The Return of Pablo Mastroeni

The greatest to ever wear the shirt

Tomorrow the Rapids former captain and record holder in a number of categories, Pablo Mastroeni, makes his first ever appearance at the Dick playing for the opposition.  He and his LA Galaxy teammates are in town for an nationally televised match on ESPN2.  Because of the TV coverage kickoff is an unusual 5pm kickoff so the tailgate starts at 2pm tomorrow.

Injury Report:

OUT:  DF Diego Calderon (R knee Surgery)

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT YELLOWS: DF Shane O'Neill (1 game left for good behavior reduction); MF Hendry Thomas
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOWS: MF Dillon Powers; MF Nathan Sturgis

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - Still waiting on International Transfer Certificate

The smallest unavailable report of the season, though reports are that Rivero will not make the 18 tomorrow.  LA has 3 out injured and a couple of big names with the U.S, Nats for the Gold Cup final on Sunday.  The biggest missing names are Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan.  My guess on the Rapids XI tomorrow:

We could see LaBrocca instead of one of the forwards in more of a 4-4-2 alignment but my guess is that we stick with more of the 4-3-3.  Mera is always a possibility in the back but I got the feeling that this back 4 is the primary line Pareja is going to use.

Key To Look For: Defense.  LA is missing most of their high-powered attack, so keeping them off the board is the way to 3 points.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Brown.  This feels a bit optimistic, but the Rapids are on a good roll right now and with LA weakened there's not a better chance to pick up 3 points from one of the league's premier teams.  The home field advantage will be just the edge we need.