The annual U.S. Open Cup competition has been a lot like President’s Day for the Rapids. There is always lots of talk about the importance of the 92-year-old event, but in the end, it seems more like just another day off for the team’s top stars.
Colorado enters the fourth round of the single-elimination tournament Wednesday at Real Salt Lake, trying to halt a trend of disappointing exits.
The Rapids have failed to win a match in four of the past six years in the competition, which is open to all amateur and professional teams in the U.S.
Even Colorado’s best run in the tournament has a dubious distinction. The Rapids advanced to the 1999 final but lost to the Rochester Raging Rhinos and remain the only team to lose in a final to a non-Major League Soccer franchise.
Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo, who lost in the 2001 final while coaching the New England Revolution, said the team is taking the event seriously but will not use players who are not fully recovered from injury.
“The second half of the (MLS) season for us is going to be very hard,” Clavijo said. “We have to be very smart with the changes and who we play.”
Clavijo all but ruled out using Pablo Mastroeni, Thiago Martins, Dedi Ben-Dayan and Chris Wingert and hinted that goalie Joe Cannon will be rested ahead of Saturday’s MLS All-Star Game against English Premier League champion Chelsea.
Although mum about a lineup, Clavijo said Wednesday’s game is a chance for reserve players to make a claim for playing time.
“Those players need to step up because they may not have another opportunity,” he said.
Rookie forward Jacob Peterson, who Clavijo said will travel with the team to Utah, said the obscure competition means a lot.
“I want to win everything,” Peterson said. “Maybe some of the older guys don’t put that much importance on it, but for me, it’s another chance to get out there and win.”
The Brooklyn Field Club won the first U.S. Open Cup in 1914.
The waiting game
The Rapids are expected to add at least one player before the transfer window closes Aug. 15. But the team still is in limbo with the status of defender Matt Crawford.
Crawford has been resigned to the training table for much of the past two seasons with complications regarding a hip injury.
The Rapids have one roster spot available and could have another if Crawford is ruled out for the remainder of the season.
“I’m looking for this week to finalize everything,” Clavijo said. “I think we have given the player the whole respect he deserves, but the organization needs to look ahead and filling up a roster spot for the rest of the year.”
Clavijo has expressed an interest in adding a defender and a goal scorer.
Footnotes
Forward Fabrice Noel played more than an hour in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to FC Dallas, his first appearance for the Rapids since June 24. Noel played more as an attacking midfielder, a role Clavijo expects the second-year player to see more of this season. … New Jersey native and U.S. national team member John Harkes was named assistant coach of the New York Red Bulls on Monday. Harkes helped lead D.C. United to consecutive MLS Cup championships while playing for newly appointed Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena.
