Giving Pareja the reins of his first MLS team is going to create a roster shakeup. The Colombian, a veteran of MLS campaigns from 1998 through 2005, has already talked about the need to find a Carlos Valderrama-type playmaker for the Rapids.

Considering this is a team built on a model of rugged defense, over-the-top balls and just enough skill to get the ball in the back of the net, replacing Gary Smith with Pareja will mean replacing many of the fundamentals that led to an MLS crown in 2010 and the second round of the playoffs in 2011.

This change will produce winners and losers. Here’s some of both.

Winner: Jeff Larentowicz. Bringing in ballhandler for midfield means someone will have to double up on defensive midfield duties. This responsibility will fall to Larentowicz.

The defensive midfielder has consistently been one of the best Rapids on the field since joining the team in 2010. Look for him to have even more work to do, with few shots on goal to take. The workhorse will be critically needed.

Loser: Wells Thompson. He plays with great energy. He plays with great passion. He rarely plays with finesse. The last item will cost him.

Thompson’s lack of touch is anathema to type of short-passing game Pareja espouses. He might get some time as a late defensive substitute, but look for his minutes to dry up in ’12.

Winner: Omar Cummings. Cummings goal scoring went from league-leading in 2010 to barely measureable in 2011. This will reverse with a team that emphasizes getting passes to the feet of players.

Conor Casey did a fabulous job in ’10 of getting the ball to Cummings. Without Casey, Cummings was adrift. With Casey back from injury in ’12, and more short passes, Cummings should thrive.

Loser: Caleb Folan. Pareja’s not looking for the “big and strong” forward to pair with a “small and fast,” and that means Folan’s time on the roster should be limited.

Casey’s nose for the goal and years remaining under contract means the new coach will have to find a way to use him. The same is not true for Folan. The 29-year-old Irish international was going to be under pressure with the return of Macoumba Kandji from injury. Hiring Pareja likely sealed Folan’s fate to find another team for 2012.

Winner: Steven Emory. No, you haven’t seen him on the field for the Rapids. You will this season. From his college playing days at Metro State, we know that Emory can thrive in the short passing game. Expect the young midfielder to show that in training and find his way on to the reserves bench early in the season.

Winner and Loser: Pablo Mastroeni. Hiring Pareja should guarantee Mastroeni makes the move from defensive midfield to center back. This could easily extend a playing career that has produced renaissance seasons in 2010 and 2011.

A new coach and a new position are likely to mean a new role, too. The captain’s armband will likely wrap around the as-yet-unnamed central midfielder that Pareja is seeking. Pareja is looking for a triggerman for attack. That player will set the tone for the 2012 Rapids. And that means the quiet professionalism of Mastroeni is unlikely to allow him to hold on to the captain’s title.

Graham Zusi provided the services in the 28th and 76th minute as Sporting Kansas City recorded another 2-0 victory over the Rapids, giving KC a 4-0 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Aurellian Collin and C.J. Sapong doubled the margin for Sporting, which beat the Rapids 2-0 on Sunday on the strength of two Teal Bunbury strikes.

A piecemeal lineup and a punchless attack characterized the disappointing finish to the season for the Rapids. Colorado came in desperate to gain a two-goal win to force overtime and backed by words of praise. But the end result was much like the rest of the season as the Rapids couldn’t find a breakthrough.

While the winners get to move on to face the winner of the Philadelphia Union-Houston Dynamo series on Sunday at Livestrong Sporting Park, the losing Rapids get to ponder what might have been.

The Few: With Drew Moor, Kousuke Kimura and Caleb Folan out with injuries suffered in the first leg against KC, Tyrone Marshall out serving a mandatory suspension for a red card in the first leg, Conor Casey, Jamie Smith and Anthony Wallace out for the season with injuries, and Pablo Mastroeni out since suffering a concussion on Oct. 14, the Rapids were not close to the side that won the 2010 title.

On Wednesday night, the team lacked rhythm and punch. Ultimately, the side paid the price.

