After returning from a Texas road trip that saw an FC Dallas matchup postponed due to weather and a disappointing team loss at Houston, the Rapids are running it back in Frisco this weekend to take on the Toros for the second and final time this season. We spoke with midfielder Cole Bassett about his no-look, backheel goal in Houston marking a personal record, adjusting to weather postponements, and facing an FC Dallas side that's desperate to make the playoffs.
On hitting a career-high in single-season goals
It's felt good personally. Obviously, I want the team to do a lot better, but for me, there was a point where we had 10 games left or so, and I was just finally coming back from injury. I was kind of feeling good for the first time. I've talked to my agent, and I was like, "I want to finish the season strong. I want to push for a certain amount of goals and show that I'm a goalscoring midfielder still, who can do really well in this league." So I’ve just tried to finish out the season strong. Every single game I've went into, I've had that feeling that I can score, and hopefully it continues in the last two games.
On adjusting approach after a weather delay
It’s obviously really tough. I don't know who else has had this many delays throughout the year, but it's been quite a lot, and it is tough on your body and your mind as well because we're sitting there, and we have no clue if we're going back out that same night. We were down there for two games last weekend, and then it changed the format of our trip. Now, we’ve got to go back this weekend, but it did give us a couple extra days rest, and we have a full week to prepare for this game. So I think that's a plus and a bonus. We can go into this game with more energy than we had in Houston just because of the way that trip went. But you don't want to make excuses with the weather. The other team has to deal with it as well, so we just want to go into this game and put our front foot forward, do well and hopefully get a win.
On mentality against a fringe playoff team
It’s a tough one because we know they're going to need points and they're going to come out pretty hot and put pressure on us early. But I think for us it's another game, and it's another opportunity to show ourselves, especially for guys at the end of the year that are playing for roster spots and also just want to show themselves. There are guys that might get opportunities that haven't played that much this year, and they want to show what they're all about and that they deserve to be here. Obviously, you want to play a bit of a spoiler role, but you don't want to go in too much thinking "We don't want Dallas in playoffs." It's more just that, we want to go down there and have an opportunity to show ourselves and hopefully win the game. Because every game you play you want to take three points.
