Second Friendly And More Rumors

Yesterday the Rapids had their second preseason match, this one against Mexican second division side Mineros FC.  It was a 5-3 win that Colorado led throughout.  The starting XI:

Yarbrough

Anderson - Abubakar - Edwards - Markanich

Price

Bassett - Galvan

Barrios - Yapi - Cabral

The formation is my best guess as to how the 11 lined up.  Bassett scored twice in the first 10 minutes before Mineros got one back from a PK midway through the half.  Colorado then slammed the door shut with goals from Rubio, Nicholson, and Cabral (a PK) before halftime.  Galvan, Edwards, Vallecilla, Cabral, and Rosenberry all picked up assists on the scoring.  Mineros would get two back after the break.  Once again there was no updates as to who subbed in/out during the game but obviously Rosenberry, Nicholson, and Rubio all got in at some point in the first half.

Also in the last 48 hours there's been a new signing rumor and more heat around one of the rumors I discussed this weekend,  The one player we haven't heard anything more about is Maxsø which is a little disappointing.  The player that' heated up is Austrian goalkeeper Patrick Pentz, with multiple reports that a deal is done.  At the same time draftee goalkeeper Oliver Semmle has a USL offer and reported interest back in his home country of Germany.  There was talk before they even left for Mexico that he was at best a long-shot to make the squad, now with another keeper being signed and having other options I would be surprised if he even makes the trip to Orlando to finish preseason.

The new rumor is finally a left back rumor, specifically left back Alex Gersbach.  He's Australian and will turn 26 in early May.  Currently he's with French Ligue 2 side Grenoble where he's made 42 appearances since he joined them before the start of the 21/22 season.  He's also made 6 appearances for the Australian National Team, though he was not part of their recent World Cup roster.  He's also spent time with teams in Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands and got his professional start with his home country's Sydney FC.

Obviously he fills the biggest hole remaining on the roster with only Markanich and Beitashour as "natural" left backs, and neither one seem ready to be an every game starter in 2023 (for very different reasons).  

If you're wondering about our ability to sign all these internationals its a bit hard to track where we are.  We know for sure that we have 9 slots in 2023.  The tricky part is that the roster page seems to be in flux so tracking who qualifies as an international is tough.  Right now Nicholson is listed as an international, despite having gotten his green card during his first stint with the Rapids.  Acosta, Vallecilla, and Wilson are not listed as internationals though they were internationals last year.  If the website is correct we have 7 internationals under contract (Max, Price, Cabral, Harris, Ronan, Galvan, Nicholson).  That means we'd need to find a international slot, loan an international out, or hope somebody (probably Price or Harris) get their green card before the season if we want to sign all 3 rumored international players.  Thanks to Joseph Samelson for helping me figure all this out.