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Chivas continues road trip in Colorado

Aug 19, 2011 - 9:00 PM Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - Chivas USA enters its match with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park one point out of a place in the playoffs.

An although there is still plenty of time for things to change, Chivas hopes that it is heading in the right direction as the season enters its final few months.

The Goats are in the midst of a five-game road trip that has seen the club take four points from its last two games, and the addition of striker Juan Pablo Angel, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Galaxy this past week, should only help.

The 35-year-old Angel scored three goals in 22 games for the Galaxy this season, and Chivas coach Robin Fraser believes his arrival will only enhance the mix at forward, which includes Alejandro Moreno, Marcos Mondaini and Justin Braun.

"We have a number of different types of forwards, and I think Juan enhances that mix," Fraser told mlssoccer.com. "We have speed, power, dribbling ability and guys who could take guys on. Juan only gives us more choices, but it's still yet to be determined [who will start]. We're in the process of looking at all the combinations and seeing what works best."

Chivas will wrap up its five-game road trip in Portland next weekend, with the club getting to play six of its final eight games at The Home Depot Center.

The Rapids enter the match on a three-game winning streak and find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference, just three points behind second- place FC Dallas.

Yet the thing that has been impressive about the club's recent good run is the fact that they have been missing so many key players.

"It's five wins out of seven now," Rapids coach Gary Smith said after his team's 2-1 win over San Jose last time out. "We are still without Conor Casey, who will miss the rest of the season. We were without Anthony Wallace, who was a big part of the championship team. And then Omar (Cummings) has been away on international journeys. Even though we are not at full strength, we are still getting results and coming together as a team. We have battled and our club has put themselves in a great position to confirm one of those postseason berths."

Colorado also had success in midweek with a 3-2 win over Isidro Metapan of El Salvador in the CONCACAF Champions League, and they will be trying continue a streak of four successive wins against the Goats, all of which were shutouts.