MLS

• Rapids aim to continue playoff push vs. Dynamo

  
  

  Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - The Colorado Rapids will aim to solidify their spot in the upcoming Major League Soccer Cup playoffs when they host the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday.

  The Rapids (10-12-2) are locked in a three-way tie for the third and final automatic playoff berth in the Western Conference and desperately need a win to break out of the pack.

  The Dynamo (10-5-10), who have just one loss in their past 12 league fixtures, are just four points up at the perch of the Western table, but have a game in hand on the teams chasing them. Regardless, a win Saturday would go a long way toward helping the Dynamo earn the top seed in the Western bracket.

  Colorado is coming off an exciting 5-4 win at New York, its third win in its last four league fixtures, to jump back into the playoff picture.

  "I thought New York were extremely aggressive with their style of play," Colorado interim coach Gary Smith said.

  "But in doing that, they left themselves vulnerable also, and we capitalized on that." Conor Casey scored three of those goals for the Rapids, including the 90th minute game winner.

  "It's probably been a while since I scored a goal, so it feels really good," Casey said of his hat trick. "It gives me a lot of confidence, but the main thing is the way the team performed entirely and the result we showed. It was an up-and-back game and we just kept fighting and the last month or so, we really made some new strides. It feels really good where we are headed." The Dynamo are coming off a 1-1 draw at Toronto last week, their second consecutive share of the points on the road.

  "We're trying to win," Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. "You can see with the lineups we're putting out. We're trying to put a fresh team out there, or as fresh as possible every game. So, traveling and games definitely make you tired, but the guys have been good. We're unbeaten. We're not winning games, but we're not losing games. We're very competitive so I'm pleased with that." In Saturday's match, Houston will be without center back Bobby Boswell because of yellow card accumulation while Tom McManus is listed as doubtful for the Rapids.

  10/03 18:15:49 ET