1st meeting of the year.
Records:
Colorado (0-0-0) Tied 1st West
Burn (0-0-0) Tied 1st West
Colorado: 4-4-2 Look for the Rapids to bring the ball down the wings with Henderson and Paule. Harris up front has yet to perform at a consistent level, but Bravo and Paz are both scoring threats. New acquisitions Marquinho and Waldir Saenz are unknown factors. Many teams won’t start a new player right away but look for Marquinho to start for an out-of-favor Paz and Saenz to replace Harris up front, if not to start then later in the game. Colorado could start a couple of young defenders in Martinez and Jakins, but don’t be surprised if veterans Vermes and S. Henderson start instead since it’s the first game of the year.
Burn: 3-6-1 Expect Dir to continue with his new 3-6-1 lineup, at least until Damian returns from Mexico. Look for two attacking mid-fielders in Kreis and Haynes, Alverez and Sutter in the middle, and Flores (or Suarez) and Santel on the wings. Lately in preseason games, we have seen the Pollard / Farrer / Rodriguez in back. However, with Dodd out Dir loves the experienced Soehn in the back line usually in a flat four.
3rd Degree’s Prediction: Burn 2 Rapids 2, Burn wins shootout…
| F | 10 | Washington | F | 13 | Harris (Saenz) |
| M | 66 | Sutter | F | 9 | Bravo |
| M | 9 | Kreis | M | 11 | Paz (Marquinho) |
| M | 5 | Flores | M | 19 | C.Henderson |
| M | 14 | Alvarez | M | 20 | Paule |
| M | 13 | Haynes | M | 22 | DiGiamarino |
| M | 7 | Santel | D | 14 | Martinez |
| D | 18 | Farrer | D | 15 | Jakins |
| D | 17 | Rodriguez | D | 4 | Trittschuh |
| D | 12 | Pollard | D | 17 | Balboa |
| G | 30 | Lagerwey | G | 1 | Hahnemann |