Colorado Leaves The Goats Bleating

After a forgettable first half the Rapids got a lead and then blasted Chivas in the last 10 minutes of the game. The first 45 was a bunch of wasted chances and uninspiring soccer that the Rapids were slightly better at.  After the break Colorado didn't wait long to strike.  Off a corner in the 50th minute Cascio chested the ball down around the 6 on the far post.  After chasing it down he hit a slice into the far side of the net to give the burgundy boys a 1-0 lead.  After defending a set of 3 shots (including a couple of good saves from Pickens) as Chivas tried to level the game quickly the game settled down again.

In the 82nd minute the Rapids got the breakthrough that changed the game.  Cummings broke the offside trap and brought Hill with him.  After drawing all the defenders to him Omar played the ball to Kamani and he slotted it past the keeper for a 2-0 lead.  At this point Chivas folded and the home side took full advantage.

Two minutes later Larentowicz rounded the corner at the back of the penalty area only to get pulled back by the Chivas defender.  Ginger Ninja sold it a bit but got the call, then stepped up and put away his own penalty to give Colorado a 3-0 lead.  After a few frustrating minutes of not being able to stop the game so Casey could get his first playing time he finally got subbed on in the 92nd minute.  Is first touch was a shot on goal that forced a save.  His second was a off a rebound from a Mullan shot that a diving defender deflected back towards Hill who finished it for his 2nd goal of the game and a 4-0 final score.

My key to look for was possession.  Surprisingly we only had 46% of the possession even though it felt like more.  Even with having the possession advantage Chivas only got 4 shots on goal though, so the defense did their job.

Other Observations:

• Koz was pulled at half and I can't say I disagree with the move.  He got beat a couple of times and hasn't looked good in the last couple of games.  Freeman didn't impress either, but setting the standard that there is competition is a good thing.
• Great to see Casey back on the field, and getting 2 chances in as many minutes of play.
• There was some fun being had in Class VI as Casey waited to come it.  We were yelling at anyone we could to get the ball out of play so he could sub in.  We had a good laugh about it.
• Hill is the super-sub.
• Another good game from Cascio.  I think I underestimated him when I said he'd be our best draftee since Freeman.  He might be our best since Adin Brown.
• Cummings had another high and low night.  Great assist on Hill's first goal but still struggling at times.
• Mullan is quietly putting together a nice run of games.  He's not showing up on the scoresheet but he's doing all the right things.
• Castrillon and Rivero were both quiet this game, again.
• This was the first 4-goal win in the league this season.

Player Of The Game: Matt Pickens.  There were a number of choices, but on a night where he tied the team record for career shutouts Jesus gets the nod.

Rapids Try To Snap Losing Streak

Do you dare try the Tacos de Buche?

The other LA team, the Under-a-Chivas, are in town this week.  The crowd should be a little more subdued after the Beckham-fest or last week and I for one am glad.  We don't need half the stadium rooting for some guy on the other team.  Kickoff this week is at 7 again and the tailgate starts as 5.  As you can see above the special item this week is Tacos de Buche (look it up).

Injury Report:
OUT: MF Ross LaBauex (sports hernia); MF Pablo Mastroeni (headache symptoms); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear)
QUESTIONABLE: MF Jamie Smith (R ACL tear)
PROBABLE: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear); MF Martin Rivero (R quadriceps soreness)

INELIGIBLE: FW Edu (Awaiting visa and ITC)

Chivas is only missing two players so they're pretty much at full strength.  Casey is expected to come off the bench for 15-20 minutes of play, Rivero is unknown.  Henao is technically eligible but not expected to be part of the game day roster as he's just getting into town tonight.  My guess at the starting XI:

Cascio - Cummings - Mullan

Castrillon - Larentowicz - Rivero

Zapata - Wynne - Moor - Kimura

Pickens

Even with 3 games this coming week I think we'll see the full starting XI tomorrow.  We need to stop this losing streak and at home is the best place to do it.  If Rivero is still unable to go we'll probably see Hill again like we did last week.

Key To Look For: Possession.  Chivas has played six 1-0 games and one 2-1 game.  They've lost all 4 home games 1-0 and won all 3 road games 1-0 and 2-1.  Not a team that's going to score many goals.  If we can keep them running after the ball they won't be able to score.

Prediction: 2-0 win.  Goals by Cummings and Cascio.  Our possession game at home in altitude will give us the advantage and we'll dominate this game en route to a much needed win.

