COMMERCE CITY — After practice the day before the Rapids’ season opener last weekend, rookie forward Tony Cascio played with his new remote-control model airplane inside a vacant Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, indulging in a hobby he has enjoyed since high school.
“I’ve upgraded to a little better plane, and hopefully it will be a ritual, to fly before a game,” Cascio said. “It’s a little more expensive, just a little nicer, a little more control. It has like an anticrash system on it. I moved up a little bit, still living inside my budget.”
About 24 hours later, Cascio’s professional career took flight when coach Oscar Pareja selected him for the starting lineup in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Columbus. Cascio, a forward whom the Rapids drafted out of the University of Connecticut with the 14th pick, became the first rookie draft pick to start for the Rapids on opening day since Hunter Freeman in 2005.
“I’ve been training with the first team for about two weeks, so I kind of figured I was going to start,” said Cascio, who grew up in Arizona. “And when I saw it on the board right before the game, it kind of hit me. It felt pretty good, coming in as a rookie.”
Cascio impressed Pareja by scoring a couple of nice goals in preseason games, and Pareja was glad he could give Cascio a chance.
“He’s a young guy, but young players will never be good ones if they don’t have the opportunity,” Pareja said. “If you spend all your time waiting for the right opportunity for the young ones, you might not have one.
“With Tony, I saw a kid with personality. He played very well in the games prior to the opener.”
Cascio is good with both feet, a rare and prized commodity.
“In Tony, we have talent, we have energy,” Pareja said. “Tony has an extraordinary shot, with his right or his left. It brings an important tool into our attacking force.”
Pareja played Cascio at left forward, which Cascio said is his best position.
“I can go at people one-on-one, pretty lethal with both feet,” Cascio said. “So if I get it to the left or beat a guy to the right, I still have both feet to shoot the ball.”
Cascio knows he might not be long for the starting lineup when Conor Casey is fully recovered from a torn Achilles tendon (suffered in July) and sports hernia surgery (February).
Quincy Amarikwa, who came off the bench Saturday to net a long-range bomb that was nominated for MLS goal of the week, is another option up front. So is Martin Rivero, a new acquisition from Argentina, but Pareja says Rapids fans will see more of Cascio.
“As soon as everyone’s healthy, I think I’m going to be fighting for a spot, it’s not going to be starting,” Cascio said. “I got my chance, but people who have experience are going to come in, and I understand that. I’ve just got to keep playing and hopefully be one of the regulars.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
MLS: COLORADO AT PHILADELPHIA 2 p.m. today, NBCSP
Spotlight on Jaime Castrillon: The newcomer from Colombia played effectively in Colorado’s season-opening 2-0 victory last Saturday over Columbus, roving between midfield and the forwards. He and Omar Cummings had some nice exchanges in front of the goal and looked like they could develop a good understanding in the attack. “I was very excited to start in this league, after a long preseason,” Castrillon said. “I’m happy with the result and happy with my performance. We were a little tense to start well, and every day it’s going to get better.”
NOTEBOOK
Colorado: Rapids coach Oscar Pareja played 14 MLS games against Philadelphia coach Peter Nowak. … Goalkeeper Matt Pickens registered his 23rd shutout for the Rapids last weekend and needs two more to tie Joe Cannon’s team record. … Pablo Mastroeni took a blow to the head and was removed from the game for precautionary reasons, but he has been cleared to play.
Philadelphia: Philadephia made big changes in the offseason, signing 14 new players and shedding 13. Five who started in last week’s 3-1 loss at Portland were not with the team last year, and only four who started last week were in the starting lineup a year ago. … Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the second half last week but gave up three goals in 22 minutes on a rainy night. Last year’s goalkeeper, Faryd Mondragon, returned to Colombia, and he was replaced by 20-year-old Zac MacMath.
Footnotes: Philadelphia signed Freddy Adu in the offseason, and he started last week, playing 74 minutes, but he is away now on national team duty.
