Halftime ... Saghini and company are complimentary to both teams. Portland had a lot of SKC style high pressure. Calderon and Hill looked good. Mulan seems comfortable at right back. Possession seemed to be in the Rapids' favor but they had trouble geting out of their half. Portland seemed to have more dangerous crosses and attempts. I think we had more set peices though.
Rapids looking a bit rusty on offense with some bright spots here and there. Portland seems similar except for that great Valeri shot. Portland putting pressure on CO defense when we have the ball in our 1/3rd. Both teams (esp. Portland) running very hard which speeds things up and creates difficulty with possession and ball management. I only assume this is the case b/c Portland is expected to switch all XI out at the half. Wallace showing some difficulty out there and Calderon looking good.
Lineup: Brown---Akpan----Peri Martinez --------Dillon Serna? (Not Jamie) -----LaBrocca-----Powers Kindle---O'Neill---Sturgis---Klute ---------------Mauer----------------
Serna appears to be on the left fwd, Brown in the middle. Maybe Akpan is in the a-mid role? Kindle in the corner with a nice cross. Brown can't get everything on the header and it's saved.
I realize it's just preseason, but to whomever it was that said Serna wasn't yet ready for MLS (that Marx guy maybe?), you're f*cking nuts. Kid clearly has the goods and isn't out of his depth at all. Not saying he's going to get a ton of minutes, but he needs to be playing pro soccer now.
He doesn't seem big like Pickens or Ceus...it's like Mike Magee back there! Serna just played a horrible pass, he and his receiver were not on the same page. More open game this half.
Serna definitely is having some good touches, but, I must say he is extremely tiny in height and width. He needs to pack on some muscle to withstand the physicality of the MLS. I think the Rapids got an extremely great deal getting back LaBrocca he is looking really sharp. Personally, I have always liked him and was not happy when we got rid him. He has the defensive ability of Ginga, but, he is much better at passing in the air and on the ground. Great vision.