The Rapids left for Houston today for their final regular season game tomorrow. All 8 Western Conference playoff spots have been clinched so teams are just playing for positioning. The Rapids could finish anywhere from 5th to 8th. Luckily the schedule favors that. San Jose plays Seattle, LAFC plays Portland, and the one negative, Dallas plays Minnesota (which is why we can't pass both of them), while we play last place Houston. Kickoff tomorrow for all the Western Conference games is at 4:30pm. TV is still Altitude only, but the league announced yesterday that all the playoff games will be nationally televised, so everyone will be able to see the Rapids in the playoffs, no blackouts!
I expect Fraser to go for the win tomorrow with the lineup, especially with there being two weeks off before the playoffs due to the international break. There may be a player or two who need a rest, but otherwise we're going to see pretty close to the lineup we saw against Seattle and Portland. Maybe Irwin starts in front of Yarbrough, but I doubt it. Rosenberry, Abubakar, and Vines will likely start on the back line with either Wilson or Trusty. Midfield will probably be Price, Acosta, Bassett, Namli, and Shinyashiki, but Lewis might get a start, and Rubio will be up front.
Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Bassett. Houston is not very good and has nothing to play for, and the Rapids are clicking. Goal Bassett gets his 7th and wins the team Golden Boot to go along with a probable team MVP award. The Rapids finish 5th and get the Dallas-Minnesota winner in the first round (Dallas if that game ends up a draw).
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