Colorado Rapids vs Los Angeles Football Club | Roster Notes | June 28, 2019

Starting XI:

Team captain Tim Howard will make his 17th start of the 2019 season tonight. In January, the New Jersey native announced that 2019 will be the 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 91 games, boasting 20 shutouts and recording 305 saves.  

Defender Keegan Rosenberry will make his 18th consecutive start of the season tonight. The 25-year-old is the only player that has played every minute of the 2019 MLS regular season. Before joining the Rapids, Rosenberry spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union, scoring three goals and dishing out six assists in 81 appearances. 

Defender Lalas Abubakar will make his seventh start tonight after earning a spot on the MLS Team of the Week for his performance last Saturday against Vancouver. The Ghanaian has had a positive impact since joining the Rapids on May 8 from Columbus Crew SC, where he appeared in 31 games since 2017 for the Ohio club.

Defender Tommy Smith will make his seventh consecutive start tonight and pair with Abubakar to anchor the back line. The 29-year-old has featured in a total of eleven games in 2019, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Smith is in his second season with the Rapids.

Homegrown defender Sam Vines starts at left fullback tonight after going the full 90 last Saturday in Vancouver. The 20-year-old has featured in ten games so far in the 2019 season. 

Midfielder Danny Wilson earns a second consecutive start after featuring against Vancouver last Saturday. The 27-year-old has played in seven 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.

Midfielder Kellyn Acostawill make his 17th start tonight. So far in 2019, the 23-year-old has one goal and two assists in 18 total 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 Jack Price returns to the lineup for his 14th start of the 2019 season. Price missed last Saturday's game in Vancouver due to a hip injury. The Englishman is currently in his second season with the Rapids after spending his previous seven years with Wolverhampton Wanders FC. Overall, Price has played a total 1168 minutes and recorded four assists this season. 

Diego Rubio will make his 12th start tonight after opening the scoring in the 8th minute last Saturday in Vancouver. So far in 2019, the 26-year-old has scored three goals. In 2018, Rubio averaged 0.92 goals per 90 minutes 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.

Andre Shinyashiki will make his sixth start of the season tonight after notching his fourth goal of 2019 last Saturday in Vancouver. Shinyashiki will begin the night on the wing and has featured in 15 games so far in 2019. The 22-year-old 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.

Forward Kei Kamara will make his 17th start for the club tonight after his MLS Team of the Week performance against his former club last Saturday in Vancouver. The MLS veteran currently holds the fifth spot on the all-time goals list in MLS with 120, and he currently leads the Rapids with eight goals for this campaign. Kamara has added 45 career assists to his goal total in over 25,000 minutes of regular season play.

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwinserves as the backup to Tim Howard tonight. The 30-year-old made his first start of the 2019 season on May 29 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. Overall, Irwin has appeared in 122 regular season games over his six-year MLS career, recording 33 shutouts.

Defender Axel Sjöberg is listed on the gameday roster against LAFC. Sjöberg is in his fifth season with the Rapids after being selected in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. 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 defender Sebastian Anderson features on the gameday roster after subbing on for 13 minutes last Saturday against Vancouver. 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 four appearances with the Rapids so far this season.

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett will start tonight on the bench and has featured in 12 games so far in 2019. Since signing his contract in 2018, the 17-year-old has scored two goals and recorded two assists in 985 minutes.

Homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna will start tonight on the bench and has featured in 11 games so far in 2019. 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 Mezquidafeatures on the gameday roster after going the full 90 minutes against Vancouver last week. The midfielder grabbed two assists against his former club in the 2-2 draw at BC Place. Since joining the Rapids, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and added three assists, including two game-winning goals.

Midfielder Johan Blomberg features on the gameday roster against LAFC. The Swede is currently in his second season with the Rapids after spending his entire professional career in his home country, tallying 28 goals and 39 assists for Ängelholms FF, Halmstads BK, and AIK. 

Colorado Rapids Injury Report: