Colorado Rapids vs New York City FC | Roster Notes | July 20, 2019

Starting XI:

Team captain Tim Howard will make his 20th start of the 2019 season tonight. Last week, the Secretary of Defense made his 177th MLS career start. 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 94 matches, boasting 21 shutouts and recording 315 saves. 

Defender Keegan Rosenberry will make his 21st consecutive start of the season tonight. He made his 100th MLS career appearance on July 13 against the Portland Timbers . The 25-year-old is the only player that has played every minute of the 2019 MLS regular season. Prior to joining the Rapids, Rosenberry spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union, where he scored three goals and served up six assists over 81 appearances. 

Defender Lalas Abubakar will make his 10th start of the season tonight. Abubakar has recorded 810 minutes thus far this season. The Ghanaian has had a positive impact since joining the Rapids on loan from Columbus Crew SC, where he appeared in 31 games since 2017 for the Ohio club.

Defender Tommy Smith will make his 14th consecutive start tonight and pair with Lalas Abubakar to anchor the back line. Smith has scored two goals and has recorded one assist in 2019, his second season with the Rapids.

Homegrown defender Sam Vines starts at left fullback tonight vs NYCFC. Vines was named to the 2019 MLS Homegrown game, where he will face Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 team on July 30 at 3:00 PM MT. The 20-year-old has featured in 13 matches during the 2019 season.

Midfielder
Jack Price
returns to the lineup after missing the last three games due to injury, and will make his 15th start of the 2019 season. 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 1,241 minutes and recorded five assists this season.

Midfielder Danny Wilson earns his fifth consecutive start of 2019 tonight. The 27-year-old has 10 appearances for the club this season. Wilson opened his MLS scoring account on May 11, 2019 against rival Real Salt Lake. This is Wilson’s second season with the club, he featured in 23 matches in the 2018 season.

Homegrown defender Sebastian Anderson will make his fourth MLS career start against NYCFC. The 16-year-old, who made his first four appearances for the Rapids as a defender, will be switching it up and will be playing on the right wing vs NYCFC. 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 make his 12th start of the 2019 season and his 22nd appearance overall for the club. Bassett was named to the 2019 MLS Homegrown game, where he will face Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 team on July 30th at 3:00 PM MT. Since signing his contract in 2018, the 17-year-old has scored two goals and has recorded two assists in 1,126 minutes.

Jonathan Lewis
 will make his 11th MLS career start and his fifth start of the season for the Rapids against his former club, New York City FC. Lewis scored in the 28th minute vs the Portland Timbers, raising his total to three goals with the Rapids. Lewis will make his sixth appearance for the Rapids in 2019 since being acquired from the Rapids via a trade with NYCFC on May 7, 2019. 

Andre Shinyashiki will make his ninth start of the season tonight and in search of scoring his fifth goal of the 2019. Shinyashiki will begin the night as the target player for the Rapids' attack. The 22-year-old has featured in 18 matches in 2019. He 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.

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwinserves as the backup to Tim Howard tonight after playing between the sticks against European giants Arsenal in a friendly match on Monday, July 15. 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 NYCFC. 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.

Defender
Kofi Opare
is listed on the gameday roster against NYCFC. The defender joined the Rapids in February after spending five seasons with D.C. United. Since arriving in MLS, he's scored four goals and added one assist in over 6,800 minutes of regular season play.

Homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna will feature on the gameday roster as the Rapids take on the Timbers. Serna has 12 appearances 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 during his career. Serna became the first Homegrown to reach 100 regular season appearances for the club on April 27 against Atlanta United FC.

Midfielder Johan Blombergfeatures on the gameday roster against NYCFC. 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.

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquidais listed on the gameday roster against NYCFC after coming on for Cole Bassett in the 64th minute vs the Portland Timbers. Since joining the Rapids, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and added four assists, including two game-winning goals.

Midfielder
Sam Nicholson
will feature on the gameday roster after coming on for Kei Kamara in the 67th minutes against the Portland Timbers. The 24-year-old scored just
nine minutes later
to keep the Rapids from leaving without a point in Portland. Nicholson has recorded two assists and has six starts to his name thus far in 2019. Nicholson is in his second year with the Rapids, after he was signed from Minnesota United FC on May 1, 2018, in exchange for defender Eric Miller and $50,000 in GAM.

Colorado Rapids Injury Report