SEATTLE – For Colorado Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni, style points were not high on the priority list coming into his team’s Saturday night road game against the Seattle Sounders.
The Rapids would not require any, as Colorado’s league-best defense staved off an onslaught of pressure and 17 shots from the Seattle attack to bag a big 1-0 road victory. It was a performance that represented precisely the type of grind-it-out-and-survive result that Mastroeni's side has shown an aptitude for early in the season.
“Tonight the guys played probably one of the most courageous games of the year to this point,” said Mastroeni. “Seattle’s a great team, well-coached, a difficult place to play, turf, you could make a million excuses. They were sharp tonight.
“But you don’t make excuses. You find ways to win. I couldn’t be more proud of that group."
It was Axel Sjoberg’s turn to play the hero role for Colorado on Saturday, as the towering defender headed home the game’s lone goal in the 43rd minute. The Sounders had their chances to find an equalizer afterwards, but couldn’t quite manage to convert any of them, with Rapids defender Marc Burch notably clearing a Clint Dempsey header off the goal line in the 72nd minute.
“Winning is winning,” Mastroeni said. “There’s not a bad win, right? That’s like saying, ‘I knocked the guy out, but it was a bad knockout.’ This is not a beauty contest. It’s about winning.”
Pretty or not, the win was a continuation of the positive vibes surrounding Mastroeni and the Rapids to start 2016. Saturday’s victory means the Rapids are now a cool 8-2-3 (27pts) and have emerged as both the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield leaders through 13 games.
“What I’m starting to feel with this group is that there’s no task that’s too big. There’s no task that’s too daunting. They fear nobody,” Mastroeni said. “We’re still the underdogs and we’ll continue to fight our way through the season with the same type of mentality.”
Mastroeni also called his current group “one of the tightest I’ve ever been a part of.”
“It’s a real selfless group,” he said. “To be a part of that group 492651568" tabindex="0">Monday through 492651569" tabindex="0">Friday in that clubhouse, the camaraderie, the older guys taking the young guys under their wings and talking about what it takes and leading by example – we have a great group of leaders in that locker room.”
