Dillon Powers (8) of Colorado Rapids was the youngest player in Rapids history to serve as captain, Aug. 20, 2014. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/The Denver Post)
On a night when veteran , it was second-year man Dillon Powers who wore the captain’s armband for the Rapids, becoming the youngest player in club history to do so.
“Dillon has a lot of leadership qualities. He’s not a vocal player, but he’s a leader by example,” coach Pablo Mastroeni said, explaining his decision. “Comes in, works his tail off, just thinking about this group and where it’s going in years to come, and thinking he could be a very important piece of this team moving forward.”
Powers, 23, got the armband in place of .
“It was a huge honor,” said Powers. “Especially filling in for Drew, he’s always been such a great leader for us. But it’s something I’ve kind of done. I’ve been a captain on every team I’ve been on. So, I just try to make the transition as seamless as possible.”
The 2013 MLS Rookie of the Year said he felt he took on more accountability and responsibility as the Rapids skipper.
“You take a lot of the team’s success on your shoulders — success and failures,” Powers said. “So I think () hurts a little bit more and it’s pretty disappointing, but there’s still a lot of positives to take out of this game.”
Mastroeni didn’t go so far as to name Powers captain for the remainder of the season, but said he’d “kind of see how it goes.”
