LAS VEGAS, Nev: Colorado Rapids kicked off their 2015 preseason campaign with a 2-0 win over UNLV at Peter Johann Memorial Soccer Field in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.
With a game against MLS counterparts San Jose Earthquakes just two days away, head coach Pablo Mastroeni elected to omit some of the more established players from his starting line-up against the university side. However he did hand debuts to center back Joe Greenspan and striker Caleb Calvert.
Under bright sunshine and in front of a healthy crowd, the first half remained scoreless.
At the break, Mastroeni brought on more experience, including new-signings Lucas Pittinari from Belgrano and Sam Cronin from San Jose.
Montoya, who has played at Guadalajara Soccer Club of Denver and Mexican side Tigres at U-17 to U-20 level, broke the deadlock just past the hour mark. The Rapids made sure of victory when Badji netted six minutes from time.
"I think we started off a bit slow," admitted Head Coach, Pablo Mastroeni. "But, after a few weeks of really hard work, it was a good opportunity to see players who I hadn't seen a whole lot of last year and/or those on trial this year, so I think they finished the game with the right type of mentality and more importantly they played some good football in that second half."
The Rapids are next in action on Sunday, when they tackle the Quakes. This match is being played at Cashman Field, a baseball stadium. Action gets underway at 8 p.m MT (TICKETS).
UNLV 0:2 COLORADO RAPIDS
Preseason friendly – Peter Johann Memorial Field; Las Vegas, NV.
Scoring Summary:
COL - Oscar Montoya, 62’
COL - Dominique Badji, 84'
Rapids lineup: John Berner (Quentin Westberg, 46'); Francisco Flores (Sam Raben, 67'), Joe Greenspan, Grant Van De Casteele, Patrick Slogic, Andrew Ribeiro (Sam Cronin, 46'), Sam Raben (Lucas Pittinari, 46'), Oscar Montoya, John Neeskens (Carlos Alvarez, 46'), Billy Schuler, Caleb Calvert (Dominique Badji, 46').
