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In preseason action, Chivas USA played the Colorado Rapids Sunday evening in the Las Vegas ProSoccer Challenge, winning 2-1 on a pair of penalty kicks.
After Deshorn Brown opened the scoring in the 16th minute for the Rapids with a nice switchback that just made it inside the far post, Erick Torres converted a PK in the 19th minute drawn by Matthew Fondy for a foul in the box. Then, the teams were deadlocked, although both teams hit the woodwork, but a second penalty was called in the final 10 minutes of the game drawn by Thomas McNamara, and Adolfo Bautista slotted the PK just past Clint Irwin in the 82nd minute to give the Goats the lead, and ultimately, the victory.
Most of the team's roster featured in the game. I'll try to give as good of a rundown as I can.
Starting lineup: Dan Kennedy; Tony Lochhead, Bobby Burling, Carlos Bocanegra, Eric Avila; Oswaldo Minda, Agustin Pelletieri, Thomas McNamara, Mauro Rosales; Matthew Fondy, Erick Torres
Carlos Alvarez replaced Pelletieri in the 12th minute.
Tim Melia entered the game to start the second half, coming on for DK.
Bofo came on for Cubo in the 62nd minute.
In the 66th minute, "Trialist #2" entered for Minda. I strongly suspect that trialist is Spanish midfielder Dani Fragoso, who was rumored to be coming to the club.
Kris Tyrpak replaced Rosales in the 74th minute.
The wholesale changes started in the 76th minute, when Andrew Ribeiro, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Michael Nwiloh and Fejiro Okiomah came in for Avila, Bocanegra, Lochhead and Burling.
Then in the final minutes of the game, Caleb Calvert, Bryan de la Fuente, and Carlo Chueca came into the game for Fondy, McNamara, and another player (the team account says Minda, which I think is incorrect).
Among the brightest spots in the game were McNamara and Rosales. The veteran Argentine was very active in the game and showed a willingness to mix it up and chase after the ball when Chivas didn't have it. I realize he has a body of work already in MLS, but he was more lively than I thought he would be.
McNamara was the player who really announced his arrival in this match, or at least as much as a player can in a preseason friendly. In addition to drawing the second penalty, he had a shot go off the crossbar and looked very good on the attacking end for the Goats. It's a first glimpse, but it definitely looks promising, especially if he is capable of crashing the box and scoring on some rebounds this season.
Eric Avila played right back for the second straight preseason game, something that may be a surprise, but it appears Wilmer Cabrera is trying to figure out the best way to keep him on the field, after trying him on the left side of midfield in the team's first preseason game.
Bofo hurt himself after his goal, with what looked to possibly be a hamstring injury. I'd say we need to wait for the injury report, but from what I know, those don't really exist anymore so who knows what info we'll get on that.
Here's the place where I offer disclaimers about the result. Chivas beat Colorado in the same game last year, crushing them 3-0 in a dominant performance, before the teams went in opposite directions, with the Rapids making the playoffs and Chivas taking a single point off Colorado during the regular season. The result, especially coming as it did off a pair of PKs, should not be considered important in the grand scheme of things.
Chivas will now head to Arizona for the Desert Diamond Cup preseason tournament, with their first game coming Wednesday afternoon in Tucson against the hosts FC Tucson. They'll play four games there over the next couple weeks. And we'll have the coverage of those games as well as any other news and commentary that comes up over the course of the rest of the preseason.
What do you think? Leave a comment below!