Final 11: Here’s the lineup the Rapids fielded in the last match of the year: Matt Pickens, Wells Thompson, Marvell Wynne, Scott Palguta, Miguel Comminges, Brian Mullan, Joseph Nane (Macoumba Kandji 56), Jeff Larentowicz, Ross LaBauex (Eddie Ababio 80), Omar Cummings (Quincy Amarikwa 46), Sanna Nyassi.

On the bench were substitutes Andre Akpan, Danny Earls, Mike Holody and Steward Ceus.

Now, compare that with the squad that started the season against the Portland Timbers on March 19: Pickens, Kimura, Wallace, Wynne, Moor, Mullan (Thompson 88), Smith, Mastroeni (Nyassi 77), Larentowicz, Casey (Amarikwa 61), Cummings.

Found Wanting: The lineups tell the tale of how the depth of this squad was tested. Players had to play out of position and hunt for ways to score. The task proved more than the squad could manage.

What’s Next: The MLS expansion draft will unfold in three weeks. A conference call will determine who the Rapids lose, if anyone, to the new side in Montreal on Nov. 23.

Unless grabbed in the draft, expect Pickens, Wynne, Larentowicz, Cummings and Nyassi to be in the starting 11 for the foreseeable future. Thompson and Amarikwa’s energy make them likely returnees, too. Akpan and Palguta are also likely to stay thanks to their work rates. Kandji gets a return to the Rapids after spending most of the year rehabilitating his leg.

After that, it will be time to take a long look at the injured, the ineffective and the aging before starting the 2012 season. Among the injured, look for most of them to return. Moor and Kimura are defensive stalwarts. Wallace is a young player with promise. Casey, although aging, is the still the squad’s offensive spark. They’ll all be back.

Smith, who underwent successful ACL this week, adds spark, but has never settled in as a regular and can’t assume a roster spot will be waiting. Folan, who provided six goals, was a disappointment and is unlikely to return.

Mastroeni, the team captain, is a lock to return and play until he can’t anymore. Joining him on the high side of 30 are Marshall, who looks like he might have another year at center back, and Mullan, who can see the end from here, but can’t tell quite how far away it is.

As for the rest, now would not be the time to buy a house in the Denver area.

Trailing Kansas City 2-0 on aggregate when they take the field tonight at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas, the Colorado Rapids have suddenly become the beneficiaries of miraculous hopes for improbable outcomes.

In carefully detailing past comebacks in the playoffs, the team Web site leaves little doubt that the Rapids could reverse that margin and even produce a three-goal margin of victory to take the series outright. The Denver Post then followed up today, with comparisons to a San Jose battle back from a 4-0 deficit.

It’s all very inspiring.

And it’s not going to happen.

Just like the Broncos are no closer to returning to the Super Bowl this season or next, regardless of who is the quarterback, the Rapids don’t have the team needed to take out Sporting KC.

No Firepower: The Rapids are a good team with enough injuries to take out a great side. Six of the starters from the 2010 MLS Cup victory will be absent tonight. Even with most of the roster intact, Colorado has lacked firepower all season.

In 34 MLS games the Rapids managed more than two goals in a game four times. Colorado hasn’t put more than two in the net in an MLS game since July 20, when Sanna Nyassi and Omar Cummings revealed how slow the New York Red Bulls central defenders are in a 4-1 rout.

In the past three months, the Rapids own only one victory by a two-goal margin in MLS play. Admittedly, the Rapids played a brilliant game in beating the Columbus Crew 2-0 on Aug. 5, 11 MLS matches ago, but that was 11 matches ago.

Reason to Believe: The only cause for hope is the team’s 3-1 victory over Isidro Metapan in CONCACAF Champions League play on Sept. 28, and the presence of Nyassi and Cummings on the pitch tonight.

