Colorado Rapids

Colorado Rapids

Full name	Colorado Rapids
Founded	1996
Ground	Dick's Sporting Goods Park Commerce City, Colorado
Capacity	17,424, expandable to 19,680
Owner	Stan Kroenke
Head Coach	Pablo Mastroeni
League	Major League Soccer
2013	Western Conference: 5th Overall: 8th Playoffs: Knockout round
Website	Club website
Home colors Away colors

Colorado Rapids is an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as one of its ten charter clubs.

Colorado won the MLS Cup in 2010. The Rapids reached the final once before, in 1997, which they lost to D.C. United. They also reached the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1999.

Colorado played its home games at the Mile High Stadium in Denver from 1996 to 2001, and then at Invesco Field at Mile High in 2002, before moving to their current home, Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City for its 2007 season.

History

The first decade (1996–2006)

The Colorado Rapids were one of the ten founding clubs of Major League Soccer, owned and operated by the Anschutz Corporation. The inaugural 1996 season was a forgettable one for Colorado. Despite fielding experienced players like Shaun Bartlett, Chris Henderson, Chris Woods, Roy Wegerle and Marcelo Balboa, and head coach Bob Houghton, the team finished last in the Western Conference with the worst record in the league. Balboa became the first player ever to score for the club and also the first to record a goal at Mile High Stadium (in 1996).

For the following season, there was a new head coach (Glenn Myernick) and a new General Manager, Dan Counce. Myernick and Counce brought new faces to the squad including Paul Bravo, Wolde Harris, Ross Paule, and keeper Marcus Hahnemann. The team struggled early on, but rallied to grab a postseason spot. The Rapids pulled off two upsets and advanced to the 1997 MLS Cup final. Chris Henderson scored a mid-air volley past Dallas keeper Mark Dodd in the 87th minute in the Western Conference final, ensuring Colorado's place in the MLS Cup final. They scored in the Cup thanks to a goal by Adrián Paz but lost the final 2–1 to D.C. United.

Colorado continued on a roller coaster of success, but mostly disappointment: Myernick brought in more new players including Anders Limpar and Marcus Hahnemann and the club made it to the 1999 US Open Cup final, only to be upset 2–0 by the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

The 2000 season boasted two of the more memorable moments in Rapids history. The first was Marcelo Balboa's famous bicycle kick which garnered the Goal of the Year. The second was clinching a playoff spot in the final game of the season against the Los Angeles Galaxy, with Paul Bravo scoring in the 97th minute.

Chris Henderson playing for the Rapids in 2004

In 2001 Tim Hankinson took the reins as Colorado's new head coach. Scottish striker John Spencer also joined the club that year. While Hankinson did bring effective players like Mark Chung, Chris Henderson, Carlos Valderrama, and Joe Cannon to the squad—and made the playoffs every year—Hankinson also signed a number of expensive and unsuccessful players including ZiZi Roberts and Darryl Powell. During his coaching stint, the club also traded away club legend Marcelo Balboa, whose career was nearing its end....he played 1 game with New York before retiring.

2002 was a banner year for the Rapids, and they started off their new year at their new home of Invesco Field at Mile High by acquiring two powerhouses and future stars for the team, Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle Beckerman from the defunct Miami Fusion F.C. Chris Henderson went down in history as the first player ever to score a goal in the brand-new stadium. Mark Chung posted record numbers on the season, and Mastroeni shone for the US Men's National Team in that year's World Cup. The club advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs Semifinals, and although they didn't advance to the MLS Cup, the Rapids did clean up at the MLS postseason awards ceremonies. General Manager Dan Counce was named MLS Executive of the Year and 4 other Rapids front office staff were named as the best at their positions in MLS that year. Mark Chung was named to the League Best XI squad and also took home the MLS Fair Play Award. Finally, the Rapids ticket sales staff was named best in the league after the Rapids finished first in MLS average home attendance for the first time ever with an average home crowd of over 20,000 fans per home game.

