Colorado Rapids vs FC Cincinnati | Roster Notes | June 1, 2019

Starting XI:

Team captain Tim Howard will make his 14th start of the 2019 season tonight after missing Wednesday's contest. 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, Howard has featured in 88 games, boasting 19 shutouts and recording 293 saves. 

Defender Keegan Rosenberry will make his 15th consecutive start of the season tonight. Before joining the Rapids, Rosenberry spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union, scoring three goals and dishing out six assists across 81 appearances. Rosenberry is the only player that has played every minute of the 2019 regular season. 

Defender Lalas Abubakar will make his second consecutive start after featuring Wednesday night against Philadelphia. The Ghanaian joined the Colorado Rapids on May 8 on loan from Columbus Crew SC, where he appeared in 31 games since 2017 for the Ohio-based club.

Defender Tommy Smith will make his fourth consecutive start tonight. The 29-year-old's goal last Saturday against Crew SC gave the Rapids the early lead in an eventual 3-2 win. Smith has featured in a total of eight games in 2019, scoring two goals and adding an assist. He is in his second season with the Rapids.

Defender Deklan Wynne will make his seventh consecutive start tonight. The 24-year-old is currently in his second season in Colorado after making 25 regular season appearances with the Rapids in 2018, 22 from the start.

Midfielder Jack Price returns to the starting lineup after missing the Rapids mid-week game against the Philadelphia Union. The Englishman is currently in his second season with the Rapids after spending his previous seven years with Wolverhampton Wanders FC.

Midfielder Kellyn Acostawill make his 14th start of the 2019 season tonight. The 23-year-old has recorded one goal and two assists in those appearances. Overall, Acosta has 12 goals and 17 assists in his MLS career. The US international joined the Rapids midway through the 2018 season from his hometown club FC Dallas. 

Midfielder Sam Nicholson will get his fifth start of the 2019 MLS regular season tonight after missing the Rapids mid-week game against the Philadelphia Union. Nicholson is in 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.

Forward Andre Shinyashiki will make his third start of the season tonight  The 21-year-old has featured in 12 games in 2019, scoring the dramatic stoppage-time equalizer in the 3-3 draw against Portland on March 2, that would eventually be voted MLS Goal of the Week (Week 1). The rookie also scored the game-winner against the LA Galaxy on May 19 and provided the assist to Jonathan Lewis' equalizeron Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Shinyashiki 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.

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett has appeared in ten games so far this season and was named to the MLS Team of the Week (Week 6) for 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.

Forward Kei Kamara will make his 14th appearance for the club tonight after spending 2018 with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Kamara did not travel with the team for the Rapids mid-week matchup in Philadelphia. The MLS veteran currently holds the fifth spot on the all-time goals list in MLS with 119. Kamara has added 44 career assists to his goal total in over 24,000 minutes of regular season play.

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwinmade his first start of the 2019 season on Wednesday evening in Philadelphia recording five saves. The occasion marked his 120th MLS regular season start. Irwin rejoined the Rapids this season after spending the previous three with Toronto FC. The goalkeeper has appeared in 122 regular season games over his six-year MLS career, recording 33 shutouts.

Defender Danny Wilson returns to the gameday roster after missing Wednesday's match. The 27-year-old has featured in five games during the 2019 season. He opened his MLS account on May 11 against Real Salt Lake. Wilson is in his second season with the club, featuring in 23 games in 2018.

Homegrown defender Sam Vines features on the gameday roster after subbing on for Cole Bassett for the final five minutes of Wednesday night's game against the Union. The 20-year-old has featured in seven games in 2019.

Homegrown defender Sebastian Anderson features on the gameday roster against FC Cincinnati. Anderson became the youngest Rapids player to make his MLS debut at 16 years and 262 days old against Atlanta United FC on April 27. He also became the youngest player to sign with the club when he inked his Homegrown contract on April 3. Anderson has made three appearances with the Rapids so far this season.

Homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna will start tonight on the bench after subbing on for Nicolás Mezquida against Philadelphia. This is Serna's seventh season with the club after signing on January 14, 2013. The 25-year-old has scored nine goals through the course of his career. Serna became the first Homegrown to reach 100 regular season appearances for the club on April 27 against Atlanta United FC. 

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquidawill start tonight on the bench after scoring a late stunner to give Rapids their first win at home last Saturday against Columbus Crew SC. The goal was his second this season. Since arriving in MLS in 2014, Mezquida has scored 14 goals and added five assists in just over 5,000 minutes of regular season play.

Forward Diego Rubio will start tonight on the bench after putting in a 90-minute shift Wednesday night. The 25-year-old has scored one goal this season, which came in the 54th minute against his former club, Sporting Kansas City, 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.

Colorado Rapids Injury Report: