PHILADELPHIA - Going into the offseason the Colorado Rapids needed to improve in almost all areas, but one likely stood out most: defense.
The Rapids conceded the most goals in the league in 2014 (62), and took the first step towards solving the issue late in the year with the acquisition of English Premier League veteran Zat Knight. The makeover continued at the start of the offseason.
Gone were Marvell Wynne, Thomas Piermayr, and Joe Nasco. In came Bobby Burling and Michael Harrington.
Their last addition before the draft was goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia Union on January 6 and will be with the Rapids on loan in 2015. The 23-year-old is coming off his best season as a pro and, according to head coach Pablo Mastroeni, will be in open competition with incumbents Clint Irwin and John Berner for the starting job.
“I think Zac is a player that is young, that has a wealth of experience,” Mastroeni said. “He’s coming off his best year which with that comes a lot of confidence and I think going through what we went through last year, I think it’ll be great to have a very competitive environment in that goalkeeper position.”
Mastroeni specifically referenced the Rapids' last 14 games, in which the team lost 12 and drew two while racking up a minus-26 goal differential, as a reason for bringing in MacMath and having an open competition between the three players.
“Coming off the last 14 games of last year it would be silly for me to solidify any spots right? We’re all battling, everyone’s got to earn their keep.”
On Thursday at the SuperDraft the Rapids continued the rebuild of their defense. First they moved up from the No. 19 pick to No. 14 to draft 6’7’’ center back Axel Sjoberg out of Marquette (above, left). Then, in the second round, the team drafted another center back in the US Naval Academy’s Joseph Greenspan, who stands at 6’6’’.
Despite the hulking size of both defenders, Mastroeni said it wasn’t the size that intrigued him. “For me its about being very intelligent, being able to organize, having good footwork with the ball and without the ball. I think Axel is one of those players and so is Joseph. They are two players that do all the little things right.”
But he did concede the size of both players could come into play onto the other side of the field, namely on set pieces. “These guys add a whole different dynamic and threat on the attacking side of the field as well.”
There is a catch, though. While Sjoberg will be expected to compete for a starting spot as training camp opens, Greenspan may not be with the team until at least 2017 due to his post-college military commitments with the Navy.
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“We are anticipating he won’t be available to us until 2017. Anything before that would be icing on the cake.” He added later, “It’s not a short term play. We’re not anticipating him anytime soon. I don’t know all the details in the process. There are some circumstances in which we might get him earlier. You can’t predict it.”
Despite this, Mastroeni was quick to point out the talent that the 22-year-old possesses. “I think he’s a player that has the potential to reach the US national team. He’s a great big body. He’s one of the most coordinated big men that can play out of the back, the way we want to play. He has all the attributes both on and off the field that exemplify the player we want.”
"Just being around and watching and playing at a decent level. If he had come out in 2017, there’s no doubt in my mind he’d be the No. 1 pick.”