2003 saw the club change their identity, with a rebranding that brought in the new team identity and color scheme of black and blue. Mark Chung and forward John Spencer had banner years. Spencer, the Rapids' team captain, set a new team record by scoring in six consecutive games and tied his own team record with 14 goals on the season. He finished the season third in MLS with 33 points, was a finalist for Honda MVP and was named to the MLS Pepsi Best XI. Joining him on the Best XI was Chung, who tied his career high of a year prior with 11 goals and was second on the team with 28 points. This was Chung's second consecutive appearance on the MLS Best XI and it marked the first time in league history that two Rapids had been so honored in the same season.

The Rapids set a new MLS record for the lowest home Goals Against Average over an entire season with at 0.53 by only allowing eight goals in 15 matches at Invesco Field during the season, and never more than one in a single game. After Kansas City broke the Rapids’ MLS record 16 game home undefeated streak on June 9, the Black & Blue reeled off 11 more undefeated home games. On the year Colorado was undefeated when scoring more than one goal, a credit to the play of goalkeeper Joe Cannon and the suffocating defense.

Kroenke Sports Enterprises purchased the club in late 2004 and made several changes before the 2005 season. In the front office, KSE replaced long-time executive GM Dan Counce with Charlie Wright, who appointed Fernando Clavijo as the new head coach.

Clavijo and Wright brought in many new additions to the squad including Jeff Cunningham, Terry Cooke, and David "Dedi" Ben Dayan. The team saw steady improvement over the course of the 2005 season. The season's success was highlighted by a dramatic playoff victory over FC Dallas in a penalty shootout, and their claiming of the brand new Rocky Mountain Cup in the tournament's inaugural year.

Colorado's 2006 season seemed to parallel trends from previous years. Clavijo's squad performed inconsistently and only secured a playoff spot at the very last instant. Lightning managed to strike twice as they duplicated their 2005 playoff run by again beating FC Dallas in penalties only to crash out of the Western Conference Final by a two goal deficit. Other highlights from the final black and blue season include securing the Rocky Mountain Cup for the second consecutive year and winning the MLS Reserve Division.

2007–present

The Rapids (in pale blue) in action against Houston Dynamo in 2009

New head executive Jeff Plush took over the business responsibilities of the club when he was named Managing Director in January 2006. The club's colors were changed to burgundy and blue, to "mesh" with other clubs owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprised. This accompanied the introduction of a state of the art soccer stadium and fields complex, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and formulating relationships with Arsenal of the English Premier League and Pachuca of Mexico.

The Rapids enjoyed a successful inaugural year at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, hosting numerous international exhibitions and tournaments on the stadium's complex, and the 2007 MLS All-Star Game; on the pitch though the team's record was 9-13-8. The team started out strong with a 2–1 victory over D.C. United in frigid conditions . Herculez Gomez became the first player to score in the Rapids' brand new stadium. The team had a long winless streak that saw them sink in the standings. Colorado ultimately finished just shy of a playoff spot. Major low points in the season included an embarrassing 5–0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, and a defeat to Real Salt Lake that saw them lose both a playoff berth and the possession of the Rocky Mountain Cup. The club won the MLS Reserve League for the second consecutive year.

Heading into the 2013 season, Rapids GM Charlie Wright added depth to the midfield and defense. Major signings included Christian Gómez and Jose Burciaga Jr. The 2008 season saw a resurgent Rapids side, which started off the season with a complete thrashing of David Beckham and the LA Galaxy by a 4–0 score on Opening Day to launch the season. However, an inconsistent mid-season stretch where, for 13 games, the Rapids could not win two games in a row or lose 2 in a row, saw Clavijo resign from the Head Coach position for personal reasons, and saw Gary Smith, an assistant coach who came from the Arsenal F.C. system, take over on an interim basis with 11 games left in the season. Under Smith's direction, the Rapids surged into the playoff race, with two key away wins, but fall short of the playoffs in the last game of the season, against Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake tied the Rapids 1–1 in the 90th minute of that game to eliminate the Rapids from playoff contention. Because of the signs of improvement shown in the last 11 games, Smith was hired as the head coach.

