Sporting Kansas City vs Colorado Rapids | Roster Notes | September 21, 2019

Starting XI:

Goalkeeper Clint Irwin will make his ninth start of the season tonight against Sporting Kansas City. In all, Irwin has 10 appearances and 41 saves in 2019. Irwin made his return to Colorado after being acquired from Toronto FC on December 14, 2018. Overall, Irwin has appeared in 131 regular season games over his MLS career, recording 34 shutouts.

Defender Keegan Rosenberrywill make his 32nd consecutive start of the season tonight after scoring his first goal with the Rapids last weekend in Toronto. 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 Abubakar
 will make his 20th start with the Rapids as they take on SKC. The Ghanaian has been a mainstay in defense since joining the Rapids on loan from Columbus Crew SC in May. Abubakar appeared in 31 games since 2017 for the Ohio club.

Tommy Smithwill make his 25th start of the season tonight. 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 57 MLS career appearances, with six goals and four assists to his name.

Homegrown defender Sam Vines will make his 25th MLS appearance tonight. In 2019, the the 20-year-old defender has earned 21 starts and has played 1,924 minutes. 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 will make his 25th appearance of the 2019 season tonight. Price has recorded 13 assists, and one 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 28th start of the season in Kansas City. 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 2,381 minutes and has recorded two goals and two assists in 2019. The US international joined the Rapids midway through the 2018 season via trade. 

Midfielder Sam Nicholson will make his 25th appearance of the 2019 season against SKC. Nicholson has scored one goal and has recorded four assists in 2019. Nicholson is in his second year with the Rapids, he joined the club from Minnesota United FC on May 1, 2018.

Jonathan Lewis will make his 10th start of the 2019 season tonight. The 22-year-old has five goals so far in 2019. Lewis currently has 14 appearances for the Rapids in 2019 since being acquired via a trade with NYCFC on May 7, 2019. 

Diego Rubio will make his 75th MLS appearance tonight when the Rapids take on Sporting KC. Rubio recently returned from international duty after earning a call up to represent Chile for their friendlies against Argentina (9/5) and Honduras (9/10). Rubio appeared in the match in the 46th minute against Argentina and played all 90 minutes against Honduras. Rubio has recorded nine goals and four assists for the Rapids in 2019.

Forward
Kei Kamara
will lead the Rapids attack tonight when they take on one of his former clubs. Kamara also recently returned from international duty with Sierra Leone, where he started both matches against Liberia, and scored in the 55th minute in leg two of their World Cup Qualifiers. In MLS action, the 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 in a season 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 37 saves in 13 appearances, and has kept five clean sheets. 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.

Danny Wilson features on the gameday roster against SKC. 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.

Defender Axel Sjöberg is listed on the gameday roster. 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 has recorded seven appearances, five starts, and 435 minutes for the Rapids this season. 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 is listed on the gameday roster. Anderson recently returned from a stint with the US U-17s, where he earned two starts. The 16-year-old has made six appearances for the Rapids this season. 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.

Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett features on the gameday roster today against Sporting KC. Bassett recently returned from a stint with the US U-20s, where he scored a goal in each of his two most recent appearances. 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 with the Rapids in 2018, the 17-year-old has scored two goals and has recorded two assists in MLS action. 

Midfielder Nicolás Mezquida is listed on the gameday roster against SKC. Since joining the Rapids this past offseason, the 27-year-old has scored four goals and added five assists, including three game-winning goals. Mezquida has recorded a total of 129 MLS appearances, 61 MLS starts, 16 goals, and nine assists in 5,757 minutes.

Andre Shinyashiki features on the gameday roster today as he continues his MLS Rookie of the Year campaign. In 2019, Shinyashiki has notched seven goals, two assists and played a total of 1,393 minutes. 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.

Colorado Rapids Injury Report