When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
TV/Radio: ALT; 950 AM, 87.7 FM
Spotlight on Kyle Beckerman: Fifteen years ago Beckerman and Pablo Mastroeni – both of them fiery young midfielders — came to the Rapids from the Miami Fusion in a dispersal draft. Now Beckerman is in his 18th MLS season at age 34, and he is the all-time MLS leader in games (411) and minutes played (34,175). He also has become a solid part of the U.S. men’s national team. The one-time and has been just as feisty for RSL as he once was for Colorado. Beckerman played well for the U.S. as a defensive midfielder in all three group-stage matches of the 2014 World Cup, but coach Jürgen Klinsman benched him in a round of 16 match against Belgium. That backfired as Tim Howard had to face 17 shots on goal in
NOTEBOOK
Real Salt Lake: RSL (1-3-2, 0-2-1 on the road) went scoreless in three of its first four games and after an 0-2-1 start. Two weeks ago he was replaced by former Rapids defender Mike Petke, a Colorado starter when the Rapids moved into Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2007. … RSL has scored five goals in its last two games, including a 3-0 home decision last week against Vancouver that was played in a snowstorm. … Armenian striker Yura Movsisyan is RSL’s leading scorer (three) and he has five goals in nine games against Colorado. … RSL has won the Rocky Mountain Cup eight of the past 10 seasons, the exceptions being 2013 and 2015.
Colorado: The Rapids (1-2-1, 1-0-1 at home) are coming off a 3-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday that followed a three-week layoff. Now they’ve had a short week to prepare for their intermountain rival. … Striker Kevin Doyle scored his first goal of the season at SKC, a penalty kick in stoppage time. … The Rapids are in ninth place in the Western Conference with only four points, but they have only played four games. Most teams in the league have played five or six. … The Rapids are tied for last in goals scored (four), but only three teams have allowed fewer goals. … One alarming number: FC Dallas, which also has played only four games, is in second place with 10 points and is 3-0-1. … After RSL, the Rapids face road games at Minnesota and Orlando, and won’t be home again until May 5 vs. Vancouver.
