Gomez debuts for Rapids against RSL

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Feb 25, 2008

[MLS WATCH] Midfielder Christian Gomez got his first taste of the Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry since being traded to the Rapids by D.C. United; he played the last 30 minutes of a 2-2 tie in Lauderhill, Fla. on Friday.

Coaches Fernando Clavijo and Jason Kreis substituted frequently, with most of the players limited to either 45 or 30 minutes. Only Nathan Sturgis of RSL played the full 90.

Defender Facundo Erpen, from a Terry Cooke free kick, and rookie Ciaran O'Brien, assisted by Jovan Kirovski, scored for Colorado. Yuri Movsisyan (from a Sturgis feed) and Fabian Espindola ( a deflected free kick) netted for RSL.

Defender Nat Borchers, who played three seasons for Colorado before departing to play for Odd Grenland in Norway two years ago, started for RSL and played the first hour. RSL used an allocation to secure his rights last week after he returned to MLS in a transfer from Odd Grenland, which was relegated last November. He'd been rehabilitating an ankle injury but joined the team in Florida in time to train and get in some minutes.

After two days of training at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids leave Thursday for a 10-day stay at Arsenal. The teams struck a marketing partnership a year ago, and one of the Rapids' recent hires, Gary Smith, will be tasked with setting up the Arsenal Center of Excellence at the Rapids' facility and the Arsenal Cup youth tournament.

RSL is also training at home for a few days prior to an international trip. The final camp of the season starts Saturday in Rosario, Argentina, where it will play three matches before returning March 13.