Colorado Controls Consolation Game With 1-0 Win

Last night the Rapids had an easy game against the Melbourne youth/reserves squad, controlling the game from end-to-end in a 1-0 win.  The starting XI:

Cascio - Amarikwa - Mullan

Larentowicz - Castrillon - Mastroeni

Zapata - Wynne - Moor - Kimura

Ceus

Other than Ceus and Amarikwa I wouldn't be shocked to see that same lineup on opening day in two weeks.  The goal was scored on a 20-yard rocket from rookie Tony Cascio in the first half.  Cascio was the best player in the game, hitting the post and crossbar and putting a good chance just into the side netting.  He could have easily had a hat trick.

The two negatives from this match were Mastroeni leaving the game just before half with a possible slight concussion and Colorado's lack of finishing.  With Pablo's season ending early last year due to a concussion the last thing we want to see is another one.  The Rapids finished 2011 having a hard time finishing and it seemed to continue last night.  We had chance after chance but couldn't put it away.

Its hard to draw many conclusions from a preseason game against a youth squad just 48 hours after the last game.  That said there were a few bright spots.  Kohei Yamada got 15 minutes at the end of the game and stood out with some good ball movement and passing.  Castrillon had a couple of dangerous chances (one called back for an earlier foul on Melbourne instead of playing advantage) and some nice passing.  Of course getting a strong game out of a rookie is always nice as well.

The Rapids return home to Denver tomorrow for the final days of training camp.  The team has to be salary cap compliant by Thursday so we can expect some cuts in the first half of the week.

Colorado Loses To Yokohama

Last night (well technically early this morning) the Rapids lost 2-1 to Yokohama FC of the Japanese 2nd division.  A 10 minute spell in the second half saw Colorado give up two goals and they couldn't climb back out of the hole.  The starting XI for the burgundy boys (seen above):

Cascio - Cummings - Mullan

Larentowicz - Castrillon - Mastroeni

Zapata - Moor - Wynne - Kimura

Pickens

With the exception of the injured Casey I think that's pretty close to our starting XI right now.  Reports from the game is that new signing Luis Zapata was man of the match for the Rapids and they the team generated a number of good chances but couldn't finish.  They finally got a goal from a Zapata corner kick that Moor headed home.  The subs were Amarikwa for Cascio right after the first Yokohama goal in the 57th minute, Thompson for Mullan after the 2nd Yokohama goal in the 64th minute, and Janniere for Mastroeni late.  Thompson got a straight red in the last few minutes for an elbow to the head.  It sounds like it was an ill-advised tough challenge but Thompson wasn't intentionally striking the player.  Right before the end of the game Colorado had a chance to tie it and force it to penalties but Castrillon's close-range header went wide.

Melbourne lost to Busan i'Park 1-0 in penalties after a scoreless game, so Colorado will face Melbourne's youth in the 3rd place game tomorrow.  Game time is 8pm MST and it will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. I expect we'll also see a number of our young players in this game.

Rapids Play Yokohama FC NOT On ESPN

See that ESPN on the Hawaiian Islands Invitational logo?  ESPN is one of the organizing forces behind the tournament and originally announced all 4 games would be on ESPN International and ESPN3.com.  Sometime between then and now though ESPN, who again organized the tournament, decided they were only going to air the 2 games on Saturday and neither of the games today.  No, that doesn't make sense to me either.

So tonight Colorado faces Koz's hometown team, Yokohama FC, and nobody outside of Aloha Stadium in Honolulu can see it.  The game is at 11:30pm Colorado time and I was planning to stay up late to watch it, but I'm not staying up until 1:30am to follow Twitter updates.  I'll catch the result in the morning.  Before our game Melbourne Heart and Busan i'Park face off.  The winners of both games will play int he Championship match on Saturday, preceded by the losers of both games playing in the 3rd placed match.  Those games will be live on ESPN3.com.

Oscar Pareja says he plans to start close to our best XI, barring injuries and such, so it will be interesting to see how our best team does in our new style.

Hawai'i Here We Come!

The team left for Hawai'i today.  My sister, brother-in-law, and cousins leave for Hawai'i this week (though not for the tournament).  Me?  I'm stuck in cold Denver.  Before they left the team made some cuts from training camp.  Aaron Pitchkolan, Issac Cowles, Sterling Copeland, Jefferson Angulo, Daniel Frias, Alanso Jimenez, and Masaki Hemmi were let go.  Trialists Joel Helmick, Luis Zapata, and George Breslin-Hall, along with Academy player Dillon Serna made the trip to Hawai'i with the team.

Conor Casey, Hunter Freeman, Jamie Smith, and Anthony Wallace remained in Denver to continue their rehabs.  Martin Rivero is expected to join the team in Hawai'i on Tuesday, while Omar Cummings will leave the team on Saturday to join the Jamaican National Team in New Zealand.

Here's the updated camp roster.  One mistake I made last time I posted it is that the Rapids only have 6 international slots, I forgot about the trade we made with Vancouver last month sending one to them.

underline = unsigned trialist

* = Requires or is expected to require an international slot

Goalkeepers:

Steward Ceus

Joel Helmick (draftee)

Ian Joyce

Matt Pickens

Defenders:

Eddie Ababio
George Breslen-Hall*

Hunter Freeman

Kosuke Kimura

Tyrone Marshall

Drew Moor

Scott Palguta

Anthony Wallace

Marvell Wynne
Luis Eduardo Zapata*

Midfielders:

Davy Armstrong

Tony Cascio

Jaime Castrillon*
Steven Emory

Josh Janniere*

Ross LaBauex

Jeff Larentowicz

Pablo Mastroeni

Brian Mullan

Joseph Nane
Martin Rivero*

Jamie Smith*

Wells Thompson

Kohei Yamada*

Forwards:

Andre Akpan

Quincy Amarikwa

Conor Casey

Omar Cummings

Palm Trees And Sand For Rapids Preseason

The Rapids released their preseason plans today. They'll be making two trips, first to Oxnard and San Luis Obispo in California and second to Hawai'i for the Hawaiian Islands Invitational Tournament. In between the trips they'll be training out at the Dick. The first day of training is a week from today, though players report on Thursday for physicals and fitness assessments.

While in California they'll have matches against Chivas USA and the Earthquakes. In Hawai'i they'll play Yokohama FC of the Japanese J-League Division 2 and the winner of the match between the Melbourne Victory of the Australian A-League and Busan I'Park of the South Korean K-League.

Here's the full schedule for preseason and the match schedule:

Jan.19: Players report, physical examinations
Jan. 20-21: Fitness assessment and testing
Jan. 22: Day off
Jan. 23: First day of training, 10:00 a.m., Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (open to media)
Jan. 24-Feb. 3: Training in Denver
Feb. 4-12: Training in California (Oxnard, San Luis Obispo)
Feb.13-18: Training in Denver
Feb.19-27: Training in Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaiian Islands Invitational)
Feb. 28-March 9: Training in Denver
Sat., March 10: First Kick: Colorado Rapids vs. Columbus Crew, 4:00 p.m. MT, Dick’s Sporting Good’s Park

Matches:

Tue., Feb 7: vs Chivas USA (TBD)
Fri., Feb. 10: vs San Jose Earthquakes (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Thu., Feb. 23: vs Yokohama FC (Honolulu, HI), 8:30 p.m. HST
Sat., Feb. 25: vs Busan I’Park/Melbourne Heart (Honolulu, HI), TBD