ball came towards the penalty area from Ferreria and Ceus ran out to field it, realizing at the last movement that he had left the box and couldn't use his hands.  He tried to head it but read the ball badly, allowing it to bounce over him.  It was a simple tap in by Jackson after that.  Both teams had 3 looks at goal in the half, Dallas converted one and we didn't.  After Dallas had a couple early chances in the 2nd half they started parking the bus and the Rapids had the run of the game but couldn't convert.

Random Thoughts:

• I have not idea what Ceus was thinking on the goal.  He was standing at the top of the area when Ferreria played the ball, which left him no room to work with.  He ran out like he had room only to find himself out of position when he realized he couldn't use his hands.  Hurry back Pickens.
• Some good play from our rookies Brown and Powers.  They looked like they belonged more than most rookies do.
• Great to see Pablo back!
• Harbottle seemed a bit out fo sync with his teammates.  I liked what he brought but he'll work better when he gets on the same page as the rest of the team.
• Harris is my early candidate for my "why is he starting?" player of the season.
• Calderon looks like a great pickup and even at his smaller size he's not afraid of anyone.
• Mullan was serviceable at left back
• Overall a better performance than I expected given the number of players we were missing.

Player of the Match: Dillon Powers.  He created a couple of good chances early (one that Brown completely blew) and overall performed at a much higher level than I expected.  Its early but considering we essentially traded Larentowicz for him we seemed to have made out well.

And So It Begins...

Never gets old, does it?

We're finally here, kickoff of the 2013 season.  The journey starts in our playoff home away from home, Dallas.  Both teams have undergone a number of changes in the offseason, so its hard to get a read on either team.  It should be entertaining if nothing else.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 6:30pm MST and the game is on Altitude.  Calling the game are Marcelo Balboa and an old friend to Rapids fans, Marc Stout.  I challenged Marc to work Scott Vermillon's name into the conversation, we'll see if he attempts it. :D  The official Centennial 38 watch party is at The Armory downtown, but a group of fans are also gathering at the Westminster CB & Potts on 120th.

Injury Report:

Well the official injury report didn't get updated.  What we know is that Buddle, Castrillon, and Rivero are officially out, Pickens and Kindle are fighting injuries and are questionable I'd guess.

International Absences:

CONCACAF U-20 Championship: Dillon Serna, Shane O'Neill (Nice job qualifying for the WC guys!)

Ineligible:

Charles Eloundou - No word that his visa has come through yet

Dallas apparently has a couple of players injured and one suspended, so their lineup is going to be a bit piecemeal, much like the Rapids.  Early reports are that Pareja really likes the youth movement so we could see both our first round picks start their first games as professionals.  My guess (an that's really all it is right now) at our starting XI:

Really though we could see Harbottle for Harris, Hill for Powers, Mwanga for Brown, or Wallace for Mullan, plus a bunch of other combinations I haven't even listed yet.  And of course if Pickens can't go we'll see Ceus in net.

Key To Look For: Do these guys know how to play together?  We're looking at a pretty new group just getting to know each other, it could lead to some chaotic play.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Brown.  Our lack of familiarity hurts us and Dallas takes advantage going up 2-0 before Brown scores on his pro debut late.  If Pickens is out and Ceus starts the loss will be by 2 goals, either 2-0 or 3-1.