The 2009 campaign featured head coach Gary Smith in his first full season. Smith took over the reins from Fernando Clavijo as interim manager after Clavijo resigned. Smith's first appointment was ex-England international Steve Guppy as his assistant; Guppy had spent the previous season at USL-1 team Rochester Rhinos as their Player Assistant Coach. Shortly after, Rapids veteran midfielder Pablo Mastroeni re-signed with the club for four years after mulling potential offers from Europe. The Rapids also signed new four-year contracts with midfielders Colin Clark and Nick LaBrocca and defenders Jordan Harvey and Kosuke Kimura. The Colorado Rapids acquired former QPR and Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens to replace Senegalese goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. The other major roster move included the arrival of Ivan Guerrero from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Christian Gomez and backup goalkeeper Mike Graczyk. The media criticized the Rapids for not making more roster changes for the 2009 season. However, the core of the team remained intact.

The 2010 campaign featured many roster moves: Danny Earls, Jeff Larentowicz, Claudio Lopez, Quincy Amarikwa, Ian Joyce, and Wells Thompson join the club. The offseason also included a new contract for star forward Conor Casey. The Colorado Rapids also excited many of the ultras supporter groups by the creation and construction of a supporters terrace within Dick's Sporting Goods Park. During the summer transfer window, the Colorado Rapids signed academy youth player Davy Armstrong, and brought in defender Anthony Wallace from FC Dallas. Colorado also sent Mehdi Ballouchy to New York Red Bulls in exchange for Macoumba Kandji and acquired Brian Mullan from Houston Dynamo in exchange for Colin Clark. Following these changes, Colorado qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs and defeated the Columbus Crew in the first round. On November 13, Colorado hosted the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Eastern Conference Championship and won by a score of 1-0, leading to the team's first trip to MLS Cup since 1997. In the final, the Rapids trailed 1–0 at half time. Conor Casey equalized in the 2nd half to send the game to extra time. Macoumba Kandji helped set up the game-winner that went off FC Dallas defender George John. Colorado won the 2010 MLS Cup 2-1, Colorado's first MLS Cup championship and first major trophy in the club's history.

The 2011 campaign led to no roster changes. However, Sanna Nyassi and Tyrone Marshall were signed from Seattle Sounders FC. Joseph Nane and Josh Janniere were additions from Toronto FC. Local product Steven Emory was signed after an open tryout during preseason. The Rapids made the headlines when Irish International and former Hull City striker Caleb Folan signed with the club. The primary departure was defender Julian Baudet. Since Colorado won the 2011 MLS Cup, they automatically qualified for the group stages of the 2011–2012 CONCACAF Champions League. On September 9, Colorado signed versatile defender Miguel Comminges. The Guadeloupe International can play at either Left or Right back. On September 13, Comminges made his debut for Colorado as a substitute in a 4-1 home loss to Club Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League.

The 2012 season began with several changes to the club. Oscar Pareja was appointed head coach following the departure of Gary Smith. The team traded Sanna Nyassi to the Montreal Impact, and Macoumba Kandji to Houston Dynamo. Acquiring Hunter Freeman, Jaime Castrillón, Luis Zapata, and young Kamani Hill and the loan of young talent Martín Rivero the Rapids looked to begin on a positive note. After defeating the Columbus Crew 2-0 on opening day, things seemed promising. However as the season ticked by, things started to turn for the worst. Looking for a turn around, Hárrison Henao was loaned and Brazilian Edu was signed. In July, Kosuke Kimura was traded to the Portland Timbers. Shortly after, defender Tyson Wahl was brought in via trade from the Montreal Impact. After a poor season, the Rapids looked for a late season turn around when they signed Hendry Thomas from Wigan Athletic. The Rapids were eliminated from play-off contention in late September ending hopes for another MLS cup.

Colors and badge

The Rapids' image has evolved a great deal since their inaugural year. The team has undergone two complete re-brandings. Originally using green as the primary kit color, the team changed to black and blue for the 2003 season.

As Colorado were preparing to move into Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the 2007 season, the club re-invented themselves again to more closely align with the DNA and color scheme of other KSE teams, changing their colors to burgundy and blue, and creating a brand new shield logo to fit in with more traditional global soccer marks.

Colorado has had three logos in their history. They originally first used the "river" logo as their primary crest with the "circular" logo as a secondary one. In 2002, the two logos would switch, with the "circular" one becoming the primary. For the 2007 re-branding, the Rapids created the new shield-style logo, which is the one that is currently used today.

