Oh, how things change after a long vacation.
The lawn looks scruffy, local construction seems to have accelerated and the bills have been breeding in the mailbox.
The Rapids returned Sunday from their three-game, 10-day road trip to find that nothing and absolutely everything has changed.
Colorado went 0-2-1 on its cross country tour, further entrenching itself as the worst road team (1-7-2) in Major League Soccer.
The Rapids (9-9-5) slipped to fourth in the Western Conference and are out of the U.S. Open Cup. Their breathing room has been exhausted and they clutch the final playoff spot by a mere three points since the resurgence of early-season strugglers Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
A long homestand would be the perfect tonic, but after Wednesday’s match at Invesco Field at Mile High against FC Dallas (12-8-3), the Rapids embark on their busiest month of the season. Colorado plays six games in September, five away from home.
“Am I concerned? Yes,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. “But I trust my players. I trust what we’re doing, and I have no doubt we’re going to correct the little things we aren’t doing.”
Scoring goals remains at the top of that list, which correlates to playing with a lead and putting teams away.
Against FC Dallas, the Rapids have a struggling soul mate. The Hoops have lost their past four games, having been outscored 7-0, and their lead over the Rapids is only seven points.
Said goalie Joe Cannon: “The playoffs for the bottom three teams in the Western Conference are now.”
Clavijo and the Rapids have derided FC Dallas in the past for playing defensively in Denver. Considering the sudden parity in MLS, Clavijo expects nothing different.
“I know they are going to go for a point, there’s no question,” he said. “The question is: Are we going to allow them to do it?”
Midfielder Terry Cooke (knee) is doubtful and Clavijo doesn’t expect him to play Wednesday, along with Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle Beckerman (yellow card accumulation), and Hunter Freeman (red card).
Footnotes
The Rapids will roll out the sod today on their new Commerce City stadium, which is on schedule to open in April 2007…. MLS investor/operator and Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. on Monday. Anschutz, who has stake in four MLS teams, helped found the league in 1996 and was the driving force behind the construction of the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Joining Anschutz in this year’s class is Los Angeles president and general manager Alexi Lalas, women’s national team legend Carla Overbeck and men’s veteran Al Trost. … New York Red Bulls forward Edson Buddle was named MLS player of the week for his second-half hat trick in Saturday’s 6-0 thrashing of Salt Lake. … Chivas USA placed star midfielder Ramon Ramirez (knee) on the season-ending injury list Monday.
