A New Season

Welcome to 2013. The shirts are (mostly) the same, the team name is the same, but there are quite a few changes we're in for this season. Oscar Pareja begins his second season as manager and along with Paul Bravo has put a youthful crew together for this voyage. Where this boat sails, we'll have months to figure out together. We got our first glimpse of what that could look like as the Rapids faced Portland in Tuscon, AZ in the opening game of this season's Dessert Friendlies. In the first half we got to see a line up that most likely will be rather similar to what we'll see opening day. Brian Mullan made a first half appearance at right back and played pretty well in the limited minutes. I look forward to seeing Mullan on the field wherever he is. He is a true professional. The only slightly depressing thing to come out of the first half was that the key to this whole season, to the offense, the engine that makes this offense run, Martin Rivero left with an apparent ankle injury. (He later tweeted a picture of himself in a cast). The offense struggled at times last year, and if he's out for any significant amount of time, I don't see that stopping, especially with the youth and inexperience up top. The second half was all about the youngsters, and while they showed some signs of promise, I will quell my enthusiasm for the moment by understanding the context of these game and the quality of opponent on the field. However, it was good to see some of those fresh young faces in burgundy. What did you think of the friendly? Which young player are you most excited about? What happens if Rivero is out for a period of time?

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