Special Olympics

Rice and Goldblatt to represent the Rapids in 2017 Special Olympics All-Star Game

MLS WORKS and ESPN today announced the full rosters for the 2017 Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star soccer match including two players from the Colorado Rapids Special Olympics Unified team, Colton Rice and Alie Goldblatt. The match is slated for Tuesday, August 1 at Toyota Park at 4:00 p.m. MT, one day before the 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target.


For the fourth year in a row, MLS WORKS and ESPN will host 44 delegates as part of the Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Experience, which this year will feature participants representing all 22 MLS clubs. The Unified Sports All-Star soccer teams are comprised of players with and without intellectual disabilities, and will play an 11 v. 11 match consisting of two 25-minute halves. The team uniforms for the game will be provided by adidas. The teams will take the pitch in an East vs. West matchup prior to the fourth annual MLS Homegrown Game presented by Energizer® on Tuesday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. MT at Toyota Park.


Tickets for both matches are available now by CLICKING HERE. Gates will open to the public at 1:00 p.m. MT. The Unified match will be streamed live on ColoradoRapids.com/live.


FULL ROSTERS


Eastern Conference All-Stars

#
Pos
Player
Club
1
M
Jermiah Ellis
Philadelphia Union
2
M
Félix Berthiaume
Montreal Impact
3
F
Aaron Allen
New England Revolution
4
M
Brandon Lutz
Columbus Crew SC
5
F
Antonio Guzman
Atlanta United
6
F
Mark Jerabek
Chicago Fire
7
D
Daniel Davila
New York City FC
8
F
Brian Curci
New York Red Bulls
9
GK
Charles Barley
D.C. United
10
F
Sidge Taylor
Orlando City SC
11
M
Robert Esquilin
Philadelphia Union
12
M
Mathieu Hevey
Montreal Impact
13
M
Ashtin Burbank
New England Revolution
14
M
Lyndsay Price
Atlanta United
15
D
Megan Young
Columbus Crew SC
16
L
Umar Muftau
New York City FC
17
F
Jake Mulcahey
New York Red Bulls
18
M
Rodrigo Canas-Pena
D.C. United
19
M
Bailey Hubbard
Orlando City SC
20
F
Colin Iverson
Chicago Fire
21
M
Stephanie Panousis
Toronto FC
22
M
Callum Denault
Toronto FC

Western Conference All-Stars

#
Pos
Player
Club
1
F
Jose Conde
LA Galaxy
2
F
Colton Rice
Colordao Rapids
3
M
Jesus Tepole
Seattle Sounders
4
M
Alex Ortiz
FC Dallas
5
M
Kristopher Greene
Sporting Kansas City
6
F
Mikhail Pearthree
Minnesota United
7
F
O'nelle Copeland
Houston Dynamo
8
GK
Sean Boylan
San Jose Earthquakes
9
F
Kyle Karren
Real Salt Lake
10
M
Eddie Hughitt
Portland Timbers
11
D
Giovanni Martinez
LA Galaxy
12
M
Alie Goldblatt
Colordao Rapids
13
F
Chance Stoneback-Schelling
Seattle Sounders
14
F
Trey Toliver
Sporting Kansas City
15
M
Alyson Cave
FC Dallas
16
F
Matthew McGuire
Minnesota United
17
GK
Zacharia Copeland
Houston Dynamo
18
F
Samuel Villegas
San Jose Earthquakes
19
M
Jacob Jenson
Real Salt Lake
20
D
Morgan Truair
Portland Timbers
21
D
Bradly Barnett
Vancouver Whitecaps
22
F
Jonas Hakkinen
Vancouver Whitecaps

ExtraTime Radio hosts David Gass and Andrew Wiebe will provide play-by-play analysis and color commentary on the live stream. MLSsoccer.com personalities, Calen Carr and Susannah Collins, will serve as sideline reporters, interviewing players and coaches throughout the match. Chicago Fire players will serve as celebrity coaches for both teams, as well as present the Unified athletes with medals following the game.


The game will showcase the Special Olympics Unified Sports exchange program, the cornerstone of the ongoing partnership between MLS, ESPN and Special Olympics North America. Through the Unified Sports soccer exchange program, Unified teams from MLS cities travel to other MLS markets to compete in exhibition matches with their Special Olympics counterparts. Unified matches are scheduled in conjunction with MLS club matches, providing MLS fans with an opportunity to witness first-hand the talents and abilities of Special Olympics athletes. Supporting the matches is ESPN, media partner to both MLS and Special Olympics International and the Global Presenting Sponsor of Special Olympics Unified Sports.


The match is part of the one-year countdown to Special Olympics’ 50th anniversary celebration which will take place in Chicago July 17-22, 2018. Included in next year’s events will be the first ever Unified Football (Soccer) Cup which will showcase 24 Unified teams from around the world.


The best in MLS will face Spanish giants Real Madrid, the newly minted back-to-back reigning UEFA Champions League winners, in the 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target on August 2 at Soldier Field in Chicago. The summer showcase will air at 6:30 p.m. MT on FS1, Univision, TSN and TVA Sports domestically as well as more than 170 countries globally.


Tickets to the 2017 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target are available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.