There is hope because the side that beat Metapan was almost entirely made up of reserves, similar to the squad that will take the pitch tonight. The other hope comes in the chance that Nyassi and Cummings may be the starting forwards tonight. If so, their combined speed may be enough to spring a surprise.

Final Score: There’s hope, but that’s not enough. Colorado has 90 minutes left in its season. I see the team running out of time tonight.

Cummings was alone in the penalty area when his roommate, Kosuke Kimura, passed to him in the waning moments of the first half. Kimura, who made regular forays into the attack, saw Cummings just after receiving a pass from Brian Mullan.

The Jamaican forward then did what he had done 14 times in 2010, but only three times this season, and put the ball in the back of the net. This one tally was enough as the Rapids rode a stout defense to a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew in the second Wild Card match of the MLS playoffs.

Colorado, the defending MLS Cup champions, now gets a double date with Sporting Kansas City in the next round of the playoffs. The Rapids will host the Eastern Conference regular season champions at 5 p.m. Sunday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. The return leg will be 6 p.m. Wednesday at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

The winner of that two-game series will advance to the Eastern Conference final on Nov. 6 against the winner of the Philadelphia Union-Houston Dynamo series. Because of the oddities of MLS playoffs, the Rapids — the fifth-place team in the Western Conference, own the Eastern Conference title from the 2010 playoffs. FC Dallas, which lost to New York Red Bulls in the first Wild Card match, held the Western Conference title from 2010.

Facing KC: While you let the oddity of holds what title sink in, it’s time to start pondering a Colorado-KC playoff series.

The two MLS originals have met in the playoffs for seven previous matches. The Rapids own a 2-3-2 record against KC in the playoffs, but the two teams have not met in the postseason since 2003.

Overall, the two teams have met 49 times with the Rapids winning 17, Kansas City taking 10 victories and the two squads tying 22 times. Not surprisingly, both meetings this season resulted in 1-1 draws.

Crew Killer: Cummings tally gave him four goals for the season, half of them against Columbus. Cummings most recent MLS goal came against the Crew on Aug. 5 in a 2-0 Rapids win.

It will be chilly in Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for the 8 p.m. battle with the Columbus Crew. But there will be plenty of heat on the field for the Rapids. Win, and they face the LA Galaxy in the next round of the playoffs. Lose, and the team can head to the training room and join rehabilitating forward Conor Casey.

Looking Back: For this playoff edition of The Thursday List, we take a look back at past playoff performances for the Rapids. The list starts with the team’s first playoff appearance and opponent and grows from there.

1997: at Kansas City, Win, 3-0
Kansas City, Win, 3-2
at Dallas, Win, 1-0
Dallas, Win, 2-1
at D.C. United, Loss, 2-1

1998: at Chicago, Loss, 1-1 (shootout)
Chicago, Loss, 1-0

1999: at Los Angeles, Loss, 3-0
Los Angeles, Loss, 2-0

2000: at Kansas City, Loss, 1-0
Kansas City, Tie, 0-0
at Kansas City, Loss, 3-2

2002: at Dallas, Loss, 4-2
Dallas, Win, 1-0
at Dallas, Tie, 2-1 (second overtime)
at Los Angeles, Loss, 4-0
Los Angeles, Loss, 1-0

2003: Kansas City, Tie, 1-1
at Kansas City, Loss, 2-0

2004: Los Angeles, Win, 1-0
at Los Angeles, Loss, 2-0

2005: FC Dallas, Tie, 0-0
at FC Dallas, Win, 2-2 (overtime)
Los Angeles, Loss, 2-0

2006: FC Dallas, Loss, 2-1
at FC Dallas, Win, 3-2 (overtime)
at Houston, Loss, 3-1

2010: Columbus, Win, 1-0
at Columbus, Loss, 2-1 (advanced on PK’s)
San Jose, Win, 1-0
FC Dallas, Win, 2-1 (overtime)

Opening Match: In 10 previous playoff appearances the Colorado Rapids are 3-5-2 in opening matches.

The bad news for the Rapids is that this year’s wild card match is a one-and-done affair for the losers.

