The Rocky Mountain rivalry between the Rapids and Real Salt Lake opens a new chapter Wednesday, when the two square off in a play-in game for the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The third meeting of the year with RSL gives Colorado an important opportunity to refine their home game. Hoping to establish one of the best home-field advantages in the MLS, the Rapids have essentially played even in five matches at their new Dick's Sporting Goods Park, winning on Opening Day and posting three ties and a loss since, while going 2-1 on the road with wins against RSL and the New York Red Bulls.
"We are finding ways to win on the road, now we have to get back on track and try to get the results at home," head coach Fernando Clavijo said after his fourth home match without a win Saturday. "You give points away at home and you win them on the road - I don't know which is better. We have to make sure that we feel this is our home."
Saturday's tie with the Wizards was a dramatic improvement over the previous week's home 1-1 draw with RSL, when the only goals scored were an own goal for each side. Clavijo was unhappy with the Rapids losing possession too easily against RSL, spending too much time chasing the ball.
Though the end result was the same against Kansas City, with the Rapids earning a point at home, the overall play was much improved, as Colorado began to show signs of developing an edge and an identity on their own field.
"We're still learning how to play on this field," Clavijo said. "We have to make sure that we use the size, and sometimes we're not using it as much, we're not moving the ball quick enough."
After beating RSL in Salt Lake and playing to a tie at home, the Open Cup qualifier should also give the Rapids a chance to show their ability to adapt and regain the upper hand against their rivals from the western slope of the Rockies. But if Clavijo had his way, the Rapids wouldn't even be playing on Wednesday.
For the first time since 2002, all MLS teams were not placed in the event, with only eight MLS teams participating in the tournament proper this year. The top six finishing teams from the 2006 MLS regular season - defending U.S. Open Cup champion Chicago Fire, along with Chivas USA, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution - were guaranteed spots in the third round.
Wednesday's game is the last "play-in" match for the remaining six teams. The Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Columbus Crew, then defeated the New York Red Bulls earlier this month to secure one of the remaining spots. RSL beat the Kansas City Wizards in extra time on April 18 to set up the match with the Rapids, the winner earning the final berth in the Open Cup pursuit.
"We should not even be playing this game on Wednesday," Clavijo said. "I'm extremely unhappy the way that the league did it."
Clavijo had been under the impression that the top eight teams from last season's standings would earn automatic qualification for the tournament, in which case Colorado, with last season's seventh-best record, would automatically enter the tournament in the third round, when the 32 lower division teams are pared down to eight, matching up against the eight MLS teams.
"Last year when we finished the season, it was pretty much done, the eight teams would make the playoffs," Clavijo explained. "We made the Open Cup round of 16. Somehow they decided to go in a different direction, so I'm very uncomfortable even talking about the Open Cup right now. We shouldn't even be playing this game."
Major League Soccer has dominated the tournament since the league was formed in 1996, with an MLS team's name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy every year but one. The one year an A-League team has bested MLS to earn the Cup was 1999, when the Rochester Raging Rhinos blanked the Rapids 2-0 in the final.
Clavijo will take his frustrations out on RSL on Wednesday, hoping for a repeat of their round of 16 clean sheet against their Rocky Mountain rivals in last year's tournament.
"We're going to do our best job to try and win it, to win it at home, and keep going," said Clavijo.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
