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COLORADO RAPIDS v D.C. UNITED
DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK, Commerce City, Colo.
1:30 p.m. MT (ABC)
April 7, 2007 (WEEK 1) / MLS Game #1
The brightest lights on the MLS stage for First Kick 2007 shine on new Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the new home of the Colorado Rapids, making its debut in front of an ABC Sports audience. The Rapids have also undergone a rebirth, changing the club logo and colors, now wearing burgundy and blue in their bid for a first trophy in club history. They play host to D.C. United, the winningest club in MLS history which last year won the Supporters' Shield with the best record in the league, only to fall at home in the Eastern Conference Championship.
REFEREE: Michael Kennedy. SAR (bench): Greg Barkey; JAR (opposite): Corey Rockwell; 4th: Jozef Batko
MLS Career: 83 games; FC/gm: 32.6; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 13; pens: 32
Games involving Rapids: P15 W5 L4 T6; FC/gm: 31.4; Y/gm: 4.5; R: 2; pens: 7
Games involving D.C. United: P14 W5 L6 T3; FC/gm: 36.4; Y/gm: 4.7; R: 5; pens: 6
INJURY REPORT: COLORADO RAPIDS - OUT: GK Justin Hughes (R fifth finger sprain); QUESTIONABLE: MF Yherland McDonald (L quad strain) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: MF Rod Dyachenko (MCL sprain); FW Brad North (hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (26 meetings): Rapids 8 wins (1 shootout), 33 goals ... United 12 wins (2 shootout), 45 goals ... Draws 6
IN DENVER: (13 meetings): Rapids 6 wins (0 shootout), 21 goals ... United 5 wins (1 shootout), 20 goals ... Draws 2
This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, the only one set for Commerce City. The return match will be played at RFK Stadium in Washington on June 28.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/6: COL 2, DC 1 (Kirovski 54; Hernandez 84 - Gomez 49)
8/19: DC 1, COL 1 (Gomez 56 - Beckerman 32)
A year ago, the Rapids won the season series, defeating D.C. United at home before grabbing a draw in the nation's capital. The Rapids were just one of three teams United failed to defeat on their way to winning the Supporters' Shield (also: Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake).
D.C. United hasn't won in Colorado since May 6, 2000, a span of seven games entering this meeting. The Rapids have won the last three home meetings with D.C. United, one each over the last three seasons.
By comparison, Colorado hasn't won on East Capitol Street since July 10, 1999, a span of eight matches coming into this season.
Coaches record: Fernando Clavijo vs. DC: P12 W6 L5 D1 ... Tom Soehn v COL: first game
COLORADO RAPIDS
Two years running, the Colorado Rapids have surprisingly been 90 minutes away from a second trip ever to the MLS Cup Final, just unable to make the final leap into the league title game. In his third season in charge, Rapids boss Fernando Clavijo has completely rebuilt the club's defense in an effort to reach the promised land.
The Rapids concluded their preseason campaign last Saturday with a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake in Las Vegas. Colorado played a man down for the final 32 minutes of the contest after Brandon Prideaux was sent off for a second bookable offense, surviving late in second-half stoppage time when Kenny Cutler hit the woodwork for RSL.
Here's Clavijo's team: Bouna Coundoul - Brandon Prideaux (sent off 58), Mike Petke, Ugo Ihemelu, Greg Vanney - Terry Cooke (Nico Colaluca 81), Kyle Beckerman, Jovan Kirovski (Pablo Mastroeni 73), Herculez Gomez - Roberto Brown (Dan Gargan 61), Nicolas Hernandez (Jacob Peterson 77). Substitutes Not Used: Zach Thornton, Chris Wingert, Yherland McDonald
Over the offseason, Clavijo completely rebuilt the back four. Of the four players expected to start in First Kick 2007, only Mike Petke was with the club a season ago. Gone are Spanish center back Aitor Karanka and fullbacks Eric Denton and Hunter Freeman. Brandon Prideaux was obtained from D.C. United, Ugo Ihemelu from the Los Angeles Galaxy and Greg Vanney from FC Dallas - where he played centrally, but is expected to figure at left back for the Rapids.
"We have some experience in the back I thought we needed. Last year defensively we struggled a little bit," Clavijo said. "We added some different quality of players in Greg Vanney and Brandon Prideaux, and we brought some speed in Ugo Ihemelu, so I think we upgraded ourselves tremendously in the back."
Said Petke: "We had very good personnel last year on the defense," Petke said. "We had the best goalie in the league. We had a player that played on Real Madrid who played next to me. So I don't think it was a knock on individuals, but as a whole, we didn't get it done at all."
In addition, goalkeeper Joe Cannon went to the Galaxy. While the Rapids signed Zach Thornton (last with the Chicago Fire), Clavijo said the starting job between the posts is still up for grabs, between he and Bouna Coundoul.
