Mike Petke went into the season as the only man left on the back four from Colorado's 2006 season. He took the field Saturday as the only man left on the back four from Opening Day 2007, as the three other starters nursed injuries along the sidelines.
Brandon Prideaux has missed five games with an injured right knee, Ugo Ihemelu has missed three games and four starts with tendonitis in his left knee, and Greg Vanney came out of the match in New York last week and missed Saturday's draw with Kansas City with a sprained left ankle.
"Those are huge losses," Petke said Saturday. "However, one person's loss is another person's gain, and Dan Gargan and Chris Wingert came on, and they've been doing well. They've been working hard in practice. Dan Gargan's had three solid games now for us. Chris Wingert played well tonight. It's going to make the other guys' situation tougher when they make it back. That's everybody's job on the team, to be on the field and make the coach's decision extremely hard."
Joining Gargan, Wingert, and Petke has been Pablo Mastroeni, playing alongside Petke in the center to anchor a defense that has been in a constant state of flux as players have gone down early in the season.
"It's easy to play with Pablo," Petke said. "He's a solid player. It makes your job easier playing next to him. We have a pretty good understanding of each other. We played very well together the last couple games."
The early juggling could be a blessing for the Rapids, forcing them to get more of their roster involved early and helping to build depth and fluidity for the adjustments they'll need to make as the season progresses and players take leave to play for national teams.
Early on as Colorado has shifted its lineup, there's been a defensive slant to the games, with the midfield consciously supporting the back four. As players have gotten more comfortable, however, the aggressive edge has returned and the Rapids are building continuity in transition.
"You have to trust your players, you have to trust the rest of the roster, which we do," head coach Fernando Clavijo said Saturday. "Every player has an opportunity to step up into the lineup and do the job. It's a long season, we're going to lose players to national team call-ups, to injuries, and we have to respond in a better way."
Ihemelu's gradual return over the last two games has been welcome, playing the final 13 minutes in New York and extending his time on the field to 31 minutes Saturday, entering the game immediately after Kansas City's game-tying goal in the 58th minute. Clavijo had been uncertain how long Ihemelu could play, and opted not to risk an early exit if Ihemelu started the match.
"We preferred to get into the second half and give us an opportunity to close it down," Clavijo said of his use of Ihemelu to strengthen the defense in the final 30 minutes. "If the change had happened five minutes before, maybe that goal never would have happened. We'll never know. Hopefully he finished the game well and he's ready to start next week."
Ihemelu has a dynamic presence for the Rapids, adding an element of speed in the back that has the effect of narrowing the gaps opponents can try to exploit.
"We're looking forward to getting Ugo back, because Pablo is more important to us in the midfield, to settle things down," Petke said. "But it's good to know he can come back and play equally as good in the back."
Vanney can be another offensive-oriented defender, and as the team's active career goals leader, his absence affects the Rapids' attack as much as their ability to protect their own goal. Vanney and Ihemelu both bring a sense of fluidity to the field, and the Rapids give the impression of tilting toward goal, momentum always moving forward with them in the match.
The Rapids were further challenged by Saturday's loss of Herculez Gomez, who began the season as a wide midfielder but has since moved back to the forward role he played with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He suffered a groin injury on a shot in the 69th minute and was considered "day-to-day." Clavijo was hopeful Gomez wouldn't miss additional time with a pair of games coming up at home against Real Salt Lake in an Open Cup qualifier Wednesday and against L.A. on Saturday.
"Hopefully we don't accumulate injuries, because things are getting to the point we don't want them to," Clavijo said of Gomez's absence. "And now we're going to lose some guys to the national team, so we have to be very careful and we need to make sure right that guys who are coming into the lineup do the job."
The 3-2-3 Rapids have kept an even keel through the ongoing turnovers in their starting squad and have been in first or close enough to smell it through much of the season, but they could use an extra push from the back as they try to work to build momentum in the win column.
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
