Well Done Houston

I realize Houston is the opposition tomorrow but as I sit here writing this while watching Artemis' return to our planet I have to give Mission Control in Houston credit for a great job over the last 10 days.  Teenaged me once dreamed of being in that room (I was never going to make it as an astronaut so Flight Director was my goal) and while I have no regrets about my life or choices it will never get old watching NASA do things like this (unlike Elon).

Anyway, on to tomorrow night's game where the Rapids are finally home for the first time in more than a month.  Of course they're without a number of players but better to deal with that in the friendly confines of the Dick.  Meanwhile one player that would certainly be starting tomorrow is he were still with us will be on the other side as Sam Vines makes his return to Colorado.  Kickoff tomorrow is the normal 7:30pm.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Reggie Cannon (ankle), D Miguel Navarro (red card), D Jackson Travis (red card), M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder), M Connor Ronan (leg)

The Rapids announced today that Ted Ku-DiPietro underwent shoulder surgery this week and will be reevaluated in 5 months (so late September).  Essentially his season is over barring an unexpected rapid recovery.  Spending $1.125M on a guy who was recovering from shoulder surgery and who will have 12 starts and a little over 1200 minutes total late into his second season with the club is not looking like a winning move.

Obviously the big issue though is our lack of fullbacks.  We have five on the roster and three are unavailable.  The only other two are Keegan Rosenberry and Kosi Thompson, who got his visa on Wednesday and is available.  For a team like last year's Rapids under Armas I could see Thompson being thrown into the starting lineup tomorrow.  For Matt Wells' system though?  Thompson has had maybe 3 days of practice with the team (he couldn't even train with the club before he got his visa) and the system requires a lot of playing out of the back.  Plus the amount of pressing that needs to happen at altitude.  I can't see Thompson as anything more than a possible late sub.

With only one fullback really available, an unknown use of Minoungou, and an Open Cup match next week before the 30th Anniversary/Messi match I'm not going to try to predict a lineup for this one.  We could see a winger pushed back to play defense, a 3 center back setup, or something really unexpected.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Navarro and Yapi.  Even with our lack of fullbacks I think we're a better team than Houston, and we're at home.  Houston has played one less game then us, due to their game at New England being delayed due to weather, but even with that their offense only has 8 goals, and 6 of them came in the two games they did play in March (against an average Dallas and a bad Portland side).  This is actually their first game outside Texas this season.  It won't be easy but the Rapids pull out the 3 points to remain perfect at home.

Colorado Rapids Forever

Today the Rapids announced the results of the 'fan activation' from the offseason where they were considering rebranding the club.  The overwhelming response (90%+) from the fans they talked to was don't change the name, don't change the colors, but updating the badge and other branding is fine.

So that's what they announced they're going to do.  We will still be the Colorado Rapids.  We still still be the burgundy boys.  We will have a new badge.  Nourse at the Post and Pollard at Burgundy Wave did get confirmation that "keeping the colors" might include slightly changing the shades of burgundy and blue but the fundamental colors will remain the same.

This is fine from my POV.  I'm not particularly attached to the logo, it was always the fallout of the botched Arsenal Colorado rebrand in 2007.  The important thing is that the Rapids will stay the Rapids and after having three different color schemes in their history they won't add a fourth (mostly).  Most clubs in the last 10 years have revised their badge due to the needs of a technological age where scaling the badge down to use on social media means complex designs get muddled.

The important thing here is really that for once they actually listened to the fans.  When I discussed this in January I really teed off on the Front Office, saying that either this decision had already been made or this would all go away and not be discussed again.  Instead they split the difference and decided, correctly, major changes would be a mistake but refreshing the identity had value.  In my defense the FO has a long history of talk without action but I welcome this change.

It sounds like due to timing with the schedule switch any sort of new badge and image probably won't be ready when the 27-28 first winter season launches, so we're looking at two years out before we see the results of this.

In other news that actually dropped last week but I was unable to get to, the Rapids have the details of their first Open Cup match of the season.  Its next Tuesday, April 14th, at 7:30pm at the Dick.  The opponent is USL Championship side Union Omaha.  The winner gets the winner of the SKC-Colorado Springs happening just down I-25 that same night.  If Colorado Springs wins then (assuming the Rapids win) then the battle of Colorado would be at the Dick.  If SKC wins and the Rapids do the all-MLS I-70 battle would take place in KC.  (If you're wondering the same things apply if Omaha wins, they'd host the Switchbacks but go to KC).  Sadly I probably won't be able to attend this one as I have to be on a flight the next morning.

