I went to Westminster yesterday, and no Rapids... Does anyone know if they will be outside today, I would hope so, three days in a row indoors isn't going to prepare them for Tuesday... Called German, but I got a feeling no one hangs around the office on Sundays...
Just a small FYI -- except in completely obvious cases (i.e. snow covering the field), weather decisions usually are made by the coaching staff only an hour or two before training. Thus even if you had gotten in touch the a member of the front office, it's likely they would not have known until an hour or so beforehand. Not sure if they got out there today or not.
I did make it to practice today... here's the skinny... After light stretching, I imagine they did more inside with the warmth, they got busy playing 7 v 7 small goal, small field, they then got rid of the goals and concentrated on stringing 5 passes together within the small confines... then went large field regulation goal... From the looks of it... your lineup for Tuesday will look like this... ................Cannon Hart Borchers Fraser Kotschau Hendo Pablo Beckerman Chung ......Spenny Carrieri I could be wrong on the keeper, however, Cannon did spend the most time in goal and the most time with the first team squad... Everyone looked pretty good, and there was a more general air of positivity, I guess people not tearing ligaments will do that, it was chilly, but the guys seemed to be alright... Dan Counce made an appearance, I don't know how ofter he makes practice, but seeing as how it's the last practice of the year before the playoffs, perhaps that should be expected. Spenny scored once off a Chung feed to Hendo that Hendo gave to Spenny. Hendo scored off of a Spencer shot that pelted the crossbar, and Carrieri had a nice finish and was deserving for his continuous hard work. Carrieri has to be a great player to be around day in and day out, he was asking for more after the whistle.... After the full intersquad, the defenders and strikers/midfielders separated to work on finishing and defenders their clearing... Matt Crawford showed some not oft seen finishing skills, that were promptly dismissed by his teammates (part of that jovial attitude that prevailed over practice) I like this team going into Tuesday. Hopefully, Hankinson has them ready to go after goals from the whistle, and put the heat on KC... Sidenote... I like Zi Zi Roberts to sub in at around 65 minutes if we need goals, just from watching him the last couple of days, you can tell that although Hankinson has him playing in a defensive role in practice, that his mind is continually on scoring goals, I think Zi Zi is one of those people that can score just by willing it so, when action stopped, Zi Zi would take a crack at a goal no matter what direction, he'd step up from Defense and light one on goal from 40 out... I think Hart is our biggest liability, you never know with him, he doesn't seem to put himself in bad positions, I just question wether physically he has the make-up speed, and footwork to play on the defensive wing, especially since he's often looking to overlap... I'm just glad that Chris Klein will be on the opposite wing... I also like Powell as an offensive substitute for Pablo if we start needing to look for goals, the man just sees the game, and knows the game... Borchers was solid (no surprise) BUT, he had a few handballs today, one that his teammates called him on, in the box no less (inadvertant) but a couple that I think everyone else missed... most were freaky bounces from the wet grass, but I'm just making a note here... Garlick was more vocal today, and more constructive, although he did get frustrated on one goal, which was to be expected, the defense of the 2nd team in front of him was pretty suspect, but a lot of those guys were playing out of position... Always fun to get out there... I think we take the Wizards 2-0...
I think we need a false report next time, just in case the KC boys are reading......if they can? Good info though. Now the rumor I've heard is that KC is getting a new mascot. That guy from Seinfeld.......The Wiz, nobody beats the wiz.
I don't think the Wiz will be able to prepare during their travel day... that's why I went ahead and threw it out... plus, Hankinson is pretty much dancin' with the one that brought him... I don't see any suprises in that lineup with the exception of goalkeeper... Also, even if KC knows what's coming, they don't have enough to stop this Rapids team, unless the Rapids stop themselves...
Thanks for the post on practices...its very interesting for those of us who do not get out there for these things... Looking at the lineup you suggested, I agree that Hart is the biggest liability, because you never do know which Wes Hart will show up for any given game. I also think other teams must be realizing that a fast enough guy will eat him for lunch if he is even slightly off. I would also add Hendo as a possible liability. Not because he is a bad player, but he's had such an off year, and has struggled way too much. Hopefully the good Hendo will show up, and not the evil Henderson who has made so many passes right on to the feet of opposing players.
I wouldn't add Henderson as a liability. It could have been argued for a 2-3 game stretch during the middle of the season where he was playing through an injury. However, he is asked along with Chung to cover so much ground and to play in front of Hart. I believe he's score in 2 of the last 3 games and added a pair of assists, and his numbers, are pretty comparable to Carrieri's, and I don't consider Carrieri a liability. Also, we've seen what Kingsley's done in Hendo's absense, and that ain't much... I think since Henderson's #'s weren't like last years, many people have written him off, and kinda put the microscope on his shortcomings this year... I don't know what his numbers are, but I think he's quietly put up a solid season... just off the top of my head... 4 goals (2pk) 1 open cup goal, and 5?6?7? assists... His corners are the only ones that have found anyone in the box for goals this year as well... It's been the inability to feed our strikers from the center of the field, inability to make the far post run, and wingback play that has hampered the Rapids...