It's odd how sometimes a career can be made or broken on only a play or two. Steward Ceus' legacy with the Rapids, unless he manages to get the trust of Oscar Pareja back and put himself back in a position to be Colorado's potential goalkeeper of the future, is likely going to be summed up by a single play in his only start of the year. You know the one.
He stomped on our dreams.
We've made jokes before about how Matt Pickens has different performances depending on the year. Even years were his good ones, odd years were not. In 2010, he was quietly one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the league and helped the Rapids to their first MLS Cup title. In 2011, his form dipped along with just about everyone else on the team. In 2012, he was the team's MVP and made super save after super save despite the rest of the team falling apart around him.
#ThanksObama
10 shutouts and 14 wins later, he proved himself more than capable of keeping the job and keeping Matt Pickens, he of a salary far higher than Irwin, on the bench. There are still some holes in Irwin's game, as you would expect from a young keeper. Similar to Pickens, he's got a few positional issues that make some saves more difficult than they might need to be. He also is occasionally a bit tentative with his movement off the line. But these are minor things and he has the potential to grow into one of the best 'keepers in Major League Soccer as he continues to grow into a starting role.
PLAYER RATING: 7.5
.GIF TO SUM UP HIS SEASON:
In this situation Irwin is, of course, Jose Fernandez. (He couldn't be Tulo because he wasn't injured from late May until September.)
One of the most pressing questions going into 2014 is if that's going to continue. Colorado will likely never be a Supporters' Shield contender with that sort of road tactic every time. Fortunately, the season is starting with two games on the road that aren't just away from home, but are also against opponents that Colorado will need to be at their very best to beat. If Colorado lines up against San Jose with Harris and Labrocca on the field on opening day and loses another 1-0 blahfest because they're sitting back and creating nothing on the attack, it's probably not going to be a great sign. If it happens again vs. New York, there may be cause for concern.
It's an interesting storyline to watch when March comes around.
The 2014 MLS Schedule is out. No, don't rub your eyes, it didn't suddenly become February while you weren't looking. Instead, they just released it way earlier than usual. I prefer it this way, don't you?
Here's a link to the Rapids-specific chunk of the schedule. They'll open against the Earthquakes at Buck Shaw stadium on March 9th, and will get their home opener a while later, on March 22nd. Here's a few initial thoughts looking at the schedule for 2014:
* Holy crap, that's a tough opening month. The last two seasons' Supporters' Shield winners, both on the road, to start the season off. After that, a home game against the top team in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference's MLS Cup finalist from this season. Colorado's gonna get a really quick chance to show us if they're ready for prime time.
* Unlike 2012, the Rocky Mountain Cup is back in a staggered form, which means that RSL won't have a chance to win the Cup back before they ever play a game in Colorado.
* Vancouver away is the last game of the year again. Don't toy with us, schedule-makers!
What are your thoughts on next season, gang?
More from Burgundy Wave:
Powers was lauded for his calmness, passing ability and attacking intelligence on the ball in the center of the park, and was one of the team leaders in minutes with 2,457. Powers ended the season with five goals and six assists, along with some of the better passing numbers in the league. He was named the team's MVP at the end of the year and it showed why he was when the Rapids dropped 3-0 and 2-0 results to the Whitecaps and Sounders at the end of the year without him.
Congratulations to Dillon, hopefully this award is the start of something big!
More from Burgundy Wave:
Did you realize that there's a draft before the season even ends? Yep, even though the MLS Cup isn't coming around until December 7th, we've got the MLS Waiver Draft to worry about today. Or not worry about. Yeah, not worrying about it is probably the way to go.
I've no idea what players are even available — it's the ones that aren't eligible for the Re-Entry Draft, which itself has several rules to enter — but it probably isn't going to matter. Yeah.
Did you realize that there's a draft before the season even ends? Yep, even though the MLS Cup isn't coming around until December 7th, we've got the MLS Waiver Draft to worry about today. Or not worry about. Yeah, not worrying about it is probably the way to go.
I've no idea what players are even available — it's the ones that aren't eligible for the Re-Entry Draft, which itself has several rules to enter — but it probably isn't going to matter. Yeah.
Well, we had our first SuperDraft-related post of the season a bit earlier today, so why not have the second SuperDraft-related post right after that? It's way too early to start having mock drafts (the season isn't even over yet for the pros or the kids!) but that didn't stop the mothership at MLSsoccer.com from putting out a ridiculously early one.
In their mock, they have the Rapids selecting hard-tackling senior Jared Watts out of Wake Forest with their 11th overall selection.
Wait a minute, a hard tackling midfielder out of Wake Forest? Where have I heard this tune before?
Fortunately, we've still got two months to watch that pick completely switch around!
We'll see if either of the Rapids players take home the silverware on November 25th. (Even if they don't win, we can still laugh at the awards a bit. Baldomero Toledo is up for Referee of the Year. No, really!)
