Atlanta United FC vs Colorado Rapids | Roster Notes | April 27, 2019

Starting XI:

Team captain, Tim Howard will make his ninth consecutive start of the 2019 season against Atlanta United FC. In January, the New Jersey native announced that 2019 will be his final season in his storied career. Howard was a mainstay on the US men's national team and spent more than 10 years in England before rejoining MLS with the Rapids in 2016. Since then, the Howard has featured in 83 games, boasting 18 shutouts.

Homegrown defender Sebastian Anderson becomes the youngest Rapids player to make his MLS debut at 16 years and 262 days old. Anderson already made history this year, becoming the youngest player to sign with the club when he inked his Homegrown contract on April 3rd.

Defender Keegan Rosenberry made his eighth consecutive start with the Rapids last Saturday against the Chicago Fire. The Pennsylvania native has played every minute of the 2019 season so far. Rosenberry made 32 regular season appearances with the Union in 2018, 31 from the start, registering one goal and three assists. 

Defender Tommy Smith will make his fifth start of the 2019 season tonight against Atlanta. The 29-year-old scored in the 69th minute of his 2019 debut at Toyota Stadium on March 23 against FC Dallas. Smith is in his second season with the Rapids after starting in 33 regular season games with the club in 2018, scoring four goals and adding three assists.

Defender Deklan Wynne returns to the Starting XI this week against Atlanta United FC. The 23-year-old enters his second season in Colorado after making 25 regular season appearances with the Rapids in 2018, 22 from the start.

Homegrown defender Sam Vines will make his third consecutive start of the 2019 season tonight in Atlanta. The 19-year-old earned Man of the Match honors after making his first-ever MLS start earlier this month against D.C. United.

Midfielder Sam Nicholsonwill make his first start of the 2019 season tonight in Atlanta. Nicholson enters his second season with the Rapids after spending his previous two with Minnesota United FC. The winger found the back of the net twice in 19 appearances in 2018.

Midfielder Kellyn Acostawill start his eighth game of the season tonight. The US international started all 12 matches following the trade from his hometown club FC Dallas in 2018, scoring two goals and adding three assists. Overall, the 23-year-old has 11 goals and 17 assists in his MLS career.

Defender Danny Wilsonearns his second start of the season tonight against the Five Stripes. Wilson is in his second season with the club, featuring in 23 games in 2018.

Forward Diego Rubio will make his seventh start for the Rapids this afternoon after spending three seasons with Sporting Kansas City. The 25-year-old scored in the 54th minute against his former club on March 17. Rubio averaged 0.92 goals per 90 minutes in 2018 which put him behind only Atlanta’s Josef Martínez and LA Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović. The Chilean bagged eight goals and six assists in 2018 in just 781 minutes.

Forward Kei Kamarawill make his ninth consecutive start for the club tonight after spending 2018 with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The MLS veteran scored his 117th career goal last Saturday against the Chicago Fire and currently holds the fifth spot on the all-time goals list in MLS history. He has scored a goal in each of the last four games. Kamara has added 44 career assists to his goal total in over 24,000 minutes of regular season play. He's played in every minute of the 2019 campaign.

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwinwill serve as the backup to Tim Howard tonight. Irwin rejoined the Rapids after spending three seasons with Toronto FC. The goalkeeper has appeared in 121 regular season games over his six-year MLS career, recording 33 shutouts.

Defender Axel Sjöberg will start tonight on the bench. Sjöberg is in his fifth season with the Rapids after being selected in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. The defender was named Man of the Match after his performance against Sporting KC during the March 17 game. Sjöberg was named to the MLS Best XI in 2016 after he anchored a defense that conceded a league-low 32 goals and set an MLS record for average goals against per home game of 0.41.

Homegrown midfielder Dillon Sernawill start tonight on the bench. This is Serna'sseventh season with the club after signing on January 14, 2013. If Serna appears in the match tonight, it will mark his 100th regular season appearance for the Rapids, a first for a Homegrown player for the club. 

Midfielder Benny Feilhaber will start tonight on the bench. The 34-year-old was named to the MLS Team of the Week for the second time this season for his performance against D.C. United, which saw the midfielder score a goal in the 11th minute and an assist on Kamara's 66th minute header. Since his MLS debut in 2011, the US international has scored 39 goals and added 58 assists in over 19,000 minutes of regular season play, including one goal against Atlanta United FC.

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett has appeared in seven games so far this season and was named to the MLS Team of the Week (Week 6) after his performance on April 6 against Orlando City SC which saw the 17-year-old score a goal and record an assist. Bassett is in his second season with the Rapids after featuring in six regular season games with the club in 2018.

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquidaappears on the gameday roster for the ninth consecutive week after appearing for 64 minutes last weekend against Chicago. The 27-year-old opened his 2019 account on April 6 with an equalizer in the 61st minute against Orlando City SC. He tallied his first assist for the club against D.C. United on April 13. Since arriving in MLS, Mezquida has scored 13 goals and added five assists in over 4,900 minutes of regular season play.

Forward Andre Shinyashikiprovides a goal-scoring option off the bench against Atlanta.The 21-year-old scored the dramatic stoppage-time equalizer in the 3-3 draw against Portland on March 2, which would eventually be voted MLS Goal of the Week (Week 1). The rookie was selected fifth overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft after four productive years at the University of Denver where he scored 51 goals and added 15 assists over 83 appearances at the NCAA level.

Colorado Rapids Injury Report