Up And Down The Dial

We're living on the air in Cincinnati

The Rapids face their biggest test, maybe of this season, tomorrow night as they're off to the land of flying turkeys facing off against the defending Shield holders.  This might be a tougher game than the trip to Miami, given that FCC is a better overall team even if they don't have the high-end talent of the GOAT.  We're also a little beat up, with 6 players on the injury report compared to 1 for Cinci.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 5:30 and we're once again stuck with the Rogondino and Pearce as the announcing duo.  Oh for the days of Fleming and Balboa...

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Adam Beaudry (Arsenal training), M Jonathan Lewis (knee), M Connor Ronan (knee), M Jasper Löffelsend (knee)

QUESTIONABLE: D Lalas Abubakar (hamstring), D Sam Vines (concussion)

Hard to believe Vines would be Questionable if he was still in concussion protocol so I assume that means he's cleared to play but since he didn't practice some or all of the week they're not sure if he's ready to start.  Not great seeing Löffelsend out again after having just come back from injury.

If its not broke...  I don't expect any changes other that the one forced by Vines' injury.  If he can go then Rosenberry goes back to his normal spot on the right.

Prediction: 1-0 loss.  Cinci has the best defense in the league and we can't rely on own goals and penalty kicks forever.  I think this is where our never say die attitude comes up short due to our never shoot the ball attitude.  We're not going to get played off the field like we did in Portland, but we will be the lesser team.

Goalkeeper Shuffle

Earlier this week there were reports that Rapids goalkeeper Adam Beaudry had been offered an opportunity to train with Arsenal later this month.  With Rapids 2 off until May 3rd there wasn't going to be much playing time for him in the near future.  Before everyone gets excited (like one Arsenal blog I saw) this isn't expected to be a precursor to an immediate move, but I'm sure part of the reason the training was offered was for the London-side to get an up close look at him as somebody they will keep an eye on in the near future.

Of course, along with starting for Rapids 2 Beaudry is also Steffen's backup for the first team and if he's in London that leaves us a keeper short.  Colorado solved that today by announcing that Rapids 2 backup Ethan Bandré has been signed to a first-team contract for the 2024 season with team options for 2025 and 2026.   Bandré  has been with Sporting KC 2 the last two years before moving to the Rapids 2 side this past offseason.

The Rapids could have solved their bench shortage with a short-term callup of Bandré for the next couple of weeks while Beaudry is in the UK.  The fact that they decided to go with a full-signing suggests that they expect to need his services beyond the next couple of weeks.  That could be because Beaudry will get more chances to train in Arsenal, chances with the youth national teams that will cause him to miss games, or that they think Steffen will get a shot with the National Team at some point this summer, which will push Beaudry to the starter role and they'll need Bandré as the backup then.

Bandré is expected to be on the bench in Cincinnati this weekend while Beaudry heads over the pond.

Shades Of MLS Cup 2010 In Rapids Win

On Friday I predicted:

2-1 win, goals by Navarro and Mihailović.  It worked in Toronto, we should be the better team, so why not see it working again tomorrow night?

IN the end my homage to MLS Cup proved to be more accurate than I expected.  The main difference is that Colorado never trailed, but they did get the win due to an own goal (or two).  Not that they didn't deserve it.  Colorado outplayed Dallas for the majority of the match and it was only a few nervy moments in stoppage time when it felt like Dallas might get a point.