The good news for the Rapids is the team’s record in home playoff matches in the opening round. Counting the two-leg affairs of the past, the team is a respectable 4-3-3 through the years.

Home Openers: The Rapids have played at home to open the playoffs five times. In those games — which includes the 2010 opener against the Crew — the team is 2-1-2.

Missing: The two players who scored against Columbus in the past season will be absent tonight. Casey is out for the season with a leg injury and Pablo Mastroeni is recovering from a concussion suffered against Real Salt Lake on Oct. 14.

Present: Kosuke Kimura, who was the last person to score for the Rapids at home in a playoff match, will be on the field tonight. The right back scored a wonder goal against San Jose in 2010 that eluded a charging Omar Cummings and goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Kimura, in fact, seems to always be on the field. Team golden boot winner Jeff Larentowicz, goalkeeper Matt Pickens and Kimura were the only Rapids to appear in all 34 games this season.

You Again: Brian Mullan, a late-season pickup from Houston in 2010, makes his 11th consecutive appearance in the MLS playoffs. Mullan, a Colorado soccer product, has appeared in the playoffs every season of his career.

On a team with Conor Casey, Omar Cummings and Caleb Folan, it should have been that one of them would win the title as the team’s top scorer.

Surprises: However, it was not to be. Casey, twice the team’s top goal scorer, managed six strikes in 11 matches before losing the rest of the year to injury. Folan chipped in six tallies, too, but endured long stretches without a strike. Cummings, the 2010 leading scorer, managed only three goals in 18 regular season matches.

With the regular season over and a playoff match coming on Thursday, The Tuesday List takes a look back at the team’s top scorers by season and adds an unlikely name to the list in the form of central midfielder Jeff Larentowicz.

1996 – Jean Harbor (11)
1997 – Paul Bravo (8)
1998 – Wolde Harris (13)
1999 – Jorge Dely Valdez (10)
2000 – Junior Agogo (10)
2001 – John Spencer (14)
2002 – Mark Chung, Chris Henderson, Chris Carrieri (11)
2003 – John Spencer (14)
2004 – Jean Philippe Peguero (7)
2005 – Jeff Cunningham (12)
2006 – Nicolas Hernandez, Kyle Beckerman (7)
2007 – Jovan Kirovski (6)
2008 – Conor Casey (11)
2009 – Conor Casey (16)
2010 – Omar Cummings (14)
2011 – Jeff Larentowicz (7)

Now What?: The Rapids have been tepid in attack most of the year. The 4-1 romp over the New York Red Bulls on July 20 stands out as the last time the team looked deadly.

Not forgotten from that game was the hat trick for Sanna Nyassi, who dabbled at the forward spot after Casey’s injury. He only had two goals for the rest of the season as he spent most of his time on the midfield wings.

Next Up: Thursday should be entertaining as the defending MLS Cup champions have to find a way to score.

Teams that can’t score can hope to make it to penalty kicks for a win, but that’s not much to look forward to for any fan.

The latest evidence came on Saturday night as the Rapids fell to the Chicago Fire, one of the worst teams in MLS, 2-0 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

While it was the most disastrous result in the latest string of games, it was also further proof of the mounting fatigue for a squad battling in two competitions. Surrendering late goals are normally the key sign of a tiring team. Colorado (10-7-11, 41 points) gave up a tying goal to Real Espana on Tuesday in the 85th minute and to Chivas USA on Aug. 20 in the 86th minute.

Coach Gary Smith attempted to make the most of his flagging roster by putting sometime starter Caleb Folan up top, and resting Omar Cummings.

The move produced few chances, and Cummings ultimately came on in the 61st minute as the team sought its way out of 2-0 hole. Inserting Cummings and later bringing on Macoumba Kandji for Folan produced little.

