The Colorado Rapids Reserves are the back-to-back defending MLS Reserve Division champions!

 

Led by John Murphy, who also serves as the Rapids' 1st Team Assistant Coach and Director of the Rapids Academy, the Rapids Reserve team is looking to continue its tradition of excellence in 2008.

 

All Colorado Rapids Reserve games are played on Field 20 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the official Rapids training field at the stadium complex.  Rapids Reserve games are always free and open to the public to attend.

 

To view the entire 2008 Rapids Reserve team schedule, click here.

 

To view stats, schedule and standings for the entire MLS Reserve Division, visit their official website by clicking here.

 

Now in its fourth year, the MLS Reserve Division is a key component of Major League Soccer’s drive to develop the stars of tomorrow in a professional, competitive atmosphere.

 

The MLS Reserve Division allows teams to provide meaningful competitive matches to players who are outside of the starting 11 players, giving them important in-game experience.

 

The Colorado Rapids Reserves won the Reserve Division title in 2007 for the second straight season.  Defender Stephen Keel was named the Rapids Reserve Team's MVP for the season for his outstanding play all year.

 

All existing MLS teams field a squad to compete in a single table with a $20,000 team bonus awarded to the team that finishes the season at number one. Each team will play 12 Reserve Division games throughout the course of the season. No team will play any other team more than twice.

 

Last year marked the third season of the Reserve Division, developed by Major League Soccer in partnership with adidas as a key component of the Generation adidas program.

 

MLS RESERVE DIVISION FORMAT:

-A total of 20 eligible players for the home team and 20 players for the visiting team may be placed on a club’s game roster for any Reserve Division game with each team permitted to make up to six (6) substitutions.

-Suspensions attributable to yellow and red cards issued in Reserve Division games shall only be imposed for future Reserve Division matches and not for games during the MLS regular season. Conversely, suspensions attributable to yellow and red cards issued during MLS regular season games shall not apply to Reserve Division matches.

-Any player who receives four yellow cards during the Reserve Division season shall be suspended from the next Reserve Division game in which he may appear.

-No player shall play more than 120 minutes in a Reserve Team match and any preceding match(es) that occur within a 60 hour period. Injury time is not considered a part of a player’s maximum number of minutes played (e.g., if a player enters a game at halftime and the referee adds two minutes of stoppage time to the end of the second half, the player will be considered to have played 45 minutes since the two minutes of stoppage time is essentially added to make up for 'lost' time).