• Another similarity to MLS Cup 2010, it was damn cold.  Its not a Rapids season though unless we have at least one freezing or lower game in the spring.
• Kevin Cabral. Kevin Cabral! If the man could hit the broadside of a barn he'd be in the golden boot race.  He had 3 chances in the first half that a quality striker scores 2.5 of them (the header was a bit difficult, especially on a cold night when the ball feels like a rock).  He's actually looking better this season, more engaged, but if you can't score that's a problem.
• The first own goal was an eerily close mirror image of the winning goal from MLS Cup.  A cross from the end-line deflects off a center-back's thigh and beats the keeper covering the other post.  Nice job by Bassett playing the Mac Kandji role.
• After half the second own goal was originally ruled an own goal, and then credited to Harris.  Technically that's probably correct, since Harris' shot was on target, but it really was an own goal.  Dallas' keeper saved the shot but the rebound went off a Dallas defender and into the goal.
• It wasn't clear in the stadium but Sam Vines was subbed out due to concussion symptoms.  Armas said they were light after the game so here's hoping he recovers quickly.
• If Sam isn't back quickly we don't have an immediate plug-and-play option.  On Saturday Seb Anderson came in at right back and Rosenberry switched to the left side.  One thought that was suggested was trying Cabral at left back.  It takes the pressure of scoring off of him while, in Armas' system, still allowing him to feed the attack.  I wouldn't try it first against FCC this weekend, but its an interesting idea.
• This game was screaming for a defensive midfield presence from about the 60th minute on, yet Löffelsend and Diack didn't come in until the 87th minute.  That tells me that, for whatever reason, Diack isn't fitting into Armas' plans.  We should release him as soon as we're able and use those resources somewhere else.
• Bombito is a beast.  Assuming he stays healthy and continues his improvement I don't see how he's still in Colorado by the start of the 2026 season.
• This team can't figure out how to score reliably, but they have figured out how to win reliably, somehow.  You have to like the fight in this squad.  I'm not sure how long w can keep the juggling act up without fixing the offense, but a big test is Saturday against FC Cincinnati.

Man of the Match: Cole Bassett.  Forced the first goal, was active all night, and set a new club record for homegrown appearances.  As many of us have said, he's better as an 8 than a 10.

F*C* Dallas

Our old MLS Cup 2010 friends are back in Commerce City tomorrow night.  The Rapids should plan on sending them home the same way they did in Toronto, with some nice parting gifts and a loss.  Dallas is off to one of the worst starts in their history, so like San Jose last week this is a team we should take advantage of at home, but our injury situation might put a crimp into that idea.  Kickoff tomorrow is at the normal 7:30, and its going to be a cold one, with temps in the mid 30's by the end of the game.  Not quite a Snow Clasico but we needed at least one truly cold game this spring.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Jackson Travis (leg), M Jonathan Lewis (knee), M Connor Ronan (knee)

QUESTIONABLE: M Cole Bassett (leg), M Kimani Stewart-Baynes (illness)

Seeing Cole on the injury report isn't great.  The good news is that he was part of Rapids' Earth Day visit to the zoo yesterday and the social media pictures showed him was a bandage on his shin but no other evidence of an injury, so that suggests he could be available tomorrow.  Löffelsend appears to also be available.

This assumes Bassett can't start.  If Cole can go he would take the spot from Diack.  Otherwise I think we see very little change.  Possibly Fernandez instead of Harris at right wing.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Navarro and Mihailović.  It worked in Toronto, we should be the better team, so why not see it working again tomorrow night?

Navarro Scores When He Wants!

Its been a long time since the Rapids were clear favorites on the road, played like it, and got the expected result.  Saturday night that's exactly what they did.  While it wasn't perfect it was the most complete game the team has played this season (and probably last).  Colorado also got its first shutout of the season and moved solidly into the playoff part of the table (though its way too early to take much from that).  With a struggling Dallas team coming in next week the team has a chance continue this run.

The first goal early in the game came out of that some of that counter-pressing we've been told to expect this year.  Bassett, Cabral, and Mihailović forced San Jose into the corner where they made a mistake and Mihailović quickly  turned the mistake into an attacking chance for Navarro.  Unfortunately it was former-Rapid Yarbrough who paid the price, having to wipe out Rafael and giving up the PK, which Navarro converted for his 3rd PK of the season.

