Colorado Rapids vs. Seattle Sounders | MLS Match Preview

COLORADO RAPIDS vs SEATTLE SOUNDERS
DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK - Commerce City, Colo.
Oct. 5, 2014 (WEEK 30, MLS Game #291)
3 p.m. ET (UniMas / Altitude / JOEtv / ROOT-NW Alt)

A pair of clubs in real need of points for different reasons meet when the Colorado Rapids play host to Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday afternoon at Dickís Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids enter the game eight points behind fifth place and the final playoff position in the Western Conference, following their 1-1 home draw with San Jose that extended their winless run to 10 games. Sounders FC have secured a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs and are now chasing the Supportersí Shield, locked in a tie for the best overall record in the league following their 4-2 home win vs. Chivas USA.

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REFEREE: Edvin Jurisevic. AR1 (bench): Sean Hurd; AR2 (opposite): Mike Kampmeinert; 4th: Tyler Ploeger
Jurisevic's MLS Career: 80 games; FC/gm: 22.5; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 17; pens: 12

SUSPENDED: COL -- Carlos Alvarez (through Oct. 5)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: COL -- Shane O'Neill, Thomas Piermayr
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: COL -- Carlos Alvarez, Marc Burch, Nick LaBrocca ... SEA -- Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins, Gonzalo Pineda, Zach Scott, DeAndre Yedlin
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (14 meetings): Rapids 2 wins, 16 goals ... Sounders FC 10 wins, 25 goals ... Ties 2
AT COLORADO (6 meetings): Rapids 2 wins, 9 goals ... Sounders FC 3 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 1

2014 (MLS)
4/26: SEA 4, COL 1 (Neagle 46+; Dempsey 47, 52; Martins 75 -- Serna 62)
8/30: SEA 1, COL 0 (Dempsey 52)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, and Sounders FC have won the first two. Clint Dempsey scored the gameís lone goal for an Aug. 30 victory at CenturyLink Field; Dempsey scored twice and Lamar Neagle and Obafemi Martins also added goals as Sounders FC rolled to a 4-1 win April 26 in Seattle.
• When the Rapids took a 5-1 win last year at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, it snapped a three-game home losing skid vs. Sounders FC, dating back to 2010, and matched the most goals allowed in a game in Seattleís MLS history.
• Sounders FC have not lost to the Rapids in Seattle, in 10 meetings in all competitions, including a 2-0 win in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs a year ago.
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid vs. COL: P43 W24 L11 T8 ... Pablo Mastroeni vs. SEA: P2 W0 L2 T0

LAST MEETING (MLS)

• The game's lone goal came in the 52nd minute, and it was a special one. Clint Dempsey swooped in and smashed a Marco Pappa corner kick into the top-right corner from a full volley at the back post, past MLS debutant Joe Nasco in the Rapids goal.
• Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei was called upon to make two saves in keeping the clean sheet.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Chad Marshall, Leo Gonzalez - Brad Evans (Chad Barrett 75), Gonzalo Pineda, Osvaldo Alonso, Marco Pappa (Lamar Neagle 75) - Obafemi Martins (Andy Rose 90), Clint Dempsey.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-2): Joe Nasco - Christopher Klute, Thomas Piermayr, Marvell Wynne, Marc Burch - Marlon Hairston (Gabriel Torres 60), Dillon Powers, Nick LaBrocca, Dillon Serna (Charles Eloundou 79) - Edson Buddle, Deshorn Brown.

COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids had their winless streak extended to 10 matches, the San Jose Earthquakes coming back to snatch a late 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at Dickís Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids are in seventh place in the Western Conference with 32 points from 30 games.

