Preview: Chivas USA vs Colorado

Another early playoff exit resulted in major changes for CD Chivas USA.

The Colorado Rapids are still making moves in an effort to end their three-year postseason drought.

Chivas USA will try to open a second consecutive season with a home victory over the Rapids on Friday night.

Chivas went 13-11-6 to finish fourth in the Western Conference last year. The club then failed for the fourth straight time to advance to the second round of the playoffs, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Los Angeles.

Shortly following its playoff elimination, coach Preki Radosavljevic left for Toronto. Chivas replaced him with Martin Vasquez, previously an assistant with the club from 2005-08, before taking the same position with Bayern Munich in Germany's Bundesliga.

"He's a great choice for us," defender Mariano Trujillo told Chivas USA's official Web site. "He has all the tools that you need to coach Chivas USA. I know him pretty well and I'm really excited that he has come here."

Chivas USA's roster has also seen a great deal of change. Departed players include defender Shavar Thomas (expansion draft) and defensive midfielders Jesse Marsch (retired) and Paulo Nagamura (transferred), who had both goals in a 2-1 win over Colorado at The Home Depot Center to open 2009.

Vasquez also inherits a club that scored a conference-low 34 goals, led by forward Eduardo Lillingston's eight. Lillingston is on loan to Mexico's Tijuana and isn't scheduled to return until July.

Osael Romero might be relied upon to add some immediate scoring punch after being signed on loan from Vista Hermosa of his native El Salvador. The 23-year-old midfielder has eight goals in 39 appearances for his national team.

He'll join a midfield that includes Sacha Kljestan, who had five goals and three assists last season. Kljestan and defender Jonathan Bornsteain will serve as co-captains.

"I feel that these two guys have paid their dues and put themselves in good position to be our leaders," Vasquez said. "Right now, we have high expectations of them."

MLS: June 23-25

 

Thursday, June 23
Home		Road
Seattle	4-2	New York	Recap
Saturday, June 25
Home		Road
DC United	2-2	Houston	Recap
San Jose	0-0	LA Galaxy	Recap
Philadelphia	3-2	Chivas USA	Recap
FC Dallas	4-0	Portland	Recap
Sporting KC	2-1	Vancouver	Recap
Real Salt Lake	3-1	Toronto	Recap
Sunday, June 26
Home		Road
Chicago	1-1	New York
Seattle	2-1	New England	Recap
Columbus	4-1	Colorado
MLS Scores | Table | Fixtures

 

Chivas might be without goalkeeper Zach Thornton, who is still recovering from a thigh strain sustained last month while training with the United States national team. Thornton enjoyed a resurgence last season, going 12-9-6 while leading the league in goals-against average (0.87) and shutouts (12) en route to winning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the second time - and first since 1998.

If he's unable to play, Dan Kennedy would make his first start since getting a red card in a 1-all tie with Houston in the 2008 season finale.

The Rapids, who beat Chivas USA 2-1 at home Oct. 19, are looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They've been eliminated from contention on the final day of each of the last two regular seasons.

Colorado went 10-10-10 to tie Real Salt Lake with 40 points in 2009, but the Rapids finished sixth due to a tiebreaker. RSL claimed the last playoff spot and went on to win its first MLS Cup.

The Rapids made a move to solidify their defense Thursday, acquiring Marvell Wynne from Toronto for midfielder Nick LaBrocca and a third-round pick in next year's SuperDraft.

Wynne also adds an offensive dimension. The defender is known for his speed and ability to get forward to send crosses into the box.

He'll be aiming for Conor Casey on those crosses.

The forward returns for a fourth season with Colorado after signing a three-year extension in the offseason. He had a career-high 16 goals in 2009, finishing one behind league leader Jeff Cunningham of Dallas.

"I don't know if I seriously looked into (anything else)," Casey told the league's official Web site at the time of the signing. "There were some other options out there, but I felt that the timing was right and this is where I really wanted to be. They made a good commitment to me, and it made me feel very sure about my decision."

Casey had a goal against Chivas in October.