It's Now Official - Revs/Rapids Trade

The Colorado Rapids acquired the rights to midfielder Jeff Larentowicz and midfielder Wells Thompson in a trade with the New England Revolution, the club announced today.
In exchange, Colorado sent goalkeeper Preston Burpo, defender Cory Gibbs, allocation money and their natural third round 2011 MLS SuperDraft pick to New England.
Following the acquisition of Larentowicz’s rights, the Rapids agreed to terms on a new contract with him, officially adding the five-year veteran to their roster.
Larentowicz has established himself as one of the league's premier talents in the midfield. In five seasons with New England, he had climbed into ninth place on the Revolution’s all-time games started list (103) and minutes played list (9,305). Originally selected by the Revolution in the fourth round, 45th overall, in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft from Brown, Larentowicz has played in 111 career games and recorded nine goals and nine assists.
A three-year veteran, Thompson has played his entire MLS career with New England after originally being selected by the Revolution in the first round, fifth overall, of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft from Wake Forest. He has appeared in 71 games, with 36 starts, scoring two goals and registering three assists. Thompson’s game-winning goal in the final of the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup gave the Revs their first cup championship in club history.
Burpo leaves Colorado after joining the club in May 2008. The six-year MLS veteran started in 24 games and made 60 saves with a 1.67 goals against average for the Rapids.
Gibbs appeared in 29 games and scored one goal for Colorado after being acquired in August 2008.

Jeff Larentowicz – Midfielder

Height: 6-1

Weight: 175

DOB: August 5, 1983

Hometown: West Chester, Pennsylvania

College: Brown

Last Club: New England Revolution

Roster Status: Senior

Wells Thompson – Midfielder

Height: 5-10

Weight: 155

DOB: November 25, 1983

Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC

College: Wake Forest

Last Club: New England Revolution

Roster Status: Senior

Transaction
MLS

Rapids Set to Sign USMNT Midfielder; Gibbs Going

It all looks official now, barring the dotted Is and crossed Ts. This might be a move in the right direction with Larentowicz. The view on Thompson seems to be mixed. But the Rapids are in desperate need of a dominant, creative midfielder and the national team's Larentowicz might just fit that bill. According to the Boston Herald report, the Revolution will get Preston Burpo and Cory Gibbs in return, plus some money and a draft pick. Burpo has been nothing short of a model professional at DSG Park and a good guy. He looks as if he will get some good playing time in New England with Matt Reis injured. Gibbs was becoming increasingly expendable with Gary Smith looking to Julien Baudet and Drew Moor as his number one central defensive pairing. Look for a lot more Rapids' trades in coming weeks and months.
http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/soccer/revolution/view/20100121revs_ship_larentowicz_to_rapids_in_4-player_swap/srvc=home&position=recent

Rapids Out of Postseason

The Colorado Rapids will not be going to the postseason for the third straight year after New England beat Columbus today. Remarkably, the Rapids were still in with a shout at getting a playoff spot after their 3-0 beating by Real Salt Lake yesterday. Results elsewhere meant that they could still get into the postseason, apparently if Columbus beat New England. That wasn't to be as New England won the final game of the regular season 1-0 with a Jeff Larentowicz goal in the 79th minute. In truth, the Rapids would have been very lucky to have crept in by the back door after only getting four points from their last seven games. Time for some analysis another day.

Rapids Tie Again After Baudet Sent Off

The Colorado Rapids notched their fourth tie in a row tonight, making their playoff hopes no more fulfilled. As Seattle and Chivas snatched vital away victories, the Rapids could only draw at home in Colorado. A 56th minute penalty kick from Conor Casey, his 16th goal of the season, equalized for the home team after Kheli Dube had opened the scoring for New England in the 29th minute. Julien Baudet was sent off for the Rapids in the 58th minute. The Rapids now sit back for a week and wait anxiously to see what other teams do. They next play October 17th in Dallas.

Revolution Take 1-0 Lead Into Halftime

A poor first-half for the Rapids with very few outright chances created. A 29th minute header by Kheli Dube from a leftfield cross crashed past Preston Burpo for the only goal of the first 45 minutes. Dube was left virtually unmarked in the penalty area. Frustrations abound for the Rapids as the playoffs look more distant at the break.

Rapids' Disappointment Good; Seattle on Horizon

From Gary Smith quotes to comments from soccer scribes, the idea that the Colorado Rapids are a different proposition this season compared to the last few, notably on the road, is picking up traction. The overriding feeling after Saturday's 1-1 draw with New England was disappointment that the Rapids had not picked up all three points. While the Rapids did manage a 1-0 victory on the road against the Revolution last year, I think we can all safely say that was a bit of a shock and not part of a pattern that emerged. This year, against an admittedly injury-ravaged side that saw one of the best MLS defensive midfielders in Shalrie Joseph bizarrely playing up front, the Rapids clearly believed they could win and were frustrated they didn't. Here is an article from www.goal.com with some thoughts on that.
http://goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2009/05/18/1271703/monday-mls-breakdown-ambitious-travels
The Rapids really took the game to New England in those opening ten minutes which saw the Colorado goal from Conor Casey, a tremendous header from quite a long way out with the ball behind him. Unfortunately, the dynamics changed after New England scored from a penalty after 17 minutes. Although the Rapids apparently outshot their opponents for the rest of the game, it wasn't really until the final ten minutes or so that Colorado really dominated again. If, as a good friend of mine said, we could have bottled up those bookends of the game and played like that for the rest of the 90 minutes, there is no doubt that the Rapids would have come away victorious. It's very hard to do that, though, when the penalty came after that opening spell when the Rapids threw everything at New England.
I know all games are important but this weekend's homer against Seattle is shaping up to be a cracker and perhaps somewhat of a watershed for the season. Clearly, if we look at the Western Conference, Chivas are playing the most consistent soccer. Houston will always be in the mix, leaving Seattle and the Rapids to battle for the bronze. The only other team that has shown glimpses of being with these two is Real Salt Lake but they have apparently dropped off a cliff with coach, Jason Kreis, saying this week that he might have to look at himself after what he described as the team's worst ever perfomance at home last weekend. San Jose and Dallas look the weakest teams and LA just cannot win and probably won't be victorious too often this season even with Mr. Beckham returning.
That makes this weekend's game extremely intruiging. I personally cannot wait to see Ljungberg on the field - a great midfielder at his peak with Arsenal. The only thing I will miss is the phenomenal home support for the Sounders though they will probably have a very good and noisy sample of fans making the trip. When I watched their game against LA the other weekend, it felt like I was watching a Premiership game in terms of the atmosphere. Now, if we could bottle some of that up and transport it to DSG Park.