The original look of the Rapids sported a predominantly white kit with green trim, when the club's kit supplier was Puma. Other minor colors such as gold and blue were occasionally incorporated, with the club's association with Reebok. Eventually black became more heavily used and eventually overtook white as the more dominant color that accompanied the green, when the club switched to Kappa.

The Rapids underwent an image change prior to the 2003 season. Following the club's switch to Atletica, the kit colors switched to black and blue vertical stripes, similar to the uniforms worn by Italian Serie A club Internazionale. The blue and black vertical stripes remained almost unchanged when MLS adopted Adidas as their league wide kit sponsor.

The kits underwent one last change for the 2007 season. The Rapids now sport burgundy(#92032e) and sky blue(#99bfdc) as their primary colors. The Colorado Rapids also have a brand new third kit, consisting of a white shirt, white socks and burgundy shorts.

The Rapids' home jersey for 2013 featured the same burgundy primary color and featured the names of all season ticket holders imprinted in the fabric. The Rapids also had a special away jersey for the 2013 season, featuring the colors of the Colorado state flag.

As of 2013, the Rapids are the only Major League Soccer team to never have had a paid shirt sponsor on the front of their jerseys; entering 2012, FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City shared this distinction, but both have since acquired a shirt sponsor.

• 
  Colorado Rapids logo (1996-01)
• 
  Colorado Rapids logo (2001–06)
• 
  Colorado Rapids logo (2007–Present)

Stadium

Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Colorado's home stadium since 2007

• Mile High Stadium; Denver, Colorado (1996–2001)
• Invesco Field at Mile High; Denver, Colorado (2002–2006)
• North Area Athletic Complex; Arvada, Colorado (2003) 1 game in US Open Cup
• Dick's Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colorado (2007–present)

The Rapids play their home games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado (approximately 8 miles north of downtown Denver). The stadium capacity is 19,680 and cost $131 million to construct. It is also referred to as a soccer-specific stadium, since it was constructed for the Colorado Rapids. The soccer stadium opened on April 7, 2007. The stadium complex includes youth soccer fields and various retail establishments, and is owned and operated by Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) which also owns the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Crush and Colorado Mammoth sports franchises, and is a co-owner of English Premier League club Arsenal.

Prior to moving to DSG Park in 2007, Colorado Rapids shared Mile High Stadium and then Invesco Field at Mile High with the Denver Broncos American football franchise.

Club culture

The Rocky Mountain Cup

File:Rocky Mountian Cup.jpg

October 14, 2011

Main article: Rocky Mountain Cup

With Major League Soccer's expansion in 2005, Real Salt Lake became the second team in the Rocky Mountain region and the Rapids' closest neighbor. The supporters of the two clubs created a regular-season competition between the two sides to foster and memorialize this budding rivalry. Each season, the Rocky Mountain Cup is determined by the winner of the head-to-head fixtures within league play. The matches between the two are also referred to as the Rocky Mountain Derby.

Supporters

Omar Cummings #14 greeting the fans at the Supporters Terrace

While the Rapids have had strong fan attendance for many of their years in MLS, including leading the league in average fans per game in 2002, the club has had a fairly rocky history when it comes to supporters groups or ultras. While there have been several groups both large and small, the most notable of these have been the Jolly Green Men (sporadic attendance by Arapahoe High School students and friends between 1997-1998), the River Ratz (six seasons from 1997-2002), Ultra Azul, Centennial Firm (2005-2009), Class IV (late 2005-2012), North Corner Council (2007-2009), Pid Army (2010-2012), the Bulldog Supporters Group (2010–2012), and Centennial 38 (2013-present).

Class VI was established in late 2005 to provide an alternative to the traditional standing environment. They are an organized body known as a seating club, focused on passion for the game, premium viewing location, and a focus on gameplay and is open to any fan (including both season ticket holders and single-game fans).