Colorado did go into a bit of a shell after that (one of those areas to work on), only getting one more shot off before the halftime break.  San Jose had some looks, including a strong one right after our goal, but the couple that were dangerous and got through Steffen was able to handle.  Coming out of half the Rapids picked up their play and were rewarded.  In the 60th minute a long throw was badly cleared by San Jose and crossed back in to the middle by Harris (I think?).  It pinballed a bit in the box before Navarro got a foot on it to get his first goal from the run of play.

After that the Rapids were focused on getting the clean sheet.  Steffen had to come up big a couple of times but there was never a threat that San Jose was going to come back for a draw (or win).  Bassett finished it off after a nice layoff from Navarro to give him a run at goal.

There are still areas that need improvement, namely the inability or lack of desire to pull the trigger more often we are at least efficient with our shots.  During the game MLS had us with 2 shots on target and 1 goal in the first half, and 1 shot on target and 2 goals in the second half.  Not sure how the latter is possible but 3 shots on goal, 3 goals, that's at least making what few chances we create count.

Man of the Match: Rafael Navarro.  2 goals, 1 assist?  Easy call.  Basset had a goal and an assist as well so he should get an honorable mention.

I'm Not Down

For the first time in a long time I'm not down going into a road game!  But before we dig into that we have a couple of personnel moves from this week to discuss.

First, Dillon Serna announced his retirement from professional soccer.  Arguably the first successful homegrown player from the Academy (along side Shane O'Neill) out of his 147 professional appearances 125 of them were with the Rapids organization in some form.  A one year stint with Sporting KC II and a year with the Switchbacks were his only other stops.  Hopefully he'll find a place in Commerce City post-retirement.

The Rapids also made a permanent and temporary move with the current team.  They extended Löffelsend's contract another year through 2025, with an option for 2026.  Then today they called up Marlon Vargas from RapiDos on a short-term contract for tomorrow's game.

Speaking of, the Rapids are off to San Jose to play the Earthquakes tomorrow night.  The former Clash are off to a rough start this season, last place in the league with the most goals allowed.  This might be a chance for Colorado to build on the confidence of 5 goals and 4 points in the last 2 games.  We are a little thin in midfield though.  Kickoff is at 8:30 tomorrow, and we're stuck with the Rogondino/Pearce team again.

Player Availability:

OUT: M Jonathan Lewis (knee), M Connor Ronan (knee), M Kimani Stewart-Baynes (illness)

QUESTIONABLE: M Jasper Löffelsend (hamstring)

Not having KSB reduces our firepower off the bench, so we're going to have to not save it until the end of the game this week.  Otherwise its as expected.

Other than right mid I think this is pretty locked in.  We could see Harris or Fernandez getting the start there, but I'm leaning towards Harris.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Mihailović and Bassett.  Field a little out on a limb to predict a win but there won't be an easier time to get a road win this year.  San Jose is bad and beat up.  Be smart, don't let them get confident by getting an early goal, and get two before giving one back.

Colorado Homegrowns Stand Up To Barca Miami

Well that was an interesting game.  Hard to call it fun when we didn't get the win, but at the same time I don't think anyone would complain about a draw all things considered.  The Rapids rolled out a lineup featuring 4 Rapids Academy homegrowns (Anderson, Bassett, Larraz, Vines) and brought another (Yapi) in off the bench.  Meanwhile Miami tried to coast through this game by leaving Messi and his friends on the bench, but realized at half they're not good enough to pull that off and brought the gang in.  In the end all the GOAT and the other Barca All-Stars could do is manage a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Kids.  Its only 1 point on the table but its one of the few "moral victories" that not just trying to make a failure look good.

That's not to say there aren't still issues with the Rapids.  4 shots on goal all game, 2 of which didn't happen until after we were down 2-1.  In fact the only shot in the whole first half was the penalty kick.  Given how Colorado bossed the game at times in the first half that's nowhere near good enough.  Once again we saw urgency from the team after going down, but we need that urgency from the start of the game.

