COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Entering Friday night’s game between the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni thought it was prime time to get rid of the signature mustache he’d been sporting since January’s MLS SuperDraft.
“The caterpillar grew into a butterfly late last night,” Mastroeni said of the new look.
Like their head coach, the Rapids experienced another close shave against their Western Conference rival, salvaging a point at home on the wings of Dillon Serna’s 88th minute equalizer for a 1-1 draw.
Following a string of 13 straight MLS contests without a start, Serna looked more killer bee than butterfly, not only scoring the team’s lone goal, but producing four chances and two shots on target. It continued the upward trend the 21-year-old began earlier in the week with two goals and an assist in Colorado’s 4-1 US Open Cup win over USL side Colorado Springs on Tuesday.
“At the beginning of the week, we saw a guy that was goal dangerous and hungry,” Mastroeni said of Serna’s insertion into the starting 11. “Those two things are what we need.”
Nixing the mustache and adding Serna weren’t the only changes the Rapids’ boss made on Friday. With injuries along the back line mounting, Drew Moor was inserted at left back in an attempt to minimize any damage that the Dallas midfield could muster.
“I think what Drew brings is a wealth of experience,” Mastroeni said of the move. “He’s had a lot of outside back experience at the beginning of his career and with the national team.”
“I think with some of the numbers we don’t have, I guess I looked comfortable there after [playing at left back] Tuesday night,” said Moor. “That was part of the plan: To keep things solid and help out with things moving forward.”
Moor indeed helped out in the attack, providing the assist on Serna’s goal. But in spite of all the precautions to contain Dallas star Fabian Castillo, the midfielder burned Colorado for an opening goal for the second time in his past two visits to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, giving Dallas a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute.
That wasn’t the most confounding part of the game for Mastroeni. Instead it was his team’s inability to score off of corner kicks, despite eight opportunities.
“Scoring is the hardest thing to do in this league. Corner kicks are a fantastic opportunity to do that,” Mastroeni explained. “It’s about being brave and putting your head in places where it’s going to get severed off. That part is frustrating.”
Nevertheless, it was the performance of the Brighton, Colo. native that remained the focal point of the Rapids’ Friday night performance.
Said Mastroeni: “[Serna] has waited patiently. He’s continued training really hard and brings the youthfulness of ‘I’m going to take shots from wherever and I’ll take guys on.’ Hopefully it will become contagious and we can get that going.”