Supporters have been constantly moved by the Colorado Rapids to limit complaints by the average fan in attendance. Mile High Stadium moved the initial supporters from section 101 (SW) to section 109 (NW), then section 121 (NE). The final move to section 127 (NE touchline about 20 yards from the end-line at the top of the penalty box) was a mutually agreed move between the River Ratz and GM Dan Counce. Invesco Field at Mile High was simply located in section 128 (SE corner). In 2007 with the opening of Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids placed supporters in the "Front Range" (name officially promoted by the Rapids) section 114 (SE end-line). In 2008, the Rapids forced a move again to sections 101 and 102 (NE corner).

2010 marked a groundbreaking year for Colorado Rapids supporter groups. Before the 2010 season, the Colorado Rapids unveiled plans for a unique European-style supporters terrace for the north end of Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The change was a mutually agreed move between GM Jeff Plush and several supporter club leads. Currently, the Colorado Rapids boasts two major supporter groups that fill the terraces. These include the Bulldog Supporters Group and the Pid Army. The Bulldog Supporters Group (also referred to as "BSG" or "the Bobbies") formed out of the British Bulldog Pub in downtown Denver in 2010. The Pid Army grew out of the merging of the C-Firm and the NCC in 2010. The Pid Army is geared more toward the Ultras, DIY and punk rock culture. Both supporter groups fill the terraces in the north end of the stadium and create a passionate atmosphere for the Colorado Rapids.

For the 2011–2012 Edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF regulations require "all-seater" stadiums. The Supporters Terrace was officially closed for these matches, due to the fact that the terraces are standing-only areas with no stadium seating. CONCACAF group stage fixtures have seen the Pid Army and the Bulldog Supporters Group relocated to either midfield in the East stands (Isidro Metapán) or directly behind the South goal in sections 117 and 118 (Club Santos Laguna, Real España).

In 2012, the Rapids had 3,561 season ticket holders after the Colorado Rapids front office mistakenly emailed a spreadsheet that contained a list of every season ticket holder to the season ticket base. The Colorado Rapids front office admitted to the mistake in a follow on email to the season ticket holders.

On February 9, 2013, the leaders of Class VI, the Pid Army, and the Bulldog Supporters Group announced that they would combined into one group going forward: Centennial 38. Colorado was the 38th state admitted to the union and is known as the Centennial State due to the admittance happening in 1876, the Centennial Birthday of the United States.

Broadcasting

Rapids matches appear on several channels including Altitude Television, which is owned by Kroenke Sports Entertainment as are the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. Major League Soccer determined in 2007 that every game must be televised, either through a regional (or local) TV station, or a national channel.

All games are broadcast on television by Altitude, the official television partner of the Rapids, or else via nationally-available channels, including ESPN-2, Fox Soccer Channel, and Telefutura, or the MLS Direct Kick package.

To start the 2010 season, KWGN-Denver CW Affiliate Channel 2 (the Deuce) has partnered with the Colorado Rapids to broadcast 25 Rapids games over the season.

The 2011 season features the Rapids back on Altitude Sports and Entertainment.

Players and staff

Current roster

As of March 8, 2014.

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	GK	Clint Irwin	United States
2	MF	Nick LaBrocca	United States
3	DF	Drew Moor	United States
4	DF	Marc Burch	United States
6	MF	José Mari	Spain
7	FW	Vicente Sánchez	Uruguay
8	MF	Dillon Powers	United States
9	FW	Edson Buddle	United States
10	FW	Gabriel Torres (DP)	Panama
11	MF	Brian Mullan	United States
12	GK	John Berner	United States
13	FW	Kamani Hill	United States
15	DF	Chris Klute	United States
17	MF	Dillon Serna (HGP)	United States
19	FW	Charles Eloundou	Cameroon
21	DF	Grant Van De Casteele	United States
22	DF	Marvell Wynne	United States
23	GK	Joe Nasco	United States
24	DF	Nathan Sturgis	United States
26	FW	Deshorn Brown (GA)	Jamaica
27	DF	Shane O'Neill (HGP)	United States
28	MF	Davy Armstrong (HGP)	United States
32	DF	Brenton Griffiths	Jamaica
33	MF	Jared Watts	United States
55	FW	Danny Mwanga	DR Congo
81	MF	Marvin Chávez	Honduras
94	MF	Marlon Hairston (GA)	United States

