Chicago are a much better team than they were last year, that much is certain. Last year's Chicago squad was filled with wily but fairly ineffective veterans like Brian McBride and CJ Brown, players who were more historic than effective for the Chicago squad that finished a disappointing 9-12-9. While never really out of the playoff race, the offense was lacking as they failed to top 40 goals on the season and ended with a GD of -1.
These two teams met in Open Cup action earlier in the season, with the Rapids B-side losing 2-1 in some random middle of nowhere field in Illinois.
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Matt Pollard 