D.C. United (3-2-1) are headed to the Mile High City this Saturday to face the Colorado Rapids (0-2-4) at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. The Black-and-Red look to snag all three points on the road following a scoreless draw in their previous match against The Montreal Impact on Cherry Blossom Night.
Although it was a slow night on Tuesday against Montreal without much chance creation from both clubs, United’s Bill Hamid recorded his fourth clean sheet of the season and is now tied with Zach Steffen for the most shutouts in the league. Veteran Quincy Amarikwa also got some on-field action after entering in the 64th minute for Ulises Segura who started at the striker position, racking up more minutes on the season.
Wayne Rooney will be returning to the squad this weekend in hopes of upping the offensive effort on the pitch after receiving a red card and subsequent one-game suspension in DCU’s loss to LAFC. In his return, Rooney will meet both an old teammate and opponent in Rapids’ goalkeeper Tim Howard. The two played together in the English Premier League from 2005-2015, in eight games on Manchester United, and against each other in 13 matches when Howard was with Everton FC. Rooney scored his first goal for D.C. United last season against Howard and the Rapids in a 2-1 victory on July 28, 2018.
The Rapids have yet to log a victory this season. They came close to a win last Saturday in a hard-fought battle against Orlando City SC, where Kei Kamara bagged his 115th career goal early on, which pushed the forward up to fifth on the all-time goals scored list in MLS. After a couple lead changes, Rapids’ 17-year-old midfielder Cole Bassett curled home a go-ahead goal and his first of the season in the 71st minute, just ten minutes after tallying an assist on Nicolás Mezquida's equalizer, earning him a bench spot on the MLS Team of the Week. But even leading as deep as the 80th minute, The Rapids weren’t able to keep Orlando at bay, eventually falling to the Lions on a penalty kick from Nani.
The Black-and-Red are all-time 13-17-8 against Colorado. The last time the two clubs met on July 28, 2018, DCU prevailed over the Rapids at Audi Field with two combined goals from LuchoRoo. United’s all-time history at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park is 2-4-2.
Kick-off is slated for 9 PM ET and will be broadcast on FloFC - Reminder that FloSports is offering DCU content on the house for the entire month of April, CLICK HERE to find out more.