New Player Joins the Rapids

Colorado announced the signing today of Brazilian striker Luis Eduardo Schmidt, commonly known ad Edu.  He had trialed with the team last month and rejoined the team this week.  Edu is 33 and has previously played in Brazil and Spain's La Liga.  He's a big guy that would probably fill in well in Casey's target striker role.

In other roster news Harrison Henao is expected to join the team tomorrow or Saturday now that his paperwork is completed.  He may or may not be active for Saturday's game, depending on his travel fatigue, but he's expected to be available for next week's two games.  Also there have been multiple reports that Quincy Amarikwa is being "evaluated" and the team will make a decision on him as soon as he returns from Nigeria where he's dealing with family issues.

Today, with the help of the Rapids Media Office, I figured out the current status of the team's roster and international limits.  The team is limited to 30 players, 6 of which can be internationals.  Players on IR do not count towards those limits.  Also players who are still awaiting paperwork aren't counted either.

Right now the Rapids have 8 internationals "under contract".  Castrillon, Edu, Henao, Janniere, Rivero, Smith, Yamada, and Zapata.  They also have 32 players total "under contract".  There are some players that don't count though:

Edu - Awaiting paperwork
Henao - Awaiting paperwork
Mastroeni - On IR
Smith - On IR
Wallace - On season-ending IR

So without these 5 Colorado has 27 players and 5 internationals that count towards the roster limits.  That leaves 3 open roster spots, one of which could be an international.  Henao will take that international spot when he joins the team tomorrow or Saturday.  Then Edu will take one of the two remaining roster spots and we'll be short an international spot.  When Mastroeni comes off IR he'll take the remaining roster spot, which means when Smith comes off of IR we'll need another roster spot and an international spot.

So what this means is that if everyone is healthy (but Wallace) and eligible the team has one too many players and two too many internationals.  With the news about Amarikwa he could be leaving soon which would solve the extra player issue but not the international one.  I did hear a rumor that Smith is close to getting his green card, so that would reduce our international spot need to one.  My guess is that Janniere is the odd man out.  He and Smith are the only tow internationals that Pareja didn't bring in so he's the obvious cut.  The other possibility is trading Amarikwa for an international slot, but I'm not sure they can get that much for Qunicy.

Rapids Outscore Galaxy, Still Lose

Colorado was thoroughly outplayed in the first half, mounted a comeback in the second half, got a gift PK that would have given them a draw, and then blew the PK (with the help of a couple of a$$hole fans) and lost.

The first half was ugly soccer from the home side.  There were, once again, no shots on goal.  The closest the Rapids got was a cross from Cascio that the Galaxy goalkeeper parried to the top of the box and Hill volleyed just above the crossbar.  That didn't make up for the two clear chances Cascio had early that he botched to the point of not even getting a shot off.

Meanwhile on defense the Galaxy made us pay.  Beckham was given a free kick about 25 yards out in front.  Magee drifted into the near corner from out wide, unmarked (so unmarked that I can't even tell who should have been marking him) and headed the free kick back across goal.  Wynne got a head to it but redirected it into the net for an own goal.  If Wynne hadn't hit it though it would have been a contest between Zapata or an oncoming attacker so it may have ended up in the net anyway.

18 minutes later the Galaxy used a seven pass sequence to go box-to-box and find an unmarked Landon Donovan who beat Pickens between the legs to  double the lead.  The Galaxy did a nice job with crossing routes to confuse the defense and free up Donovan on our right side.  Kimura tried to scramble back to his side to cover but didn't make it and Donovan found the hole right past Pickens leg.

Colorado came out playing much better in the second half, though some of that can be attributed to the fact that the Galaxy was sitting on 2-0 lead and didn't need to press.  18 minutes in Cummings decided to do it himself.  Picking up a loose ball just outside the center circle he sprinted to the top of the Galaxy box and blasted in a goal of the week candidate to get the Rapids within a goal.  Colorado didn't quit either, they controlled possession most of the half and in the 90th minute they got a gift for all of their hard work.  Akpan chased down a long ball in the box and went airborne to try to make contact but missed.  The center official signaled for a PK though.  On replay its pretty clear Akpan went airborne on his own and wasn't really touched.  Andre wasn't diving, he was trying to make a play on the ball, but there was no foul.

