For the second week running the Colorado Rapids are preparing to step onto a soccer field in Texas with the hope of eliminating a higher-seeded team to advance in the MLS Cup Playoffs. This time the foes are Houston Dynamo, and this time the stakes are even greater. The winner of Sunday's Western Conference Championship at Robertson Stadium (7 p.m. ET; FSC, HDNet, MLSLIVE.tv) will advance to MLS Cup one week later just a few hours drive north in Frisco, Texas.
Two years in a row now the Rapids have gotten the result they needed on the road in that very stadium in Frisco, Pizza Hut Park, knocking FC Dallas out in penalty shootouts in the Western Conference Semifinal Series. With a victory Sunday, Colorado, the fourth seed from the West, will head back to Frisco yet again with a shot at earning the club's first-ever MLS Cup championship. But first they must knock off a talented Dynamo side that is also coming off a dramatic semifinal victory, knocking off Chivas USA with a late goal in the second leg at home.
"It's a very difficult game. We're playing a very good team - very physical," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said of Houston. "They're coming off a great win vs. Chivas. Definitely we're going to have a handful."
That Houston win over Chivas was secured when U.S. national team striker Brian Ching headed home the series winner in second-half stoppage time. The Hawaii native scored 11 goals during the regular season for Dynamo, five of which came against the Rapids.
Ching scored four goals on the first day of the season to lead Houston to a crushing 5-2 win against Colorado. The Rapids know that in order to be successful, they will have to stop the tall, imposing and clinical front-runner. The plan is not only to be sure that Ching is always closely covered, but also to try to minimize the chances he gets by cutting off his service.
"I think Brian Ching is an incredible goal scorer - one of those ones that inside the box he makes you pay," Clavijo said. "If he doesn't receive the ball I think things will be easier for us, so we have to minimize the space he gets and not allow him to get into a position where he can be dangerous."
Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon agrees with his coach's assessment, though he realizes that regardless of how well Colorado sticks to this plan, Houston - and Ching - will likely have their chances.
"It would be nice to limit all service to Brian Ching but you can't do that," Cannon said. "They're going to get fouls near the box, they're going to get free kicks, they're going to get corner kicks, so in that sense the service is going to be there regardless.
"I think we've had difficulty all year long matching physical teams and physical players such as Brian Ching. For us, I think it's just kind of time to man up. That goes for everyone: for me, from the players marking (Ching) to the guys responsible for not letting the service in. If we deserve to be in MLS Cup, we need to be able to take care of a guy like Brian Ching. We need to prove that we can handle his physical ability and I think we can."
Offensively, the Rapids will be boosted by the return of two of their most dangerous attacking options Sunday as forward Thiago Martins returns from suspension and winger Terry Cooke returns from injury. Martins led the Rapids with two goals and an assist against Houston during the regular season, while Cooke led all MLS players with 12 assists.
"I think it's great to have (Martins) back and Terry Cooke, who was also not there last game," Clavijo said. "It gives us a striker who is physically imposing and a wide player that is probably the best in the league at crossing."
Martins' size, aggressiveness and physical nature are attributes that the Rapids feel will help them to find success.
"We have to play offensively like we're a goal down and play defensively like we're a goal up," Cannon said. "Everybody has to be committed to doing everything they can on both sides of the ball. We have to try to win our one-on-one battles more than we lose them and if that can happen then we've got a good shot at winning."
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
