The Colorado Rapids will look to extend their home unbeaten streak to 23 games when they entertain the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night at Commerce City, Colo.
It’s a good thing the Rapids (4-5-3, 15 points) play so well in the Mile High altitude because they are 0-5-1 on the road after Wednesday’s 2-1 setback at Sporting Kansas City.
But Colorado is 4-0-2 in front of the home crowd and captain Jack Price said part of the success is due to how comfortable the team feels on friendly soil.
“We have a great fan base behind us and we use the altitude,” Price, a midfielder, said. “Maybe it’s more of a psychological thing. But every time a team comes in, they worry about (the altitude). Hopefully Seattle will do the same thing.
“We know when we’re here (at home) that we’re a really tough team to beat.”
Seattle (4-5-1, 13 points) has improved its level of play to finally win back-to-back MLS games for the first time this season.
The Sounders were floundering in league play, despite their epic run to win the prestigious CONCACAF Champions League title. But their effort was much more crisp while beating Minnesota United (3-1) and the Houston Dynamo (1-0) in a span of four days.
“We’ve got one goal in mind so it’s a little bit easier on our bodies and on our minds,” midfielder Kelyn Rowe said of the fact that the club can now fully concentrate on MLS play. “We’re glad that we were able to find that back-to-back win and hopefully maybe get on a run as much as we can.”
In Wednesday’s win against the Dynamo, forward Raul Ruidiaz scored the lone goal and Stefan Frei recorded his 87th career shutout to move into third place on the MLS all-time list. Frei has a 1.43 goals-against average this season.
Ruidiaz has scored goals in back-to-back games, his first two MLS tallies of the season.
The win at Houston pushed Seattle’s road record to 2-3-1.
Forward Diego Rubio leads the Rapids with six goals. Colorado goalkeeper William Yarbrough has a 1.17 GAA.
The Sounders won one of last season’s three meetings with the Rapids, a 3-0 victory on Oct. 3. The other games ended in 1-1 draws.
–Field Level Media
