Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
The Houston Dynamo are still actively trying to improve their forward options, and they took a
step in that direction by swinging a trade Wednesday night.
The Dynamo traded a conditional 2014 draft pick to the Colorado Rapids for Macoumba Kandji,
adding the athletic, Senegalese striker to a stable that currently has Calen Carr, Will Bruin, Cam
Weaver and rookie Colin Rolfe.
Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
By ADAM SERRANO
CARSON, Calif. – The Colorado Rapids squeaked past Chivas USA, 1-0, in a physical preseason
scrimmage between the two sides on Tuesday.
Second-half substitute Quincy Amarikwa put the Rapids ahead in the 85th minute.
After an offseason full of major moves, promise and tangible signs of improvement, the Portland
Timbers were hit with a sizeable dose of bad news Friday.
Colombian striker Jose Adolfo Valencia, signed as a Young Designated Player back in December,
requires knee surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee and is going to be out for
anywhere from the next 6-to-12 months.
photo by JN Santos/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The man responsible for the tumultuous offseason the Colorado Rapids endured is prolonging his
stay with the club.
Technical Director Paul Bravo signed a new three-year deal with the Rapids on Wednesday,
extending a stay that began in 2009.
Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
As it turns out, Arturo Alvarez won't be suiting up for Chivas USA heading into the 2012 MLS
season after all.
Alvarez, who was selected by Chivas in the first stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft but never came
to terms with the club as he sought opportunities overseas, has reportedly signed with Portuguese
top-flight club Pacos de Ferreira on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
The Colorado Rapids are shifting their philosophy after going through a front office and
technical staff overhaul, and that change is spreading to the field as well after the club
announced the signing of Colombian attacking midfielder Jaime Castrillon from Independiente
Medellin.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Former Colorado Rapids head coach Gary Smith is headed back to England.
The man who took charge of the Rapids' surprising 2010 MLS Cup run has been hired as manager of
League One side Stevenage FC. Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace said Smith's ability to produce
success despite a low budget with the Rapids was a major reason for the hire.
Photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com
D.C. United's wing options got a little more intriguing on Friday.
The club acquired midfielder Danny Cruz from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for a partial
allocation, adding an up-and-coming player to the team's already up-and-coming nucleus.
photo by John Dorton/ISIphotos.com
The Colorado Rapids have signed Oscar Pareja as their head coach, the club announced on
Thursday.
Having beaten out three other finalists, Pareja will attempt to lead the Rapids to the MLS Cup
final in his first head coaching position.
The Colorado Rapids are set to hire FC Dallas assistant and Academy Director Oscar Pareja has
the team's new head coach, the Denver Post reported on Tuesday evening.
Pareja has beaten out a group of candidates that included Denis Hamlett, Tom Soehn and Richie
Williams. The Rapids are expected to make the announcement this week.
The last remaining head coaching vacancy in Major League Soccer sits in Colorado, where the
Rapids are expected to make a decision on their replacement for Gary Smith this week.
Four candidates have emerged as Colorado's leading contenders. Denis Hamlett, Oscar Pareja, Tom
Soehn and Richie Williams are the four men sources have told SBi are the finalists for the job.
Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com
For a team coming off of a championship run, the Los Angeles Galaxy have had plenty of major
moving parts over recent weeks.
Between Landon Donovan going back to Everton on a short-term loan, Juninho returning to Sao
Paulo, Donovan Ricketts being dealt to the Montreal Impact, Sean Franklin re-signing and David
Beckham, well, still making a decision, the Galaxy remain the talk of MLS deep into the
offseason.
Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com
Omar Bravo's time in MLS is up.
Sporting Kansas City and top-flight Mexican club Cruz Azul agreed to a deal that will see the
Designated Player return to his native country after one season in MLS. No terms of the deal were
disclosed.
Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com
By JOSE M. ROMERO
The MLS Cup final was played not even three weeks ago, but teams are already making training
plans in preparation for next season.
Three MLS teams are confirmed for training at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz.
A year removed from winning MLS Cup, the Colorado Rapids are undergoing major changes to their
staff and front office.
With Gary Smith already out as head coach, managing director Jeff Plush became the latest to
leave the club, doing so after six years on the job, according to a team release.
Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
We've seen the last of Santino Quaranta as a professional soccer player.
Quaranta has called it a career after 11 seasons in MLS, according to the Washington Post.
Feeling that there's nothing left to accomplish, Quaranta ends his time as a player with 27 goals
and 29 assists in 180 MLS matches and 15 caps and one goal for the U.
photo by Nick Turchiaro/ISIphotos.com
Jeff Larentowicz has become the latest player to heed Jurgen Klinsmann's advice.
Larentowicz has joined English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers for a training stint during
the MLS offseason, joining the long list of domestic-based U.
Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
It appears that Frank Rost's time in Major League Soccer has come and gone.
Hans Backe told the New York Post Tuesday that he expects New York's midseason acquisition and
Designated Player goalkeeper to return to Germany, leaving the Red Bulls with an unresolved
situation in goal yet again.
When a story surfaced almost a month ago detailing issues between Colorado head coach Gary Smith
and technical director Paul Bravo, it was clear one of them wouldn't be back for 2012.
As it turns out, Smith will be the one not returning.
The Colorado Rapids parted ways with Smith on Monday, announcing that they would not renew the
contract of the coach who led the Rapids to the 2010 MLS Cup title.
Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
The first legs of the conference semifinals over the weekend created four very unenviable hills
to climb.
The Los Angeles Galaxy, the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City all head home to protect
leads while Real Salt Lake, the only winning team taking to the road, has the comfort of a
three-goal cushion.
By DAVID GUBALA
Sporting Kansas City went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal first leg looking to
hopefully come away with a draw against the Colorado Rapids to send the series back to Kansas City
A nightmarish night for the Rapids helped Sporting KC return to the Midwest with so much
more.
The defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids take on Sporting Kansas City today in Eastern
Conference semifinal action, and while the Rapids are reigning champs, Sporting KC comes in as the
favorites in a series that kicks off tonight (7:30pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
The Rapids find themselves in the Eastern Conference bracket for the second straight year, but
face a very tough opponent in the semifinals as Sporting KC has been one of the strongest teams in
the league in the second half of the season.
The Seattle Sounders enter the MLS playoffs as one of the league's hottest teams, but in order
to find success in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals, they'll have to do so
without their midfield maestro.
Mauro Rosales has been ruled out of the first leg of the Sounders' series against Real Salt
Lake, according to the Seattle Times.
The Colorado Rapids flew under the radar last season en route to capturing their first MLS Cup
championship.
Despite holding that distinction, the Rapids find themselves in a similar position in 2011. The
defending champions are again quietly still very much alive after defeating the Columbus Crew in
Thursday night's wild card match to advance into the Eastern Conference bracket.
The Colorado Rapids' hopes of defending its MLS title are still alive, and the club can thank
Omar Cummings for that.
Cummings scored his first goal in nearly three months to help lift the Rapids to a 1-0 win over
the Columbus Crew in a wild card playoff match at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Thursday night.
The Colorado Rapids will take their first step toward trying to repeat as MLS Cup champions when
they face the Columbus Crew in the second of two MLS Wild Card games this week (10pm, Direct
Kick).
The Rapids will look to take advantage of the home-field edge provided at Dick's Sporting Goods
Park against a Columbus side that will be looking for some revenge after being eliminated from the
2010 playoffs by the Rapids.
The Colorado Rapids will take their first step toward trying to repeat as MLS Cup champions when
they face the Columbus Crew in the second of two MLS Wild Card games this week (10pm, Direct
Kick).
The Rapids will look to take advantage of the home-field edge provided at Dick's Sporting Goods
Park against a Columbus side that will be looking for some revenge after being eliminated from the
2010 playoffs by the Rapids.
By AVI CREDITOR
The Colorado Rapids and Columbus Crew have taken different roads to get to this point, but
ultimately they're right back where they were a year ago.
Colorado eliminated Columbus in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season en route to
capturing its first MLS Cup.
The first two games of the MLS postseason are set for Wednesday and Thursday night, with the new
wild card format meaning that for two teams it's win and advance, and for two others it's lose and
go home.
New York and Dallas open the MLS playoffs Wednesday night at Pizza Hut Park in a meeting of two
teams that had serious title aspirations entering the season.
Photo by Don Feria/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
Well, the New York Red Bulls sure took the drama out of this weekend.
With New York's 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union on Thursday, the 10th and final ticket to
the postseason was booked, and the Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire were eliminated from playoff
contention.
By JOSÉ M. ROMERO
These last two days of CONCACAF Champions League group matches have not been kind to American
MLS teams.
The Colorado Rapids, despite deploying front-line players in a clear effort to win, became the
third U.S. club in two days to lose its finale of group play after Wednesday night's 2-0 loss to
Santos Laguna in Torreon, Mexico.
The Portland Timbers had a full stadium of fans trying to will them to a victory they sorely
needed to keep their playoff hopes in good shape. Unfortunately for the Timbers, the Houston Dynamo
were also hungry for a victory to boost their playoff prospects.
Houston put together a strong performance on the road for the second straight time, riding an
Andre Hainault goal and a stunning long-range blast from Danny Cruz to post a 2-0 victory over the
Timbers on Friday night.
Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
The MLS playoff race sure is heating up.
With just a handful of matches remaining, nine teams are still competing for six available
postseason berths. A slate of influential weekend fixtures kicks off Friday with a critical clash
in the wild-card race between the Houston Dynamo and Portland Timbers.
By ADAM SERRANO
Hector Jimenez has been living life under the radar in his rookie season, but when the
midfielder from the University of California has had his chance to see action, he's grabbed a hold
of it.
Jimenez was instrumental in the Galaxy's 2-1 victory over Morelia in the CONCACAF Champions
League, helping to create the winning goal.
Photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com
For the second straight day, the Portland Timbers got the better of the Vancouver Whitecaps by a
1-0 scoreline.
After the Timbers' first team accomplished that feat in the debut of BC Place on Sunday, the
Portland reserves did the same on Monday on the strength of an 82nd-minute goal from Bryan Burke
and a clean sheet by Jake Gleeson.
photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com
If the Colorado Rapids entered their game against FC Dallas hoping to close the gap in the
standings between the two teams, it was a mission accomplished.
Colorado defeated FC Dallas 1-0 at Dicks Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night on a headed goal
from Drew Moor in the first half.
Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
Saturday's showdown between the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas may be a rematch of last year's
MLS Cup, but neither team has looked anything like a title contender lately.
Dallas is 0-6-1 in its past seven matches in all competitions, while Colorado has gone 0-5-1 in
six games.
The Colorado Rapids looked like a team raising the white flag and giving up on the CONCACAF
Champions League when they fielded a reserve team in a must-win game against Salvadoran side Isidro
Metapan.
At least that was the initial impression. The Rapids reserves had other plans.
It's a big night for Major League Soccer teams both domestically and regionally. The Los Angeles
Galaxy and Colorado Rapids fighting for their CONCACAF Champions League lives, while FC Dallas
looks to take a giant step further toward advancing to the knockout stage.
In league play, Sporting Kansas City and Columbus meet in a crucial Eastern Conference battle,
while Real Salt Lake is expected to welcome playmaker Javier Morales back to the field at some
point during its match against the Chicago Fire.
