Earthquakes, Rapids looking for wins during busy stretch

The Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes will both look for a strong start to one of the busiest portions of the MLS schedule when they meet on Saturday night at Commerce City, Colo.

Like most teams, San Jose (4-6-1, 13 points) and Colorado (4-3-4, 16 points) are each scheduled to play six MLS matches between Saturday and the end of May, before the league takes a break for the June international window.

When it's finished, both teams will be at the season's midway point.

The Earthquakes are also balancing U.S. Open Cup competition over that period. But they were able to win last Wednesday's fourth-round match over Sacramento Republic, despite playing an entirely different starting XI from the group that beat the Portland Timbers 4-1 last weekend in league play.

"There's going to be some players that have to be rotated" during this stretch, Quakes manager Bruce Arena said after Wednesday's Cup win. "Tonight helps us guys get some minutes in. So if they get called on in the next three MLS games, hopefully they'll be better prepared to contribute."

Cristian Arango leads San Jose with seven goals, one in front of Josef Martinez after the latter missed last weekend's game with a minor lower-body injury.

And last weekend's victory also featured the first two San Jose assists for DeJuan Jones, whom the Quakes acquired from Columbus at the close of the primary transfer window.

Despite their modest record, Arena's group leads all of MLS with 24 goals scored.

"We know we will have our hands full with San Jose coming in," Colorado manager Chris Armas said. "They play with a lot of intensity. They can press you. They can hurt you in transition. They are a talented group. So well coached. I think they're playing with a lot of belief, and they're hard to play against."

Rafael Navarro and Djordje Mihailovic each have five goals for the Rapids, who spent the week trying to regroup from a 2-1 loss at D.C. United that extended their winless stretch to three matches (0-1-2).

The struggles have come more often on defense, where Colorado has conceded multiple goals in four of its last five fixtures.