LAST MATCH

• The opening goal finally came in the 84th minute. Set free on the right flank, Chris Klute found Gabriel Torres with a perfect cross to the far post, and he drove home a full-blooded first-time strike past Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch.
• But the Quakes once again showed their late-game heroics. A long ball was launched into the area in stoppage time, and Matias Perez Garcia came up with it before finding Atiba Harris with a brilliant feed, and he slotted home the equalizer.
• Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni made three changes to the team that fell 5-1 to Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Christopher Klute came into the back four for Thomas Piermayr, and Nick LaBrocca and Dillon Powers started in the midfield in place of Kamani Hill and Carlos Alvarez.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-1-1): Joe Nasco - Christopher Klute, Shane O'Neill, Marvell Wynne, Marc Burch - Dillon Serna, Jose Mari, Nick LaBrocca, Dillon Powers (Vicente Sanchez 64) - Gabriel Torres - Deshorn Brown.

TEAM NEWS

• The Rapids saw their winless streak reach 10 games -- matching the club record set in 2007 -- in the late draw vs. San Jose. The Rapids have had two draws and a loss since setting a club record with a seven-game losing run July 30-Sept. 5.
• "Probably one of the most difficult results that Iíve experienced. We're sitting right there -- and that's why itís 90-plus minutes, not 90 and the game. For all the great things we did, that ended up costing us the win," said Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni. "... If not for a good finish in injury time, we would have come away with a performance where the piano would be off our back and we'd be really excited about the training this next week. Now the reality is, it's a cruel game at times, and has been for us for a while."
• Gabriel Torres scored his third goal of the season, his first since Aug. 9, in netting the Rapids marker. Torres was starting his second consecutive match, his first league starts since July 30, and played the full 90 minutes for a second match in a row, his first full shift since May 7.
• "[It] was a very solid performance, I think there were a lot of great moments out there. We played well, got in and created a lot of great opportunities, and capitalized on a really nice goal. They have a lot of be proud of in that locker room," said Mastroeni. "Now it's about another week of training and preparing for the next game."
• After conceding five goals in the loss to Real Salt Lake the week before, Joe Nasco returned between the posts and got his first result in MLS. He started the 1-0 loss to Seattle on Aug. 30 for his league debut, then was sent off in the first minute the next week in a 6-0 defeat by the LA Galaxy.
• "Obviously he was a bit nervy at the beginning there,î Mastroeni said. "I think that was obviously a reaction to what happened the weekend before but by the end of the game he did a really good job organizing the guy in front of him and came up big on a few saves there."
• Said Nasco: "You have to learn from mistakes and that's kind of where everything has come from in what I've done and how to get here. It's just one thing at a time and if you dwell on things from the past then they come back and end up biting you a little bit. You take it for what it is and you learn from it."
• Christopher Klute made his first start in three matches and recorded his first assist of the season, putting in the cross that led to the Torres goal.
• Vicente Sanchez made his first appearance in three matches and his third in the last six games -- all off the substitutes' bench.
• "Vicente was out for four of five weeks, I donít think he's anywhere near fitness at 100 percent but I think he came in and really sparked some really nice plays and created some good stuff," Mastroeni said. "We'll bring him along slowly and see where heís at. The last thing I want is to have him out for six weeks and then throw him back in there and risk all that stuff again so weíll play it by ear."

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Seattle Sounders FC returned home and put an end to their two-game losing skid, coming back for a 4-2 win against Chivas USA on Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC are still tied for first place in the Western Conference and the MLS overall table with 57 points from 30 games.

LAST MATCH

• Chivas USA took a shock lead after just 12 minutes. Following a deflection off Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei, Erick Torres was all alone after the ball popped free directly in front of the Seattle goal and slotted home an easy conversion.
• But Sounders FC equalized almost immediately. Obafemi Martins launched a long-distance rocket from well outside the penalty area in the 14th minute, and it zipped past Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• Yet Chivas USA took the lead once again just four minutes after following an own goal from defender Jalil Anibaba, putting the ball past Frei as he tackled away from Felix Borja from close range.
• Seattle pulled the game back to level terms once again in the 37th minute. A pass from Martins bounced directly to Lamar Neagle despite being deflected by Chivas defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and Neagle finished all alone in front of goal.
• Sounders FC then took the lead for good in first-half stoppage time, as Clint Dempsey combined with Martins to finish past Kennedy on a nifty sequence of combination play from the strike pair in the penalty area.
• The clincher came just before the hour mark, as Martins collected the ball on the edge of the area and somehow managed to clip the ball through a crowd and past Kennedy for the Seattle fourth.
• Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid made three changes to the team that fell 3-1 to FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. Jalil Anibaba came into the back four for Zach Scott, and Lamar Neagle and Micheal Azira came into the team in place of Leo Gonzalez and Andy Rose.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Jalil Anibaba, Brad Evans - Lamar Neagle, Micheal Azira, Osvaldo Alonso, Marco Pappa (Andy Rose 69), Obafemi Martins (Dylan Remick 90) - Clint Dempsey (Sean Okoli 90).

TEAM NEWS

• Sounders FC put an end to their two-game losing streak, both coming away from CenturyLink Field. They are undefeated in their last four home games.
• "We have shown an ability to come back in a lot of those games. There's nobody more disappointed than the group after the games in New York and Dallas," said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. "But we are in first place and people are still chasing us. They have to get three points to even get with us, and we are going to continue to put that pressure on for the rest of the season."
• Sounders FC did concede multiple goals for a fifth consecutive match, having won three of those games.
• "[We are] disappointed in the goals that we gave up,î Lamar Neagle said. "We're giving up easy goals and we definitely need to lock it down. ... We know weíre going to be able to score goals because we have the talent on the field to do that, so we just have to pick it up mentally defensively."
• Said Schmid: "We have a lot of faith in our passing ability, but it's also what makes a fun team to watch. That's a reason why the fans come-they know they are going to be entertained by us. They used to say that from an entertainment value that 4-2 is better than 1-0. 4-2 is a lot harder on your heart than a 1-0, I would rather take the 1-0, but this has been an up year scoring as a whole in the league for MLS, and I think that's positive."
• Obafemi Martins scored a pair of goals -- his fourth two-goal game this season. Martins now has 15 goals this season, a single-season record for Sounders FC in their MLS history.
• "He has had a good season. I think it shows that last year, at the end of last year, he was just fatigued from not getting a break -- from going to the Russian season to the Spanish season to our season without a break," said Schmid. "Now that he had a proper preseason and had that break in between I think he's sustaining his effort and sustaining it at the end of the season. He is a very important piece to our team."
• Clint Dempsey scored his 13th goal of the season in the game, his third goal in the last six games and his fifth goal in MLS since returning from the FIFA World Cup and the U.S. national team.
• "Both Obafemi and Clint are those playmakers that pull rabbits out of their hats, you just don't know how. You need one of those guys on your team and luckily we have two of them, those two are so key for us and we're happy to have them," said DeAndre Yedlin.
• Said Schmid: "Certainly the talent level of these two [Dempsey and Martins] individually could carry a front line for you. Together they are a real handful.  Every team I know when they play us, that is something they have to worry about when those two are on the field together. So from the standpoint of having two lead strikers on a team-[that] is not a luxury you get all the time as a coach."
• Neagle scored his eighth goal of the season, his third in the last four matches. It tied his single-season career-high set a year ago.
• Brad Evans came to the back four from the start for the first time since Aug. 10, playing the full 90 minutes at left back.
• "Brad is a man for all seasons-he has done a lot of different things for us at a lot of different times. When Leo [Gonzalez] went down we wanted to go with Azira inside midfield, and we felt with Pappa and Neagle wide we were OK there, and we wanted to go with Brad," Schmid said.
• Micheal Azira made his first league start since July 5, playing the full 90 minutes in a central midfield role.
• "I thought Micheal played very well. He was sort of a forgotten man. We talked and gave him the opportunity and I thought he did very well. He did a good job of closing things down. ... I don't know if you know how difficult it is when you haven't played like he has and deliver the kind of performance he has -- it speaks not only to his play, but is character. He is a good character guy," Schmid said.