The MLS playoffs have a very different feel this year. While in years past there’s always been at least one team that didn’t seem to belong. Whether it was their losing record, their negative goal-difference or just a genuinely bad team it never seemed as MLS was able to fill its postseason roster with quality sides.
Major League Soccer Playoffs: Omar Cummings, Conor Casey Lead Rapids Against Crew
That finally appears to have changed with all eight teams posting winning records and positive goal-differences.
The first of these matches is the Colorado Rapids and the Columbus Crew.
Although both of these teams are founding members of the league, they have never met in the postseason. The main reason for that is that they have never been in the same conference or been good at the same time.
They still aren’t in the same conference, of course, but they do appear to be reasonably well matched even if they are on opposite form right now.
The Crew started the season strong, but faded down the stretch. The Rapids started strong, faded in the middle third of the season, then turned it around behind the rejuvenated pairing of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings at the two forward spots.
The Rapids are the lower seed, but it’s hard to call them the underdog, especially at altitude where this game will be played. The Rapids went 8-2-5 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and posted a +16 goal-difference, second best in the league. The Crew were 4-5-6 on the road with a -4 goal-difference. More problematic, they didn’t win a single road game against a Western Conference opponent (0-4-4).
Game info: Tonight, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Starting lineups
Colorado: Pickens, Kimura, Wynne, Moor, Wallace, Mullan, Mastroeni, Larentowicz, Thompson, Cummings, Casey
Columbus: Gruenebaum, Hejduk, Marshall, Iro, Francis, Ekpo, Carroll,Gaven, Rogers, Schelotto, Lenhart
SB Nation preview of the series and match card: Rapids-Crew Game 1Preview
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