Out on loan

No.	Position	Player	Nation
14	MF	Tony Cascio (on loan to Houston Dynamo)	United States

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team or made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time. As of 2012, a total of 210 players, born in 38 countries have played for the Colorado Rapids

• Nicolás Hernández (2006-08)
• Alain Nkong (2005–06)
• Raúl Palacios (2002)
• Jaime Castrillón (2012–13)
• Carlos Valderrama (2001–02)
• Terry Cooke (2005–09)
• Junior Agogo (2000–01)
• Peguero Jean Philippe (2004-06)
• Hendry Thomas (2012-13)
• Dedi Ben Dayan (2005–06)
• Omar Cummings (2007–12)
• Wolde Harris (1997-99)
• Tyrone Marshall (1998, 2011–12)
• Kosuke Kimura (2007–12)
• Mehdi Ballouchy (2007–10)

• Jorge Dely Valdés (1999–00)
• John Spencer (2001–04)
• Bouna Coundoul (2005–08)
• Shaun Bartlett (1996–97)
• Anders Limpar (1999–00)
• Adrián Paz (1997–98)
• Marcelo Balboa (1996–01)
• Kyle Beckerman (2002–07)
• Nat Borchers (2003–05)
• Paul Bravo (1997–01)
• Joe Cannon (2003–05)
• Conor Casey (2007–12)
• Chris Carrieri (2001-03)
• Mark Chung (2002–05)
• Colin Clark (2006–10)

• Jeff Cunningham (2005)
• Robin Fraser (2001–03)
• Cory Gibbs (2008–09)
• Herculez Gomez (2007–08)
• Marcus Hahnemann (1997–99)
• Jean Harbor (1996-97)
• Chris Henderson (1996–98), (2002–05)
• Ugo Ihemelu (2006–09)
• Jovan Kirovski (2005–08)
• Jeff Larentowicz (2010–12)
• Pablo Mastroeni (2002–13)
• Clint Mathis (2006)
• Jacob Peterson (2006–09)
• Matt Pickens (2009–14)
• Steve Trittschuh (1996–99)

• See also All-time Colorado Rapids roster

Head coaches

• Bob Houghton (1996)
• Roy Wegerle (Interim) (1996)
• Glenn Myernick (1997–00)
• Tim Hankinson (20 Dec 2000–15 Dec 04)
• Fernando Clavijo (22 Dec 2004–20 Aug 08)
• Gary Smith (11 Nov 2008–7 Nov 11)
• Óscar Pareja (6 Jan 2012–4 Jan 2014)

Gallery of Honor

The Gallery of Honor was established in 2004 to honor former Rapids that had a significant impact on both the team and with the community. The Gallery is commemorated on the main stand on the west end of Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

• #17 Marcelo Balboa (inducted 2004)
• #9 Paul Bravo (inducted 2004)
• #19 Chris Henderson (inducted 2007)
• #7 John Spencer (inducted 2009)

Honors

• MLS Cup
  • Winners (1): 2010
  • Runners-up (1): 1997

• MLS Eastern Conference
  • Winners (Playoff) (1): 2010

• MLS Western Conference
  • Winners (Playoff) (1): 1997

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1999

• Minor Trophies
  • MLS Reserve Division (2) 2006, 2007
  • Rocky Mountain Cup (3) 2005, 2006, 2013

Record

Year-by-year

Year	Regular Season	Playoffs	US Open Cup	CONCACAF Champions' League
1996	5th, West (11-21)	Did not qualify	Semifinals	Did not qualify
1997	4th, West (14-18)	Final	3rd Round	Did not qualify
1998	3rd, West (16-16)	Quarterfinals	Did not enter	Qualifying Round
1999	4th, West (20-12)	Quarterfinals	Final	Did not qualify
2000	3rd, West (13-15-4)	Quarterfinals	2nd Round	Did not qualify
2001	4th, West (5-13-8)	Did not qualify	2nd Round	Not held
2002	4th, West (13-11-4)	Semifinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2003	3rd, West (11-12-7)	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2004	3rd, West (10-9-11)	Quarterfinals	4th Round	Did not qualify
2005	3rd, West (13-13-6)	Semifinals	4th Round	Did not qualify
2006	4th, West (11-13-8)	Semifinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2007	4th, West (9-13-8)	Did not qualify	2nd Round	Did not qualify
2008	4th, West (11-14-5)	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2009	6th, West (10-10-10)	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2010	5th, West (12-8-10)	Champions	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2011	5th, West (12-9-13)	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify	Group stage
2012	7th, West (11-19-4)	Did not qualify	4th Round	Did not qualify
2013	5th, West (14-11-9)	Knock Out Round	3rd Round	Did not qualify

