Portland Timbers vs Colorado Rapids | Roster Notes | July 13, 2019

Starting XI:

Team captain Tim Howard will make his 19th start of the 2019 season tonight. Last week, the Secretary of Defense made his 176th 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 93 games, boasting 21 shutouts and recording 311 saves.  

Defender Keegan Rosenberry will make his 20th consecutive start of the season tonight, marking his 100th MLS career appearance. 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 ninth start of the season tonight. Abubakar has recorded 720 minutes on the field and 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 ninth 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 in Portland. Vines was just 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 twelve matches during the 2019 season. 

Midfielder Danny Wilson earns his fourth consecutive start of 2019 tonight. The 27-year-old has nine 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 midfielder Cole Bassett will make his 15th appearance of the 2019 season, and his 21st appearance overall for the club. Bassett was recently 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. Since signing his contract in 2018, the 17-year-old has scored two goals and has recorded two assists in 1,062 minutes.

Jonathan Lewis
 returns from international duty with the USMNT and will make his fourth start of the season for the Rapids. Lewis will now have five appearances for the Rapids in 2019 since being acquired from NYCFC on May 7, 2019. 

Andre Shinyashiki will make his eighth start of the season tonight and look to score his fifth goal of the 2019 season. Shinyashiki will begin the night on the wing and has featured in 17 matches 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.

Diego Rubio will make his 14th start tonight. Rubio made his 65th MLS appearance last week when the Rapids played New England. The 26-year-old has scored four goals in 2019. 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 notched six assists in 2018 in just 781 minutes.

Forward Kei Kamara will make his 19th start for the club tonight. The MLS veteran currently holds the fifth spot on the all-time goals list  with 120 to his name. Kamara currently leads the Rapids with eight goals for the 2019 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 the Portland Timbers. 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. 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 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 the Portland Timbers. 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 Mezquidafeatures on the gameday roster after coming on for Cole Bassett in the 53rd minute against the New England Revolution. Since joining the Rapids, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and added three assists, including two game-winning goals.

Midfielder
Sam Nicholson
will feature on the gameday roster and coup appear in his 13th game of the season. 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, 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