#MLSAfterDawn

You can't call a game that started at 1:30pm local, 11:30am in the road team's market a #MLSAfterDark special, but this game delivered what you would expect from that tag in spades.  Unfortunately at the end the Rapids were left holding the short end of a 3-2 scoreline trying to figure out where it all went wrong.  And in about 20 minutes of the second half it went very wrong.

Random Thoughts:

• Uh, where to start?  I guess with one of the two obvious storylines so lets go with the officiating.  It was a mess.  It was clear from minute to minute nobody knew what was a foul or yellow card.  I'm not even sure the ref know what his level was.  The lightest of touches (Ojediran) would be carded while full body slams (on Navarro) weren't even a foul.
• That said, I have no problem with the two straight red cards.  Some refs would have just given a yellow for Travis' stomp and the VAR wouldn't have overruled, but Jackson came in aggressively, late, and got the ankle.  Its hard to complain about that being a red.  Likewise the foul on Fredrick was a DOGSO red.
• The first yellow to Navarro was self-inflicted.  At that point the ref had already given two reds, a yellow, and things were chaotic.  Don't give him an excuse to give another yellow by booting the ball away, even if it was lightly and probably not something that would be carded by other refs.
• Navarro second yellow was a joke, especially with what the ref was letting go at other times on the field.   There was barely contact, nothing that rose to the level of a foul.  I agree that if there was a foul there it would have to be a card for disrupting the attack, but there was no foul there.
• In the end though, the officiating didn't cost us the game.  Zack Steffen did.  Most of the time you can't really blame a keeper for a loss, but this is one of those times.
• Getting beat near post like he did on the first goal is unforgiveable, but that wasn't the worst of his mistakes.  His inability to play the back pass from Rosenberry and giving up the own goal is an all-time howler.  I think it surpasses Jared Watts for the worst own goal in team history.
• Some people want to blame Keegan for the back pass too, and it was "hotter" than you would probably like, but a keeper has to be able to play that ball, even on frame like it was.
• As you would expect some fans are calling for Steffen to be benched for Hansen.  I think that's a mistake.  Hansen made his own set of bad choices in NYC and needs a bit more seasoning.  I do think whatever benefit of the doubt Steffen had is lost now though.  Another bad game like this and you have to bench him.
• Moving on to everything else, there was a lot to like in the attitude the team displayed being down a man (the first time).  They didn't try to turtle and bunker and kept playing their game come hell or high water.  Once the red card on Toronto equalized things the Rapids actually had some good play. A great free kick from Aaronson and Keegan's annual long-range goal.
• Right before the second red card though I started to wonder why the Rapids looked like they were playing a man down when it was 10v10.  Something had switched in their mentality and they could never flip that switch back the rest of the game.  Instead they were desperately trying to hold onto the lead, then the draw, and got nothing.
• I hope Wells learned a lesson about subbing in two center backs right before a defensive corner kick.  I'm sure the chaos of having 4 CB's on the field and everyone figuring out their roles played into Sargent's winner.
• I felt bad for Manyoma, who got in in the 74th just before Navarro's second yellow only to come off in the 84th after Wells decided to insert those two center backs.
• On the plus side, Herrington kept it from being 4 or 5 to 2 with some big saves.  I don't see how he's here after the World Cup if he makes the Aussie roster (as he should).
• Going into next week's game Travis and Navarro are suspended for their red cards.  Thompson will likely be ineligible while waiting on his visa.  Cannon will probably still be unavailable to start due to his injury.  That leaves the team with exactly 1 right back, Rosenberry, and 0 left backs.  Might we see something like a 3-6-1 with some wingers playing wing-back?  Pushing a winger back to left-back?  Oh, and Sam Vines will be watching from the other bench.
• The good news about this mess is that there was nothing systemic wrong.  It was a combination of a bad ref, a horrible game from Steffen, and a little bad luck.  Just dump it in the trash and move on.

Man of the Match: Rafael Navarro.  For not getting on the score sheet he had a hell of a match and with a different ref likely draws a penalty or a free kick or two in dangerous positions.

Old Friends Meet As Enemies

The Rapids get back from the international break with an early start up north as they're on the road in Toronto.  At the scene of their greatest triumph they'll face off agianst their former coach in Robin Fraser, their former MVP in Djordje Mihailovic (possibly, he's listed as questionable), and their former goalkeeper will be on th bench in Will Yarbrough.  The Rapids recent acquisition from Toronto, Kosi Thompson, will not be available as he's still waiting on his visa.  Kickoff is a very early 11am Mountain tomorrow so don't oversleep!

(Interesting note, both Toronto and Colorado have one MLS Cup win, and both teams win their MLS Cup at BMO Field in Toronto)

Player Availability:

OUT: D Reggie Cannon (ankle), M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder), M Connor Ronan (leg)

Along with the three injured players and Thompson waiting on his visa, new acquisition Georgi Minonugou will not be available, something to do with his visa and having just returned from national team duty with Burkina Faso he can't leave the country right away to go to Canada for this game.  If we were playing another U.S. side he would be able to play.

Kind of tricky to predict this lineup.  Travis was not good at right back last time out so I think Rosenberry will get the start.  Both Herrington and Cobb went on long trips for international callups (Australia and South Korea, respectively) so neither one likely has the legs to go 90.  Herrington got more minutes during the trip but he's young so I'm betting he gets the start with the plan to sub him out around the 60th minute.  Up front Yapi is in the same boat, but with our winger depth being tested I think he also likely gets the start with a plan to sub him out.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Navarro.  If we were a little healthier and/or a little more rested, or maybe at home, I'd be ok predicting a win.  But I feel like there's just enough stacked against us that we're going to get a draw and be fairly happy about it.

Herrington And Other Internationals

I've been trying to write this post all week but the Rapids keep making solid moves I need to talk about first.  Good problem to have.  Another good thing to have is Lucas Herrington who has been the biggest surprise of the season so far in my opinion.  I did not rate a guy coming over from the A-League as a solid starter but Herrington has arguably been our best (and certainly our most consistent) player over the first 5 games.

And I'm not the only one who has noticed.  Last week a rumor broke that he's being eyed by Everton and West Ham.  Now these type of rumors are always going around so take them with a large grain of salt but that's some notable interest for an 18 year old who has only 5 starts outside his home league.

He was also noticed by the Australian national team and got his first start and cap in their 1-0 win over Cameroon today (early this morning Denver time).  Not only that but he was named man of the match by fans.  You have to think he's got a decent chance to make the World Cup squad at this point, especially if he gets the start and plays well against Curacao on Tuesday.

So a hot start, possible World Cup play, and rumored interest from the Premier League.  I think the Loic Williams signing is partially in preparation for Herrington to leave sooner rather than later.  I don't think its impossible to see him sold in the summer window, and if he's still here for the sprint season next spring we should count ourselves lucky.

This weekend is a busy international break for a number of other Rapids:

• Donovan Phillip got the start as the lone striker for St. Lucia.  He scored the only goal for the Piton in a 6-1 loss to Azerbaijan in Sumgayit
• As mentioned yesterday new winger Georgi Minoungou is in Ouagadougou as his Burkina Faso side hosts Guinea-Bissau in a friendly tomorrow
• Darren Yapi scored the first goal in the USA U-21's 2-0 win over Japan in a friendly in South Korea.  I can't find anything about this game other than the score and goal scorers, but Noah Cobb is also with the team.  The two Rapids will face South Korea as well before returning to Colorado.
• Bryce Jaimson is in camp with the U.S. u-20s in Argentina.  The squad faced the Argentina U-20s in a friendly today and won 3-0, but based on the picture posted of the starting XI Jaimson didn't start and he's not listed as a goal scorer.  Again, that's all I can find on the match.  They will play another match against Independiente's reserves on Tuesday.

Last, but hardly least, there's one more Colorado connection in international play today.  Right now, Friday night in Denver but Saturday in the Marshall Islands, this is happening:

The Ratak Cup is the Marshall Islands' futsal tournament that they are using to build the sport in the islands.  Because of the lack of space and the ease of using already existing basketball courts many small Oceania countries focus on futsal over 11-a-side football to grow the sport.  Earlier this week the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation put out a call asking for sponsors for the tournament.  There was enough interest amongst Centennial 38 members that we decided to sponsor the tournament and actually raised more than double the amount they were looking for.

This is the second iteration of the tournament, expanding from 4 teams in 2024 to 6 teams i 2026 as they kickstart their new futsal league.  The club names are great:

• Real Majuro
• Vasco de Laura
• Clube de Rairok Flamengo
• Ajeltake Arsenal
• Boca Lagoon
• Rita Plate

Majuro, Laura, Rairok, and Ajeltake are communities in the Marshall Islands while Rita is the nickname given by G.I.'s to the now-former naval base on the island.

3 players who played in the 2024 tournament represented the Marshall Islands in their first ever national team games as part of the Outrigger Challenge Cup held last August in Arkansas (Springdale, Arkansas has the largest population of Marshallese outside the islands) and the hope is this year's tournament will be an opportunity for more players to raise their game and play for the full national team in the future.

Even though the tournament is wrapping up just as I post this we're still raising money to help the federation and will be sending them an additional donation of whatever we raise over the next couple of days.  If you want to help out you can donate through C38's website here.