Of course the Galaxy erupted, surrounding the ref and showing some obvious dissent (something Larentowicz got carded for earlier in the game).  Beckham alone delayed the PK by a minute or so by meandering around in the box until the ref finally stepped in to deal with it.  Right about then a couple of a$$holes in the BSD side of the terraces decided to start throwing beer cans at Beckham.  One of them was caught, ejected, and banned for the year.  After that was resolved Cummings finally stepped up to take the PK, only to get to cute and ending up with a weak shot that was easily saved.  A fair result from an unfair call though.

My key to look for was midfield-forward linking.  There was an improvement from the last couple of games, but the Rapids still struggled to consistently create chances.  They had 4 shots on goal total (which includes the goal and the penalty shot), all in the second half.  That's just not good enough to win.

Other Observations:

• The jacka$$ fans who delayed the corner kick aren't Rapids fans.  There's no excuse for that.  I'm glad they weren't BSG regulars and that one was caught and ejected.  The BSG is looking for any information they can find on identifying the other guy.
• Pickens really should have done better on the second goal.  Donovan is the best striker in league history, but the ball rolled under Pickens while he misread it and left his feet.
• Cascio had an awful game.  Besides whiffing on two golden chances his touch was poor and he wasn't on the same page as most of the team.  The ups and downs of being a rookie.
• I hate to say it, but Old Spice has still got it.
• Hill was a late addition to the starting XI after Rivero had hamstring issues in warm ups.  Other than his missed volley he didn't do anything impressive.
• Castrillon was too quite for the guy who's supposed to be the engine in our midfield.
• Cummings had a great goal, but other than that he still struggled as the forward striker.  I think he's going to look much better once Casey takes that position and Cummings can move back to the right side.
• I think we get at least a draw, if not win, if Casey were able to start this game.  He makes the PK and his ability to hold the ball would have greatly improved our first half play.
• Kimura had another off match.  He doesn't seem to be adjusting to the 4-3-3 well so far.
• Great tailgate from Class VI and the Pid Army!

Player Of The Game: Luis Zapata.  The Colombian played good defense and made some great runs up the left side to get into the attack.  In a game where most players were either invisible or had big highs and lows Zapata was above average with no real flaws.

The Circus That Is The Galaxy Is In Town

Bruce Campbell, a much better spokesperson for Old Spice than Beckham 

That's right, Old Spice, Keane, PrimaDonnavan, and the rest of the Galaxy will be our opponents tomorrow night.  This is the first of two trips to Colorado for LA this year and reportedly David Beckham will be making an appearance this trip.  Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.  Considering the only time he's shown up we beat them 4-0 though, maybe we want him to come.  In celebration of the probable sell-out crowd tomorrow the Class VI/Pid Army tailgate will start an hour early at 4pm.  I've heard rumors of bacon-wrapped hot dogs for this one.

Injury Report:
OUT: MF Pablo Mastroeni (headache symptoms); MF Jamie Smith (R ACL tear); DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear)
QUESTIONABLE: DF Eddie Ababio (concussion); FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear)
PROBABLE: Ross LaBauex (sports hernia)

INELIGIBLE: MF Harrison Henao (Awaiting visa and ITC)

Casey has been ruled out of his expected return due to being out most of the week with a strep throat virus, today was the only day he practiced.  LA has 6 players questionable or worse but as I mentioned Old Spice is expected to play.  My guess at the lineup for tomorrow:

Cascio - Cummings - Mullan

Castrillon - Larentowicz - Rivero

Zapata - Wynne - Moor - Kimura

Pickens

There's been some rumbles about adjusting the front line to try to get some more offense, but we're going to be adjusting it the coming weeks to insert Casey.  I don't think Pareja will want to bring more instability by adjusting it this week.only to adjust it again.

Key To Look For: Midfield-forward linking.  In the past couple of weeks the Rapids have had good movement from the defense to the midfield, but they haven't been able to get the ball to the forwards in dangerous situations.  If we're going to beat the Galaxy we're going to have to generate more than the 5 chances we've had in the last two games combined.

Prediction: 2-1 win.  Goals by Cummings and Larentowicz.  LA  has been struggling this season so far and playing at altitude won't help.  The Rapids need some home cooking and I think they'll get it.  They'll go up early on a Cummings goal only for LA to tie it.  Ginger Ninja will get the winner on a free kick in the second half.