Philadelphia Union vs Colorado Rapids | Roster Notes | May 29, 2019

Starting XI:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwinwill make his first start of the 2019 season tonight in Philadelphia. The occasion marks his 120th career start in MLS. Irwin rejoined the Rapids this season after spending the previous three with Toronto FC. The goalkeeper has appeared in 121 regular season games over his six-year MLS career, recording 33 shutouts, one of which came when he was a member of the Rapids against the Union in 2015. 

Defender Keegan Rosenberry will make his 14th consecutive start of the season tonight against his former, and hometown, team. Before joining the Rapids, Rosenberry spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union, scoring three goals and dishing out six assists across 81 appearances. Tonight will mark the 25-year-old's first-ever match against the team that drafted him in 2016.  

Defender Lalas Abubakar returns to the starting lineup tonight after missing last weekend's contest against Columbus Crew SC per the terms of his loan. Th 24-year-old went the full 90 during his most recent appearances for the Rapids against the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. 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 club.

Defender Tommy Smith will make his third consecutive start tonight. The 29-year-old's towering header last Saturday against Crew SC gave the Rapids the early lead in an eventual 3-2 win. Smith has featured in a total of seven games in 2019, scoring two goals and adding an assist. He is in his second season with the Rapids after his previous stint with Ipswich Town. Last year, Smith served an assist to Dominique Badji in a 3-0 Rapids home win over the Union.

Defender Deklan Wynne will make his sixth 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. Last season, Wynne was named to the MLS Team of the Week - Week 5 for his performance against Philadelphia.

Midfielder Kellyn Acostawill make his 14th appearance of the 2019 season tonight. The 23-year-old has recorded one goal and two assists in those 14 games. 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 Johan Blomberg will make his first start of the 2019 season tonight in Philadelphia. 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. 

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett has appeared in nine 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.

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquidawill make his eighth start of the season tonight after scoring a late stunner to give Rapids their first win at home last Saturday against Columbus Crew SC. His goal is a finalist for MLS Goal of the Week - Week 13. The 27-year-old has scored two goals and one assists so far 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 Andre Shinyashikiwill make his second start of the season tonight The 21-year-old has featured in 11 games in 2019, scoring the dramatic stoppage-time equalizer in the 3-3 draw against Portland on March 2. That goal 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. 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.

Forward Diego Rubio will make his tenth start for the Rapids tonight after putting in an 89-minute shift last Saturday against Columbus Crew SC. 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. 

On the Bench:

Goalkeeper Andre Rawls will serve as the backup to Clint Irwin tonight. Rawls joined the Rapids in December after spending three seasons with New York City FC. The goalkeeper has spent the majority of the 2019 season on loan with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC making four starts including one clean sheet.

Defender Axel Sjöberg returns to the gameday roster tonight. Sjöberg is in his fifth season with the Rapids after being selected in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. Since then, the defender has scored three MLS goals and added one assist. 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 Oparehas featured in three games so far this season, and provides another strong defensive option off of the bench. The 28-year-old 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 defender Sebastian Anderson features on the gameday roster against the Philadelphia Union. 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 defender Sam Vines features on the gameday roster after going the full 90 last Saturday against Columbus Crew SC. The 19-year-old has featured in six games in 2019.

Forward Jonathan Lewisscored his first goal with the Rapids just before the half last Saturday against Columbus Crew SC. The USMNT forward joined the Colorado Rapids on May 7 from NYCFC where he featured in 31 games over three seasons, scoring three goals and five assists. Lewis was called up into the United States national team’s January camp this year under Gregg Berhalter and has recently been added to the preliminary roster for the 2019 Gold Cup.

Homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna will start tonight on the bench. 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. 

Colorado Rapids Injury Report: