The Colorado Rapids made a preliminary move Monday in hopes of strengthening their club for a playoff push, dealing defender Ugo Ihemelu to Dallas FC in exchange for fullback Drew Moor.
Ihemelu, 26, and Moor, 25, have a similar profile on the pitch, both coming to the MLS in 2005, but the deal tilts Colorado's way with the addition of allocation money and a natural second round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Both the pick and the cash are tradeable assets as the Rapids are prepared to continue adding to their team in the coming weeks.
"In Drew Moor we're getting an experienced defender in a slightly different mold to Ugo," Rapids head coach Gary Smith said Monday. "In Ugo you've got a pristine athlete with lots of pace, and a terrific kid at that as well. But I think with Drew you've got maybe a little bit more of a cultured defender. A little bit more capable on the ball. And hopefully as versatile at right back and at center back. Throw into the equation the fact that we're getting a considerable amount of allocation money and a pick, and what it gives us are some other assets as well that we can use within the market before the window closes on [Sept.] 15th to possibly strengthen a group that has suffered quite badly during the game on the weekend."
In Sunday's win against Houston, the Rapids had first-half injuries Sunday to defender Cory Gibbs (strained quadriceps) and midfielder Jamie Smith (knee injury), and Smith confirmed their improbable status for Saturday's match with Toronto, noting "we can safely say that the pair of them will be unavailable for the weekend." Both took MRIs on Monday, and when the results of those tests are evaluated, Smith will know whether he needs to call on the depth of his squad to pull through for a week or two or whether he needs to go shopping for reinforcements to keep the side strong through the final eight matches of the regular season. Midfielder Colin Clark suffered a season-ending ACL injury two weeks ago during training.
"You can also throw into that that we're going to lose [midfielder] Pablo [Mastroeni] for a period of time for suspension," Smith said. "So from a period of time where we were looking at a group that had done extremely well and we didn't have too many problems on the injury front, we're now looking at a group that are really digging deep and we may well need to add somebody else."
Though the Rapids served up their fifth clean sheet of the season in facing the offensive-minded Dynamo Sunday, Smith still felt the sting of losing to Chicago a week ago after taking a 2-0 lead into the final 20 minutes of the match. Ihemelu was a second-half substitution in the game, coming off a week's suspension, and the trade reflects the extent to which he is taking the fall for Colorado's collapse.
"After the Chicago game we all looked at what happened and we were a bit disappointed with not just his display but with a couple of others as well," Smith said. "The performance there for me was very, very disappointing. That's not to say that the move that was made with Ugo was solely based on that, but it did play a part in it, and I do also think that given the deal was such a good one for us, we can now flex our muscles a little bit and get somebody else in."
Ihemelu started his career in L.A., then was traded to Colorado after the 2006 season along with Herculez Gomez for Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon. He has played in 63 games for the Rapids, scoring one goal and adding two assists while helping to anchor a back four that has been one of the stronger rearguards in the leagues.
Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman, Ihemelu's college coach at SMU, had long been interested in acquiring the seasoned defender.
"Ugo's somebody that Dallas has been keen on for some time," Smith said. "They've expressed their feelings on the player on a number of occasions. I have to be honest, there was a long period of time that I had no intention of sending Ugo to a Western rival. But circumstances for us have changed over the last two or three weeks. He is and was an asset for us, and we've been able to replace him with what I feel is a very talented and potentially gifted defender in Drew Moor. We have to strengthen and we have to keep moving forward, and if we don't we're probably going to suffer.
"We all liked Ugo a [heck] of a lot," Smith added. "He's an absolutely terrific professional, but it's business. I think in Drew we bring someone in who's going to give us a bit more stability. Coupled with the tradeable assets that we've got, I think it's a really good deal for us."
Moor was a college teammate of Rapids midfielder Jacob Peterson, winning two NCAA championships with Indiana. The five-year MLS veteran played his entire career in Dallas, appearing in 123 games and scoring eight goals, including a career-high three this season, and has two assists. He has earned five caps for the U.S. national team. Moor should be ready to start immediately for the Rapids Saturday at home against Toronto FC.
"Drew Moor is experienced enough in this league to come in and pick up what we're after pretty quickly," Smith said. "He's more than capable of achieving what we're asking. He's athletically, physically in a good position to achieve that. He'll be here middle part of the week, and hopefully he into his new surroundings quickly. I would think he'll be needed straight away."
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
