COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – In his first season as head coach of the Colorado Rapids, Pablo Mastroeni turned a few heads at times when it came to selecting players.
Among the most confounding spots was the team’s goalkeeping carousel.
The Rapids' need to solidify their goalkeeping corps after last year's up-and-down campaign prompted the move for fifth-year veteran Zac MacMath on a season-long loan from Philadelphia, joining third-year MLSer Clint Irwin (pictured) and second-year pro John Berner.
The most experienced of the trio despite being only 23, MacMath has embraced the move as a “fresh start,” but there is no doubt he will have to earn the right to be called Colorado’s top-choice goalkeeper.
“Between Clint, Zac and John, we have three guys between the ages of 23-25 with over 160 games of MLS experience,” Rapids goalkeeping coach Chris Sharpe told MLSSoccer.com. “When you talk about experience, you can’t put an age on it. I think the main thing was bringing someone in with experience in the league. [MacMath]’s got 100 games in this league as a 23-year-old.”
Although MacMath may be a more proven commodity, the incumbent Irwin (31 starts in 2013, 25 in 2014) and Berner (5 starts in 2014) have responded well to the challenge.
“[Irwin] and [Berner] have come in a lot sharper than they were last year.” Sharpe commented. “I think bringing Zac in has been excellent for Johnny and Clint. The work ethic and the work rate between the three of them has been awesome.”
Preseason minutes offer little indication of a clear No. 1. In the Rapids' four games since Feb. 15, MacMath and Irwin have split most of the minutes, each playing one full game in the Desert Diamond Cup, with Berner playing only 27 minutes on Wednesday.
Whoever starts Saturday's championship game against rival Real Salt Lake (9pm ET, live stream) seems likely to get the call on a regular basis, although MacMath cannot play on March 7 in Philadelphia due to the terms of his loan from the Union.
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MacMath, Irwin and Berner appear to have already seen off one challenge, as 28-year-old trialist Quentin Westberg, who has spent his career in France's Ligue 2, left Colorado's preseason camp after just two weeks.
Sharpe said potential changes due to form, suspensions and injuries require that the Rapids have confidence in all three goalkeepers, but who will take the field on opening day, however, remains to be determined.
“For myself, Pablo and this coaching staff,” said Sharpe, “the games are going to be the measuring stick on who’s going to be doing business for us.”
