Fin.

Well that sucked. The Rapids of the last 3 games on the road showed up in Seattle last night, with the expected result. They were assisted by a number of mind-numbing mistakes from Oscar Pareja in his lineup and sub choices en route to a 2-0 loss. I'm going to dispense with the normal recap, because there's not much to say, for just some general comments about the game.

My key to the game was was score early, score often. We didn't score at all so that was a failure.

Random Thoughts:

• In what universe is it a good idea to make a change to your established back line going into the playoffs, especially a one-and-done game on the road?  Mera was completely ineffective and directly responsible for both goals (and could have given up a 3rd on a PK).
• Meanwhile O'Neill, now on the right, had no positive impact on the game and took away whatever attack we had down the right this season.
• Powers and Sanchez weren't available so Rivero and Harris started.  Rivero made sense (LaBrocca has added nothing to the attack the last few starts) but he had a minimal impact.  There is no way the Rapids should be buying him this off-season at any level that would make him a DP.  If we can get him on loan cheap again then its worth it,, but I shudder to consider tying up a large percentage of our salary cap in him given how unproven he appears to be.
• Harris was, as always, useless.  Cascio would have been a better start or, dare I say it, Buddle.
• Thomas' play has really dropped off in the second half of the season.  Last night he was lucky not to draw a red.
• The officiating was horrible, but didn't impact the end result.  Yedlin getting away with an elbow to Brown's face was shocking but not surprising given Petrescu's normal level for violent conduct, which involves practically knifing a guy to draw a yellow card.  To turn around and yellow Harris right after that for a tackle that didn't even make contact was ridiculous though.
• Having spent too much time around refs I can see what Petrescu was thinking not calling the PK on the Rapids, but I wouldn't have objected had it been called.
• The Dempsey-Irwin collision that drew a yellow on Irwin was probably a fair result, given that Irwin was the last man but with the ball rolling out towards the corner.  The way Petrescu let the Thomas-Yedlin collision go uncalled in the first half though a red would have been incredibly unfair to the Rapids (not to mention against the USSF's ATR on the 4 D's).
•  I don't think I've seen a keeper make a mental blunder quite like the one Gspurning made to see red.  You could kind of justify only a yellow there for the handling, but to follow it up with a wild swing at Buddle (even if he did go down easy) made red an easy call.
• Eddie Johnson gesticulating at the official afterwards was real classy.  He's surprised me with his quality of play since he got back to MLS, but his attitude is such that I'm not that disappointed that he was whisked out from under the Rapids at the last minute.
• Pareja's subs: Sanchez for Rivero - OK, Rivero wasn't that effective but there were better options (Harris) to pull.  Buddle for Brown - Yeah, because down a goal in a must win match is the perfect time to pull the season's leading scorer.  Wynne for Sturgis.  W.T.F.  Now you put Wynne in, instead of from the beginning when he could have helped on D?
• Of course the bench makeup was equally puzzling.  The non-GK unused subs were Wallace, LaBrocca, and Serna.  No Castrillon, Hill, Cascio, or Mwanga.  So after Buddle and Sanchez there was essentially no offensive help on the bench.  Stupid.
• Not surprisingly Seattle had as many goals as we had shots on target (2).  That makes 5 shots on target in our last 4 road games combined while being outscored 7-0.  That's the fundamental reason our season is over.
• A nice insult to injury move by the Rapids social media guys, who changed their Facebook cover photo to a image with "Renew Your 2014 Season tickets" within minutes of the final whistle.  How about letting the body cool first before hitting us up for money?
• Rooting for a Portland-New England MLS Cup now.  Two fan bases that have been awesome working with the Rapids fan base.  I wouldn't get too upset with another LA win though, only because Pablo would get a second ring.  Same thing for NY and Koz.
• Over the weekend and into next week I'll be posting my typical player of the year, season review, and offseason lineup decision columns. 

Player of the Match: Vicente Sanchez.  He subbed in played the last 30 minutes with a fractured bone in his shoulder and still had the biggest effect on our offense all night.

Tomorrow Is Win Or Go Home

Curse of the coin-flip?

After a bad weekend the Rapids are forced to play the wild-card game on the road in their worst location, Seattle.  Just to remind everyone, in eight competitive games in Seattle all-time we've lost seven and drawn once (earlier this year) with a -13 goal differential.  The good news is since that coin flip above the Sounders have lost 4 and drawn 1 while being outscored 13-3.  And only a truly awful goal miss from the refs last Sunday night got them that one draw.  So one team that has never played well in the city and another who's been spiraling down in recent games.  Should be fun!  kickoff is 8:30pm Denver time tomorrow and the game will be on Altitude 2 in the Denver area and NBC Sports nationwide.  The watch aprties are at the Armory and British Bulldog in Denver.

Injury Report:

OUT: DF Davy Armstrong (R ACL surgery); DF Kory Kindle (sports hernia)
QUESTIONABLE: MF Dillon Powers (concussion); MF Vicente Sanchez (R shoulder sprain); MF Jamie Smith (R knee)

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - Not eligible until 2014

The injury reports haven't been updated since the weekend, but reports are that Sanchez will be available but Powers is almost certainly out.  On Sunday the Sounders had 3 players out and 3 questionable, I would expect similar numbers tomorrow night.  My guess on our XI:

This assumes Sanchez can start and Powers isn't available.  I'm going out on a bit of a limb when I predict Rivero in the midfield, but I think we've seen that LaBrocca isn't helping the attack.  Everything else is pretty much as you would expect.

