Morgan Whittaker Potential Debut Against Dante Sealy and Montreal- Rapids vs Montreal Preview

Commerce City, CO– The Colorado Rapids (10-2-12, 7th West) return home to face an Eastern Conference opponent in CF Montreal (5-6-13, 15th East). It was a largely disappointing road stand for the Rapids, who only got one point from Columbus and Austin. They are back home now with a chance to make history. Another home win and clean sheet would break a 2003 Rapids club record. CF Montreal comes to Colorado with one win in their last 11 games. Colorado has lost ground to the other Western Conference sides ahead of them in the playoff picture and looks to be caught by the teams below. This game is a must-win to keep the Rapids in a playoff spot. There might be a Morgan Whittaker sighting, as well. Let’s take a look at the matchup. 

When: Saturday, September 12th @ 7:30 p.m. MST

Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

TV/Streaming: Apple TV

First Away Point Since May

It was a step in the right direction for the Rapids as they got their first point away from home since May 13th against Minnesota. It was close to being a much bigger step forward, but Austin equalized late in the second half. The goal canceled out a wonder strike from Paxten Aaronson in the first half. A win would have been huge for the Rapids. But given their current roster situation, anything was a success.

Colorado continued their offensive struggles without their three new signings. The depth in attack was tested even more when Youssef Maziz went down with a leg injury. This forced an already thin attack to rely on an out-of-position Josh Atencio. Colorado desperately needs attacking reinforcements. They are running on fumes right now. The next man up can only go down the depth chart so much.

This game had some positives alongside the decent result. The Rapids had stretches of the type of play that Matt Wells would love to see. Especially in the second half, the Rapids kept the ball in long stretches that tired out the opposition and sometimes led to good chances for the Rapids. The next step would be to turn that attacking production into goals. It was good play we hadn’t seen from the Rapids away from home in a long time. 

It was a game that felt like two points dropped. While the result was good, and most would have taken it before the game, a late equalizer will always sway opinions. Wells believes this result would frustrate him later in his Rapids tenure. Now, he is just glad to get something on the board in the team’s current state. 

Lineup Prediction:

Hansen / Cobb, Holding (c), Williams, Navarro / Ojediran, Frederick, Aaronson / Whitakker, Yapi, Minoungou

The big news from the availability report isn’t unexpected, with Reggie Cannon out due to his yellow card accumulation. Youssef Maziz is out with the injury he sustained against Austin. Wells is hopeful it’s not a longer-term injury, but either way, the smart choice is to let him rest until the US Open Cup.

That is an important factor for Wells to consider when game-planning this match. The US Open Cup Semifinal has the potential to be the biggest Rapids game at home since Pidsgiving. Two games away from a trophy. Wells had said a lot about how much that game means to him and the team. It wouldn’t be wise to fully roll over against Montreal to keep everyone healthy for the midweek matchup, but some rotation could help. It is Wells, however, so don’t expect much rotation.

The one area where Wells is expected to rotate is at winger, as the Rapids announced on Friday that Morgan Whittaker is available for selection. Wells had made it clear that if Whittaker and Sayed Abu Farkhi were made available, they would start. It would be great to give those guys minutes to go into that semifinal full force. It will take time for these signings to reach the level of fitness and understanding Wells wants, but needs are needs, and those two will greatly help the Rapids’ dormant attack. 

A Familiar Face at Montreal

What was shaping up to be a first game for Dante Sealy against Montreal since his move to Colorado has now taken a different turn. Sealy moved back to Montreal this transfer window, and this game is his first in Colorado since then. His move back to Montreal seemed clouded by mixed feelings for both parties, and Sealy has since removed anything Rapids-related from his socials.

He was largely disappointing in Colorado, and he gets to return to a club where he thrived, as the Rapids get some return on their investment. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to being back in Colorado.

Montreal is an interesting case. It’s another team that is last in the Eastern Conference, but Columbus Crew had that spot when they beat the Rapids 3-0 a week ago. They have recently signed Alexis Sanchez, which is a big signing. He does have concerns about his age and fitness level, but he still has the class that made him one of the best attackers in the world years back. Montreal also has Prince Owusu, who, despite Montreal’s poor form in the last few years, has been amongst the league leaders in goals consistently. 

Montreal has one win in the last 11 matches, as mentioned earlier. Alexis Sanchez was their big-money signing this summer. It is important not to look past an opponent. It is also important to know that there aren’t many better chances for the Rapids to pick up points from here on out. 

Prediction: Colorado continues their form at home and makes history with a relatively disappointing 1-0 win.

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