Year-by-year stats

Year	League Record							Top Scorer
	Pts	GP	W	L	D	GF	GA	Name	G
1996	29	32	11	21	0	46	63	Jean Harbor	11
1997	38	32	12	20	0	58	65	Paul Bravo	8
1998	44	32	16	16	0	64	71	Wolde Harris	13
1999	48	32	20	12	0	44	42	Jorge Dely Valdés	10
2000	43	32	13	15	4	43	59	Junior Agogo	10
2001	23	26	5	13	8	36	47	John Spencer	14
2002	43	28	13	11	4	43	48	Chris Carrieri	11
2003	40	30	11	12	7	40	45	John Spencer	14
2004	41	30	10	9	11	29	32	Jean Philippe Peguero	7
2005	45	32	13	13	6	40	37	Jeff Cunningham	12
2006	41	32	11	13	8	36	49	Kyle Beckerman & Nicolás Hernández	7
2007	35	30	9	13	9	29	34	Jovan Kirovski	6
2008	38	30	11	14	5	44	45	Conor Casey	11
2009	40	30	10	10	10	42	38	Conor Casey	16
2010	46	30	12	8	10	44	32	Omar Cummings	14
2011	49	34	12	9	13	44	41	Jeff Larentowicz	7
2012	37	34	11	19	4	44	50	Jaime Castrillon	8
2013	51	34	14	11	9	45	38	Deshorn Brown	10
Total	680	526	200	228	99	726	798	Conor Casey	50

Note: MLS did not allow ties prior to the 2000 season as games were decided by shootout when tied at full-time.

International tournaments

• 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Qualifying Play-off v. Club León – 1:0, 2:4 (León advances 4:3 on aggregate)

• 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League:
  • Group Stage v. Isidro Metapán – 3:2
  • Group Stage v. Real España – 1:1
  • Group Stage v. Santos Laguna – 1:4
  • Group Stage v. Real España – 1:2
  • Group Stage v. Isidro Metapán – 1:3
  • Group Stage v. Santos Laguna – 2:0

Team records

• Goals: Conor Casey (50)
• Assists: Chris Henderson (53)
• Games Played: Pablo Mastroeni (216)
• Minutes Played: Pablo Mastroeni (18,212)
• Shots: Chris Henderson (342)
• Shots on Goal: Chris Henderson (151)
• Game-Winning Goals: Paul Bravo (12)
• Penalty-Kick Goals: John Spencer (9)
• Multi-Goal Games: Paul Bravo (7)
• Hat Tricks: Conor Casey (3)
• Saves: Joe Cannon (349)
• Shutouts: Joe Cannon (25)
• Wins: Marcus Hahnemann (39)

Players in bold are active Rapids players
Last Updated May 6, 2012

Attendance

The following is a list of each year's average attendance, split into numbers for the regular season and the corresponding playoffs, if applicable: On average, the teams has had an attendance of 14,049 for the regular season, and 8,731 for playoff games.

• 1996: 10,213 / DNQ
• 1997: 11,835 / 15,785
• 1998: 14,812 / 6,582
• 1999: 14,029 / 6,542
• 2000: 12,580 / 8,789
• 2001: 16,481 / DNQ
• 2002: 20,687 / 11,002
• 2003: 16,772 / 6,434
• 2004: 14,195 / 8,028
• 2005: 13,638 / 11,207
• 2006: 12,056 / 4,176
• 2007: 14,749 / DNQ
• 2008: 13,659 / DNQ
• 2009: 13,018 / DNQ
• 2010: 13,329 / 14,826
• 2011: 14,838 / 8,202
• 2012: 15,175 / DNQ
• 2013: 15,440 / N/A

External links

• Official website