The first half was, as mentioned, tilted in the Rapids' favor.  They arguably had a PK not called for them in the first 10 minutes.  There were also hints of a red card in that same period but on replay Cabral took a dive.  The only thing missing was the ability to shoot.  Cabral did earn the PK and Navarro finished it, but that was the total offensive output of the first half.

It was really just the 15 minutes after halftime when the team was obviously feeling the pressure of Messi that they slipped up.  And even then it took adding Busquets before Miami broke through.  I'm going to say that somehow Messi was unmarked in those 5 minutes, but there are many, many better teams who have left Messi unmarked for 5 critical minutes and paid for it.  Bad defense from the Rapids but not that surprising.

After taking Miami's best punch the Burgundy Boys got up off the mat and pushed the game back onto them.  We saw a bit of that "play in transition" on the tying goal as a quick counterattack caught Miami out of position.  Calvin Harris did a nice job sliding a pass to Bassett and he beat Busquets and Miami's keeper for the goal.  He later got Busquets' shirt as a reward (Navarro got Messi's).  Even near the end the Rapids had a shot to win with another free kick from DM, from almost the same spot as last week, but this time it was saved.

Again though, if you told Rapids fans (and if they're honest, probably Chris Armas and Padraig Smith too) that we would start 4 homegrowns and face down Messi for 45 minutes, along with Busquets and Alba, in Miami, and come out with a draw any of us would have taken it.  We need to take this momentum into San Jose (currently last place in the league) next week and get 3 points out of them.

Man of the Match;  Cole Bassett.  Yeah, the game-tying goal makes you MOTM>  He also is the only Rapid to have 2 shots on goal in the match.  Up until that goal though I was leaning heavily to Bombito, who was caught out on one of the Miami goals but otherwise played a really good game.

Where Am I?

Miami

Four years in and Colorado is finally getting a chance to face Inter Messi...er...Miami.  The Rapids are off to the land of sun, sand, and bitchy little spies (Bruce Campbell, always quotable).  The good news is that Miami has a long list of missing players due to injury, the bad news is that officially Messi isn't onw of them.  Kickoff is at 5:30 tomorrow with the gang gathering at the Celtic, minus a notable number who made the trip to Florida.

BTW I didn't get a chance to update the Rapids 2 Open Cup match.  Northern Colorado won 3-2 in extra time after R2 levelled it at just before regulation ended.  The Hailstorm winning goal came int he last minute of the 30 extra, a real heart-breaker for RapiDos.

Player Availability:

OUT: M Jonathan Lewis (knee), M Jasper Löffelsend (hamstring), M Connor Ronan (knee)

QUESTIONABLE: D Keegan Rosenberry (thigh)

If Rosenberry can't go there will be some interesting decisions to make.  Do you move Bombito to RB and play Abubakar?  Give Seb Anderson the start?  Do something really surprising like put Larraz at RB and playing Diack?

I think Armas goes with the minimal disruption option, by pushing Bombito outside and bringing Abubakar in.  Otherwise we're going to see the same lineup we've been seeing, with possibly some juggling on the wings.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Mihailovic.  Miami is promoing that Messi is back for this weekend, so we're going to see him, and that's not good.  I wouldn't be surprised if its 30 minutes off the bench, but it could be 60 as a starter.  The Flamingos have scored more goals than any other team this season and while our defense has been solid after that first half in Portland, its certainly vulnerable.  Our offense isn't fixed yet, so I don't really see us getting out of Ft. Lauderdale with any points.

Open Cup Tonight, USL 2 Match In June

Ok, a quick post about a chance to see 4 Colorado teams over 2 games.  There's still time to get out to the Dick tonight to see Rapids 2 take on the Northern Colorado Hailstorm in the second round of the Open Cup.  Kickoff is at 7:30 and there are plenty of tickets floating around if you need one.  A few Rapids 1 players are eligible again, the same group that was available two weeks ago, so expect them to get some time.

