Oscar Pareja got what he wanted out of Wednesday afternoon's scrimmage against the Colorado Foxes, in which rookie Dillon Serna set up the only two goals in a match played on the turf field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
"We had a challenging session in the morning, and so this afternoon we wanted to play some soccer with the younger players and some of the invited players that are here," Pareja told ColoradoRapids.com after the scrimmage.
Nick LaBrocca, Nathan Sturgis, and Jamie Smith were the senior players that led a group which also included supplemental Draft picks Brenton Griffiths, Marcello Castro and Machael David, trialists David Giraldo, Cesar Romero, and Academy players Isaac Martinez and Ricardo Perez.
MORE: Serna credits Academy for progression to the pros
Serna's first assist came in the first half when he curled in a free kick that Andre Akpan headed in for the first goal of the match. Serna then set up trialist Cesar Romero with 10 minutes to playe when he slipped in a deft pass between two defenders leaving Romero to finish on one touch to extend the lead.
"This exercise was useful so that they can show us a little more what they can do and for us to know them better," Pareja said. "We're still in preseason and we're getting match fit, so it's good to see them play as well."
Colorado Rapids lineup: Clint Irwin (Jimmy Maurer 46'), Chris Klute, ^Brenton Griffiths, ^Marcello Castro, Anthony Wallace (#Isaac Martinez 65'), Dillon Powers (#Ricardo Perez 65'), Nathan Sturgis (^Machael David), Kamani Hill (Nick LaBrocca 46'), Jamie Smith (David Giraldo 46'), Dillon Serna, Andre Akpan (Cesar Romero 46')
* trialist; # Academy; ^ Supplemental Pick
