Pre-Game: @ Seattle

by Brendan "Dr. Voice" Wyatt

It’s rival week and yet once again the Rapids play someone other than Salt Lake.  Portland plays Vancouver, Sporting KC gets Salt Lake?  Who in the scheduling department got the job they didn’t deserve?  Clearly it was made by someone who doesn’t follow the Western Conference.  Then again the Orlando v Montreal matchup can’t truly be seen as a rival match can it?  Can we really call this rival week when only Phill v DC, NYRB v NYFC, and Portland v Vancouver are the only rival games?  Ok, rant over.

So the Rapids got Seattle this week, in Seattle, a place where it took years to win at.  We can talk about last year’s win, a Doyle goal proved to be just enough to finally get a W at Century Link field.  This year the burgundy boys go into Seattle just before an international break.  Kevin Doyle departs for Ireland Sunday from Seattle.  Jermaine Jones and Shkelzen Gashi are expected to show up to their respective national teams as well.  This could be the last time we see this squad until July, the next three games will tell us about the depth and character of the newfangled Rapids.

 

When the Pids faced the Flounders a little less than a month ago they won 3-1.  Seattle coach Sigi Schmid would tell you that the Sounders played their worst game here at the Dick.  The chances are high that the green machine will be looking for some revenge at home tonight.

 

The Sounders will have Clint Dempsey back in the lineup and Jordan Morris leads the Flounders with four goals.  As for the Rapids, it doesn’t look like Marco Pappa will see the pitch this week.  Not when he hasn’t really seen the training field.  Also, this could just be speculation, but the last time Gashi tweeted pics of himself as a sharp dressed man, he didn’t play.  He did that again this week and with the International break around the corner… could he be given a break before national team duty?

Jermaine Jones won’t be sitting though, he’s our workhorse.  Something tells me that the firecracker that is Dillon "Lil Dill" Serna will get another start, away from home.  Why the homegrown kid can’t get a start at home is beyond me, but at least when he hits the pitch something good happens.

 

The defense will have their work cut out for them as they will have to deal with the speed of Jordan Morris while having to keep Dempsey irrelevant.  Look for a physical game, with choppy play in the midfield.  The pitch is turf, which will cause the ball to bounce more, roll faster, and players to stay on their feet.  It’s a different kind of game, one which the Rapids have yet to master.

 

A win is always the best scenario, but a tie here wouldn’t be so bad either.  The goal here is to not allow Seattle to gain points on Colorado in the standings.

 

8PM start, got to love those west coast games.  Hit up the Wonderland Brewery in Broomfield if you are on the north side, and Blue Spruce Brewing is the south venue.

Predicted starting XI: ZacMacMath; Mekeil Williams, Axel Sjoberg, Bobby Burling, Marc Burch; Sam Cronin, Michael Azira; Luis Solignac, Jermaine Jones, Dillon Serna; Kevin Doyle.