"It's a good race. I think they're probably going to know game time Saturday," Clavijo said. "You're going to see a combination of things. You may see some games that we use a specific goalkeeper because we need to play outside the box, where we need somebody who has a lot more experience and can manage a game better. It can depend on the opponent, and it may depend on our needs."
Another new acquisition - Herculez Gomez - is winning the job on the left side of midfield after scoring 16 goals in 52 games over the past two seasons as a forward with the Galaxy.
"Our midfield's always kind of had the passing on our team," said Kyle Beckerman. "The guys in the midfield were going to decide, if we're coming to play and the ball's going through us, the team as a whole is going to be playing good soccer and passing the ball well. We added Hercules, and I like the way he plays. He has a Mexican background, and they pass the ball a lot. The results have been pretty good for us all preseason."
Now playing on a field with the largest dimensions in the MLS, the Rapids have rebuilt themselves to succeed in their new home. The team focused both on fitness, bringing in a fitness coach to work more closely with the players, and on rebuilding the team around players who can maintain possession of the ball.
"When you want to run people to the ground, you have to be smart enough and be able to possess the ball," Clavijo said. "That's something we were not in the past. But right now, we have it all. We have a team that plays well behind the ball and is able to cover a lot of space. In the past we grabbed the ball and we gave it away. We didn't set up a purpose from the beginning, we gave away the ball too much, and we were not aggressive enough in getting it back. I think we have a good combination now of people who can play, possess, and who can definitely get it back."
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United comes into the season opener having fallen just short in their bid for a first trophy this season, falling to CD Guadalajara 3-2 on aggregate in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinals. United gained entry to the continental competition after winning the Supporters' Shield a season ago, only to fall to the New England Revolution at home in the Eastern Conference Championship.
On Tuesday, D.C. United saw their dreams of a return to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup final and a chance to make history dashed, when they fell 2-1 to CD Guadalajara in the second leg of their semifinal series, losing 3-2 on aggregate.
After a 1-1 draw at RFK Stadium 17 days earlier, United got off to the brightest of starts, Jaime Moreno flicking a pass from Luciano Moreno over his head into the goal in the 36th minute to put United ahead on the night and in the series.
But a couple of defensive errors allowed Chivas to pull ahead, first through Adolfo Bautista three minutes before the halftime break, then from Gonzalo Pineda seven minutes after the restart, to send Chivas into the final. United was bidding to become the first MLS club to win a competitive match on Mexican soil.
Here's Soehn's team on the night: Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Facundo Erpen - Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez, Joshua Gros (Stephen DeRoux 30 / Fred 66), Clyde Simms - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno (Jamil Walker 76).
"It's disappointing. You always want to go as far as you can in these tournaments," Soehn said. "I thought we matched up very well with them. We knew both teams would get their chances, and I thought up until the point we threw caution to the wind, we created more chances. Unfortunately, we didn't finish and the second goal was really unfortunate. Against a good team you can't afford those mistakes."
After finally getting Brazilian striker Fred signed to a contract, he came on as a substitute midway through the second half in Guadalajara. Fred is expected to slot into a wide midfield role when he is healthy - and could also be pressed into duty in place of Josh Gros, who suffered an apparent concussion which forced him from the field after barely a half-hour on Tuesday night.
"He's a versatile player," said Soehn. "He's got to slowly but surely figure out how we do things here and how he fits into that plan. It will all be up to how he adjusts to our system and what our needs are. ... Like most Brazilians, he's very technically sound. He's got a good work rate and his personality fits in real well with what we try to accomplish."
For the first time in a CONCACAF Champions' Cup match, Luciano Emilio was held off the scoresheet. He has scored three goals in the 7-2 aggregate victory against his former club, CD Olimpia of Honduras, then scored the late equalizer in the first-leg win against Chivas. But while Emilio did not score in Guadalajara, he still played a vital role in Jaime Moreno's goal that gave United a short-lived lead.
"Luciano did a great job of keeping the play alive," Soehn said. "He was looking to set himself up to shoot, and when they closed him down, he was able to push it on to Jaime, and Jaime had seen the 'keeper out and he did a good job. I think if would have tried to turn with it, they would have closed him down, but he was clever enough to get it off his feet fast."
Soehn said Gros will likely not be available for the season opener. "It's precautionary," Soehn told The Washington Post. "He had some problems with that in college [at Rutgers] and we don't want to take any chances."
On Wednesday, United obtained forward Marc Burch from Columbus for the club's third-round selection in the 2008 Supplemental Draft. The 6-foot-2 Burch made seven appearances (five starts) for the Crew last year after being acquired from Los Angeles. He made three appearances with the Galaxy in 2006 after being selected in the second round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Maryland, where he scored the winning goal in the 2005 NCAA College Cup after transferring from the University of Evansville.