Key To Look For: Score early, score multiple times.  The Rapids won't win 1-0 so they'll need more than one goal.  Getting one early to put Seattle on its heels and bring up that doubt that's plagued them the last 5 games started by losing 5-1 to us is the best way to get there.

Prediction: 2-1 win in overtime, goals by Brown and Torres.  This is going to be an tight, ugly game.  Short rest, artificial turf, and two teams that aren't playing great.  In the end the confidence the Rapids have from their earlier game against Seattle will be just enough to get them over the hump.

Rapids Throw Hogged Rock In Vancouver

In curling a hogged rock is a rock that never enters play and is removed from the game for not going far enough.  That sounds a lot like Colorado last night, who never seemed to enter play and were removed from the field on a Camilo hat-trick, losing 3-0.

I could break down the game like I usually do, but Drew Moor covered it for me.  "We almost looked like a team that was just satisfied to be in the playoffs, and that's unacceptable at this point.".  There's really not much more to say about this game, nobody in a Rapids uniform seemed to give a damn.

My key to the game was balancing the desire to get the win without overdoing it if we had to play mid-week.  Well all our starters save the injured Powers and Sanchez played and we didn't get anything close to a win.  Not good.

Random Thoughts:

• Unfortunately we did get the hoped for result in the LA-Seattle game, a draw, which means this loss threw away a 3 seed.  Instead we're playing in Seattle on Wednesday night in a one game playoff.  Kickoff is 8:30 MDT on Altitude 2 and NBC Sports Network.
• If we somehow beat Seattle in Seattle we'll play Portland in the conference semi-final round in a home-and-home series.  The first game would be at the Dick Saturday night at 8pm.
• In our last 3 road games we've been outscored 5-0 and had a total of 4 shots on goal combined (3 last night).  Not good odds for having to go on the road in our first playoff game.
• The Rapids took a bus from Vancouver to Seattle this afternoon rather than fly home and then back to Seattle.
• Dillon Serna got his first ever minutes as a professional, subbing into the game for Deshorn Brown in the 77th minute.
• Brown finishes as the team Golden Boot with 10 goals, most by a rookie since Ralph's MLS record 11 goals in 2003.  He had twice as many as any other Rapid.
• Chris Klute finishes with the most assists at 7
• The Rapids finish the regular season with new records in points, wins, and home wins, while tied for their second best season in points/game at 1.5 (2010 was the best at 1.53).

Player of the Match: Clint Irwin.  He at least tried to keep us in the game.

Rapids Go For Clean Sweep Over Canada

Sweeep! SWEEEEEP!

Here we are, the end of the regular season.  After going 4 for 4 against Canada so far this season Colorado can guarantee a home playoff game with a win in Vancouver on Sunday night.  Depending on Portland's game on Saturday and the LA-Seattle game kicking off an hour after we do on Sunday the Rapids could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th but only a win will get them above 4th while a draw will leave them in either 4th or 5th.  Game time on Sunday is 6pm and the game is on Altitude 2.  Centennial 38 will be having one large party at the Celtic Tavern in LoDo.

Injury Report:

OUT: DF Davy Armstrong (R ACL surgery); DF Kory Kindle (sports hernia)
QUESTIONABLE: MF Dillon Powers (concussion); MF Vicente Sanchez (R shoulder sprain); MF Jamie Smith (R knee)

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED AFTER ONE YELLOW; DF Shane O'Neill (Though any suspension would be served in the first game of the 2014 season, not the 2013 playoffs)

Ineligible:

FW Charles Eloundou - Not eligible until 2014

Vancouver has Miller injured and Harvey suspended, otherwise they're at full strength but have nothing to play for.  Both Powers and Sanchez traveled to Vancouver, though Powers has not yet completed the league concussion protocols.  This is because the team has decided that if results end up with Seattle in 4th and Colorado in 5th, necessitating a mid-week playoff game in Seattle, the team will stay in the Northwest after the game on Sunday and not fly home.  If the Rapids are the 3rd seed (and not playing mid-week) or are hosting the mid-week game or are playing in LA they'll come home as usual.  Everyone else is available, but the starting lineup will probably be dependant somewhat on what happens in the Portland-Chivas USA game Saturday.  My guess at our XI:

This assumes Portland didn't lose to Chivas USA on Saturday night.  In that scenario the only way the Rapids avoid a mid-week game is to win and have LA-Seattle end in a draw, which I find highly unlikely.  I think Torres, Sanchez, and Powers will be held out to preserve them for the probable mid-week playoff game.  You might see Mera go in place of Moor as well.

Key To Look For: Balance.  We want the win in order to have the playoff game at home, but we don't want to wear ourselves down so much that we're too tired to take advantage of the home field.  Winning without killing ourselves should be our goal.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Brown.  The draw doesn't guarantee a home playoff game, but Seattle is so screwed up at the moment that they'll finish their game with a loss an hour after we finish, bringing them back to Colorado for the playoff game.  Brown will also tie the rookie record for goals.

Welcome to Colorado Charles Eloundou!

Surprising news from Commerce City, the long-lost Charles Eloundou arrived in Denver this evening.  For those of you who have forgotten, the Rapids won the rights to the Cameroonian forward in a lottery back in January, only to have his rights get tied up by the Cameroonian FA and his club in Cameroon.  Eloundou slipped off the radar after talks to get him to Colorado died down during the summer transfer window.  Out of nowhere the Rapids announced his arrival a few minutes ago.  No word as to what changed to get him here.

The roster freeze date has passed so he won't be eligible to play for the first team until the 2014 season starts.  He has been playing with Coton Sport, his old club, this fall and he's been called up to the Cameroonian National Team in the last year.  He'll start fitness work and acclimation to Denver tomorrow at the Dick.