With Jack Price again from harm, Colorado Rapids captain addresses accountability, mindset for final stretch of 2022 marketing campaign

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COMMERCE CITY — Jack Price is again coaching full time with the Colorado Rapids for essentially the most pivotal stretch within the season. With it comes a brutal sense of honesty and expectation.

After a tough three-game highway journey wherein the Rapids recorded only one hard-earned level and have been outscored 10-1, Price, the captain, is anticipated to make his return to the pitch Saturday night time in opposition to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Five video games to go, 9 factors beneath the road. That is the scenario Colorado (8-12-9, 33 factors) finds itself in, and something lower than operating the desk (with different video games going their means) won’t be sufficient for a playoff berth.

For the entire stop-start nature of the season, just like that of the workforce’s personal kind, Price is aware of the final stretch comes down to 2 issues: accountability to one another, and proudly owning their performances.

Has there been sufficient of that this yr?

“Probably not if I’m being honest,” Price stated. “You make a mistake and you must come clean with that, and whether or not we’ve or not I’m undecided.

“We’ve put ourselves in this situation — no one else has done this to us. … It’s whether we perform or not, and this season for whatever reason we haven’t performed as we know we can.”

Winless of their final six, the captain is raring to guide the Rapids again in the suitable course. He has missed virtually as many video games this season (13) as he’s performed (16) throughout all competitions. Even if he’s underneath restricted minutes, Saturday will possible be the primary time he steps onto the sector since Aug. 6, when he punctured a lung in opposition to Minnesota United, which got here on the heels of a seven-week absence as a result of a calf pressure he suffered in June.

“It’s the worst feeling to watch from the sidelines because you try to get pumped up with the rest of the team but you’re not involved then in the big moments,” Price stated. “It’s been a bit tough mentally for me seeing the boys out there and enjoying it because I’ve wanted to be out there with them so much. But I’ve been in team huddles and been as involved as I can be, and am now just ready to go.”

Still, with the entire pent-up power, the Rapids’ teaching employees is aware of there must be a launch valve. Head coach Robin Fraser has addressed the second, however practices have been dialed in, but gratifying.

“The only thing that matters is Vancouver,” Fraser stated Thursday. “Yes, the guys have trained hard and guys have been locked in, very engaged. While all of that is happening we have to remind them that it’s fun, and the reason we do this is because it’s fun. … When teams are having fun it’s when they play their best, so it’s definitely a mixture of the two approaches.”

Vancouver, which shocked Colorado in a 2-1 win three weeks in the past, might be with out two key gamers in Ryan Gauld and Lucas Cavellini because the Tenth-place Whitecaps are additionally in precarious playoff territory. The Rapids should play with poise, as three gamers — Bryan Acosta, Lalas Abubakar and Diego Rubio — are one yellow card away from lacking the following recreation in opposition to San Jose. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at DSGP.

There is little dispute that the load of the season is on the group, and it’s totally different than key moments earlier within the marketing campaign, or at any level final yr. So with the second of fact 90 minutes away, Price needs his teammates to welcome it and play for one another, not the event.

“We know we have to play like it’s our last game,” Price stated. “We knew what that last road trip meant for the season. We have to accept responsibility when we’re out there, the pressure that we have and we’ve put on ourselves as no one else has put pressure on us. Now, we have to accept that pressure of getting wins out of it.”

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