Other then the Ugo error, the Rapids continued pretty much every trend from their past few games. They played good defense (exceptional in the case of Erpen and Kimura), contested the midfield, and had many opportunities which they didn’t finish. Same old story.

One insight I picked up when watching the game though was that I think a big source of the Rapids inability to finish is Omar. He’s kind of a ball-hog. He tries to shoot even when there’s no shot instead of passing it off to McManus. That works okay when he’s the lone forward, but if the Rapids are going to use a spot on another forward, Omar’s going to need to learn to utilize him. In a sense, Omar’s a striker not a forward.

Christian continued his midfield domination, but he’s either going to have to start taking better corners, or we have to Terry back in the lineup. Those low-and-right-at-the-first-defender kicks just don’t cut it.

The ejections were a little strange, too. Who is Gary Smith?

As for Houston, they really played the best game of their season so far today. If they keep it up, they might get back into playoff contention.

Have you ever heard that where a team is at the quarter-season mark is where they are likely to end up? It’s fairly accurate in Europe, probably less so in MLS, but still pretty good. At least, I hope it is, because this is it, and the Rapids are in first place.

So, now the only solution is to take out one of the most frustrating losses of all time on our next opponents…Salt Lake.

The San Jose game comes to mind. Let’s just hope that this weekend isn’t a repeat of that game. The Earthquakes the Rapids played are very similar to Houston: poor scoring and no wins. The players really can’t afford acknowledge that, though. That’s a big part of how upsets happen: the good team expects this win to come easier then the last ones and plays accordingly. They cease to be the good team and become a team who’s playing poorly on purpose. If the Rapids pretend this is still the team which won the MLS Cup last year, they’ll be fine.

On Saturday, the Rapids have a game against the worst team in soccer. If I was a neutral observer and sports betting were legal, I would have to get 6/1 to bet on Houston, at least.

Why? Simple, Houston can’t score. They average 0.83 goals per game, second worst in MLS. That few goals will sometimes get you a draw and usually a loss. And sure enough, Houston’s record is perhaps the biggest spot on their resume: 0-2-4. Six games with no wins is hauntingly familiar.

In fact, watching Houston remands me a lot of watching the Rapids’ play last year during the ten game loosing streak. There are a lot of attempts at easy solutions like kicking over the defense and hoping a forward makes a good run, all the while losing the midfield battle so that if your risky maneuver pays off, they’ve already put a few goals away on you. It should be nice watching the Rapids on the other side of that equation this year.

Another trend that would be nice to see end: The Rapids have never beat Houston on the road.

My Prediction: Houston 1-2 Colorado

And I’m being generous with that goal, Houston.

Other Game Predictions:
Real Salt Lake 1-2 Dallas
San Jose Earthquakes 0-1 Columbus Crew
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 New York Red Bulls (Maybe this is low-balling it for the Gals. Landon is on pace for 40 goals this season. Let’s hope he still feels that way against England, Spain, and Argentina).
Chivas USA 2-2 New England Revolution

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the worst part of Houston’s rapid decline: Houston is going to be representing the United States in the Champions League and SuperLiga this year. That’ll be a little embarrassing. At least DC is still…oh crap.