Then on June 2nd I've worked with Albion Colorado SC (formerly Boulder County SC) to get a C38 trip to their USL 2 game arranged.  They'll be hosting Flatirons FC, which is based here in Arvada and playing at School of Mines soccer stadium this year, but they'll be the road team on the 2nd at Peak to Peak Charter School's stadium in Lafayette.   Kickoff is at 7:30 on that Sunday, with a USWL W (women's) game kicking off at 4:30, all on the same ticket.  If you're interested drop me a message, I'm working on a group ticket package.

Along with the Colorado International Soccer Academy in Parker those are the USL 2 teams playing in Colorado this year.  So tonight you can knock off MLS Next Pro and USL 1, June 2nd two of the three USL 2 teams, the Rapids full MLs squad at many points this year, and then we just have to work the USL Championship Colorado Springs Switchbacks in at some point.

The Dick Continues To Be A House Of Horrors For LAFC

We should have seen that coming.  LAFC always struggles in Colorado and yet the 3-2 win still feels like a surprise.  Mainly the 3 goals for a team that only had 5 all season coming in!  The Rapids still struggled for long-stretched of the game, but the 20-25 minutes they were on they were really on.  This was the debut we really needed from Mihailović, Navarro got an assist, and even Cabral showed some drive during this game.  While there's work still to do a win like this can be the jump-start a team needs to get going.  The key is not to waste it over the next 3 weeks.

Random Thoughts:

• In their expansion year LAFC came here and beat us 3-0 in 2018. Since then they've been outscored 11-4 over 5 games with 4 losses and a scoreless draw.  They really don't like Colorado.
• This was the Rapids first comeback from being in a losing position when going up a man to win since the CCL match against Comunicaciones at the beginning of 2022.
• Speaking of coming from behind, we're seeing a very positive change in the team this season.  They don't give up after going down.  Even in Portland, down 4-0 after half, they were still fighting.  In this one they were down 1-0 and 2-1 and came back both times.  They now have earned 7 points after being down this season.  That equals their total for all of last season.
• Neither of LA's goals were particularly good defense.  They were both hit really well but on the first Cabral just let his man go by while he turned away.  On the second the LAFC attacker dribbled through two defenders and curved it around a third before a fourth could get there.  They should have both been stopped before the shot even was taken.
• Great work from Moise Bombito in this one.  Before Mihailović hit the game winner I was trying to decide if his good defensive work and a goal was better than Mihailović's goal and assist for man of the match.  He's also quickly becoming a fan favorite with his interaction with C38.
• I wonder if his defensive blunder is what made Cabral so engaged for the rest of the match.  He had some solid defensive work, including a long cross-field run to chase down a LAFC player, tackle the ball away, and start the counter-attack.  That all happened right after Bombito's goal a 5 minute period where for the first time we really saw the "play in transition" and pressing mentality we've been told to look for from this team.
• Navarro continues to do the little things well, and set up the final goal.  But we need more than that to justify buying him.
• Kimani Stewart-Baynes had great vision and unselfishness on that Navarro cross.  Many (most?) strikers would have thought goal first given the time he had, but he saw how unmarked Mihailović was and knew that laying it off was the better move.
• Before that the rest of the first-half was pretty blech.  Much like we've seen during the rest of the season.  Then that continued into the first half of the second half.  It wasn't really until shortly before the second LAFC goal that it felt like the Rapids we're starting to command the game.  Which is why that goal felt like another gut punch and points lost.
• After that goal though it was all Rapids, especially when LAFC went down a man.  Again, credit to the team for not giving up and pushing their advantage.
• Next up is a tough test against the Inter Messi's, even if I suspect Messi won't be playing.  Once we get past the longest road trip we have its an easier road trip to San Jose and a home game against Dallas, two games we should expect to take points out of.

Man of the Match: Djordje Mihailović.  Two goals and an assist?  That's an easy call.  I don't expect 3 goal involvements every week, but it was a needed break out for him.