Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids | Roster Notes | August 17, 2019

Starting XI:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwin will make his fifth start and seventh appearance of the season tonight against the Houston Dynamo. Irwin made his return to Colorado after being acquired from Toronto FC on December 14, 2018. Overall, Irwin has appeared in 127 regular season games over his MLS career, recording 33 shutouts.

Defender Keegan Rosenberrywill make his 26th consecutive start of the season tonight against the Houston Dynamo. The 25-year-old is the only player that has played every minute of the 2019 MLS regular season for the Rapids. Prior to joining the club, Rosenberry spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union, where he scored three goals and served up six assists over 81 appearances.

Defender Lalas Abubakarwill make his 15th start of the season tonight for the Rapids. The Ghanaian is on loan from Columbus Crew SC, where he appeared in 31 games since 2017 for the Ohio club.

Tommy Smithwill make his 19th start of the season tonight and pair with Lalas Abubakar to anchor the back line. Smith has two goals and one assist to his name in 2019, his second season with the Rapids. Since joining Colorado in 2018, Smith has recorded 50 MLS career appearances, all of which he has started, and recorded 6 goals, 4 assists.

Homegrown defender Sam Vineswill make his 16th start at left fullback tonight against the Houston Dynamo. Vines participated in the 2019 MLS Homegrown Game, where he faced Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 team on July 30. Vines wore the captain’s armband in the second half of the exhibition match and converted from the penalty spot to help the Homegrown side win the contest in a shootout.

Midfielder Jack Price is back in the lineup following suspension, and will make his 20th appearance of the 2019 season vs the Houston Dynamo. Price has 50 MLS career appearances, 48 MLS career starts, 12 assists, and 1 goal for Colorado since being acquired from Wolverhampton on January 9, 2018. This is Price’s second season with the club.

Midfielder Kellyn Acosta will make his 23rd start of the 2019 season tonight against Houston. Acosta is currently in his second season with the Rapids after spending his previous six years with FC Dallas. Overall, Acosta has played a total of 1,931 minutes and has recorded two goals and two assists in 2019. The US international joined the Rapids midway through the 2018 season from his hometown club FC Dallas.

Midfielder Sam Nicholson will make his fourth consecutive start tonight. Nicholson has scored one goal and recorded two assists in 2019. Nicholson is in his second year with the Rapids, he was signed from Minnesota United FC on May 1, 2018, in exchange for defender Eric Miller and $50,000 in GAM.

Andre Shinyashiki returns to the starting XI tonight against the Dynamo and will make his 12th start of the season. Shinyashiki has recorded 23 appearances in 2019. The 22-year-old 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.

Diego Rubio will make his 20th appearance of the 2019 season. The 26-year-old scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute against the San Jose Earthquakes, while also adding an assist, which earned him a spot in the MLS Team of the Week (23). Rubio has a total of eight goals and three assists in 2019.   

Forward Kei Kamara will make his 24th appearance for the club, all coming from the start in 2019. The MLS veteran bagged the second hat trick of his playing career when the Rapids defeated the Montreal Impact 6-3 on August 3. Kamara has scored 11 goals in 2019. and is the first Rapids player to record double-digit goals in a season since 2014. Kamara is also the first-ever MLS player to score 10 goals for five different clubs.

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Andre Rawls serves as the backup to Clint Irwin tonight. The 27-year-old has been on loan with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, where he has recorded 33 saves in 12 appearances. Rawls was selected third in the 2018 Re-Entry Draft on December 14, 2018 by the Rapids. Prior to joining Colorado, Rawls spent three seasons with New York City FC.

Defender Kofi Opare is listed on the gameday roster against the Houston Dynamo. Opare currently has 3 appearances, all starts for the Rapids in 2019. The defender joined the Rapids in February after spending five seasons with D.C. United. Since arriving to MLS, he's recorded 80 appearances, scored four goals, and added one assist in over 6,800 minutes of regular season play.

Danny Wilson will feature on the gameday roster against the Houston Dynamo. The 27-year-old has 15 total appearances for the club this season. Wilson opened his MLS 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  is listed on the gameday roster against Houston. The 16-year-old has made four appearances for the Rapids as a defender and one appearance playing on the right wing. 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 contracton April 3. 

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett will feature on the gameday roster against the Dynamo. Bassett participated in the 2019 MLS Homegrown Game, where he faced Chivas de Guadalajara’s Under-20 team this week on July 30th. Bassett entered the match in the second half and scored the game-winning penalty in a shootout. Since signing his contract in 2018, the 17-year-old has scored two goals and has recorded two assists.

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquida will start from the bench tonight and may have an impact as a creative force in the second half. Since joining the Rapids, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and added four assists, including two game-winning goals.

Jonathan Lewis will start from the bench tonight vs the Houston Dynamo. The 22-year-old has scored three goals and has recorded two assists for the Rapids in 2019. Lewis currently has nine appearances for the Rapids since being acquired via a trade with NYCFC on May 7, 2019.

Colorado Rapids Injury Report