Rapids Sounders Preview With Jeremiah Oshan, Sounder at Heart

PREVIEW – Tomorrow, Colorado Rapids are back at home against Seattle Sounders. Burgundy Wave reached out to our colleague (and former boss!) Jeremiah Oshan from Sounder At Heart. Let’s get caught up on all things Rave Green ahead of the match:

Similar to the Rapids, Seattle started the year with Conca Champions and had a slow start to league play. Back-to-back wins including 3-0 over Nashville. What’s the team doing well right now?

The most effective thing they’ve been doing the last few games is translating the turnovers they create into scoring chances. Although the Sounders aren’t necessarily known as a pressing team, they’ve been very effective in that phase of play this year. But it’s only in the last couple of games where those high turnovers have turned into shots.

Seattle retooled the offense this winter. Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola (get well) came over from Dallas. Pedro de la Vega already has matched his regular season goal contributions from last year. He looks healthy. What can the Rapids expect from these two and the Sounders attack?

Ferreira was billed as much more of a scoring threat than he’s proven to be this year, but he’s been a creative playmaker who looks much more comfortable playing as more of a 10. Pedro de la Vega has looked absolutely electric when he’s healthy. He started off the season with three goals in his first three competitive matches but then suffered a hamstring injury. Since returning a couple of weeks ago, he’s picked up right where he left off. He’s an aggressive dribbler and a downhill attacker. Fun player.

From afar, it seemed Josh Atencio was tradable because he was behind Obed Vargas on the depth chart. How’s Vargas doing this season? What did you make of Atencio getting traded?

The Sounders were actually in the process of trying to convert Atencio into a centerback, which was showing predictably mixed results through preseason. The main reason for that was the presence of players like Vargas, but also veterans like João Paulo. I really liked Atencio and think this was a trade that appears to have worked out for everyone. I think the Sounders got good value, the Rapids got a quality player and Atencio has a clear path to playing time.

Injury updates: We know Arriola’s probably out for the year with the ACL tear. Jackson Ragen is dealing with a hamstring injury. Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnak, and Alex Roldan were on the bench for Nashville. What injuries will affect the lineup for Saturday?

Aside from Ragen and Arriola the Sounders are pretty much full at full strength, but it looks like they’re content to keep bringing some of those nominal starters off the bench in acknowledgement of how well their replacements have looked over the past couple of games. That means Danny Musovski for Morris, Ferreira for Rusnák and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi in Alex Roldan’s spot.

Rapids fans love a local player who comes good. Paul Rothrock’s starting and scoring goals. Colorado’s biggest question lineup wise is who played on the right with Kévin Cabral’s recent benching and Keegan Rosenberry and Reggie Cannon splitting minutes at right back. How’s Rothrock grown as a player? What does he do well?

Paul Rothrock is a great story of a player believing in themselves and taking the opportunity once it’s presented. He’s a Seattle local who went to college after a year in the Sounders Academy, transferred from Notre Dame to Georgetown and won a national championship, was then drafted by Toronto FC and played mostly with TFCII. Seeing little path to the first team, he moved to Tacoma Defiance where he was reunited with his academy coach Wade Webber. No one really expected much to come of that, but he played well, scored during two different short-term loans with the Sounders and got himself a MLS contract.

Last year, he seemed buried on the depth chart but then scored in his first extended appearance and never looked back. This year, his path to playing time appeared blocked again after the signing of Arriola but he established himself as an option at wing back and has looked good there too. He’s a more creative dribbler than he gets credit for, is composed around goal and no one ever questions his effort. 

Prediction time. Rapids-Sounders feels like that Mad Men elevator meme. C38 and the players always get up for Rave Green coming into town. You probably see Colorado as the Whitecaps of the Mountain Time Zone. Atencio Revenge Tour? Sounders get a hard fought road result? 

The Sounders have a 10-5-2 record at Colorado and have won their last two games there. They also handle the press reasonably well. This feels like a 1-0 Sounders win to me.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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