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Rapids, Sounders try to move past Zakuani injury

Jul 15, 2011 - 6:08 PM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Seattle's Steve Zakuani suffered a horrific leg injury in April when Sounders FC last played Colorado, and Rapids manager Gary Smith believes "it's an incident we all need to move on from."

Brian Mullan's reckless challenge resulted in Zakuani's broken leg and earned him a 10-game suspension. Zakuani "is up and about," said Smith and Mullan has returned from his suspension, and Smith hopes the incident is over.

Colorado visits Seattle on Saturday in the first meeting since April at newly- named CenturyLink Field, but Smith told MLSsoccer.com Friday that Mullan would not make the trip.

"It's totally my choice. Brian was adamant he wanted to go," Smith said.

Although Smith said he wanted to rest Mullan, it's clear the best decision was to leave him out of the match to avoid any potential retaliation.

Seattle (9-4-8) enters the match on an eight-game MLS unbeaten run, and topped the Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-1, on Wednesday to return to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup for the fifth straight season.

The Sounders lost in the semifinals in the first two appearances, but since it debuted in MLS in 2009, Seattle has won back-to-back Open Cups.

Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero and Lamar Neagle scored for Seattle against L.A. and the Sounders would close to within one point of the Western Conference leaders with a victory against Colorado.

"I think we have a lot of confidence going forward," Jaqua said.

"It's important just to keep our momentum going. No matter what were playing - reserve game, regular season, or Open Cup - we want to win," Neagle said.

Seattle will play FC Dallas, the 2010 MLS Cup runner-up, in the semifinals and a third title remains a priority, according to coach Sigi Schmid.

"We always take it seriously," said Schmid, who signed a contract extension on Thursday that could keep him in Seattle through the 2015 MLS season.

Colorado (6-5-9) was eliminated in the qualification phase of the Open Cup, so the MLS Cup champions have focused solely on league play recently. But like so many clubs in MLS this season, the Rapids have settled for too many ties.

The Rapids are one of 14 teams with at least seven draws before the All-Star break, and would join the Chicago Fire and Red Bull New York in double-digits with a tie against Seattle.

Colorado defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night, 2-1, in its last league game, and with Conor Casey scoring for the sixth time in his last seven matches, the Rapids may finally be ready to hit stride.

But, Smith knows it's important to get through Saturday's game without trouble as tempers could flare in the teams' first meeting since Zakuani was injured.

"It's just another game of football," Smith said, even though he knew it would be a good idea to leave Mullan behind just to be safe.