Perhaps Chicago ‘keeper Sean Johnson deserves much of the credit for earning his sixth shutout. However, the Rapids dug their own hole by letting Dominic Orduro loose in the 16th minute, and failing to close down his shot. The second goal was even more egregious as Kosuke Kimura, who possesses the work rate of a draft horse, simply couldn’t continue the run to the end line for the cross that Cory Gibbs turned into the second goal.

The bottom line is that this team, which relies on outworking opponents and then unleashing the speed of Sanna Nyassi and Cummings, is showing signs of the grind. Not having another game until Sept. 9, when the Rapids travel to face the LA Galaxy, may be the best thing that can happen for this squad. The season is at a critical juncture, and this side is running on fumes.

It was satisfying because it was the sort of game the Rapids should win, but the team has stumbled to get earlier this season and at many times in the past three or four years. San Jose is trapped in a team-record swoon, trailing Colorado in the standings and desperate for goals.

On Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium, the Rapids (10-6-10, 40 points) fell behind on a Joey Gjertsen header in the 22nd minute. But the Rapids kept coming with the sort of possession and attack that seemed to make a tying goal inevitable.

It came in the 39th minute when a sliding Sam Cronin knocked Pablo Mastroeni’s cross out of bounds with his left arm. Caleb Folan tallied on the subsequent penalty kick. Then the Rapids continued pressing for the lead.

The job got easier in the 50th minute when Cronin saw red for a studs up tackle on Mastroeni. Colorado finally capitalized in the 72nd minute on a free kick restart. Wells Thompson and Mastroeni tapped and then stopped the ball for Jeff Larentowicz, who put his shot through the legs in the wall and past ‘keeper Jon Busch.

From there, the Rapids held the beter of possession and used that control to ride out 90 minutes plus more than four minutes of stoppaged time to pick up the team’s fourth win in the past five games (4-0-1) and a sense of satisfaction. Meanwhile, San Jose stretched its winless streak to 11 matches and fell to 5-9-10, 25 points.

Absent Starters: Neither Sanna Nyassi nor Omar Cummings started for the Rapids. The two have been crucial in the recent run of wins, but both were on international duty during the week. Cummings, who played 90 minutes for Jamaica in China on Wednesday, came on in the 60th minute. Nyassi, who played 45 for Gambia against the Congo, did not make the trip to San Jose.

Card Crazy: Referee Paul Ward handed out seven cards during the match. Thompson, Larentowicz, Drew Moor and Folan all saw yellow for Colorado. Along with Cronin’s ejection, Khari Stephenson and Chris Wondolowski went into the book for San Jose.

Of all of them, Moor’s whistle for a reckless foul in the 79th minute was the only questionable call. Moor and a defender were fighting for a ball, each player had an arm out on the other. Moor, however, had leverage. When he used that leverage, he was booked. It seemed a bit harsh for what had transpired.

Next Up: The Rapids continue a run of matches against teams chasing them in the Western Conference with a match against Chivas USA at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday. Before that game, Colorado begins CONCACAF Champions League play at home on Wednesday with a match against Matapan.

What should have felled a team that was struggling to score instead led to a four goal outburst from Nyassi and 10 points from four games.

In the Earthquakes, the Rapids face a team at Buck Shaw Stadium that is struggling to find the back of the net, just lost its most promising scoring threat, and has another scorer still looking for his finishing touch. The toothless attack explains how the ‘Quakes are mired in a 10-game winless streak.

Colorado, however, has searched for the winning edge against San Jose since the Earthquakes rejoined the league in 2008. The Rapids were winless against San Jose the first five times the two teams met before claiming a victory at home last fall.

Long Shot: Kosuke Kimura provided the winning difference when these two teams met during the Eastern Conference finals last November. His long range pass to Omar Cummings sailed past the forward’s foot and ‘keeper Jon Busch in the 1-0 game.

Gordon Gone: No sooner had Alan Gordon joined the ‘Quakes and scored to preserve a tie last weekend then he was gone. The striker underwent surgery this week for injuries in both hips.

Mac Back: Macoumba Kandji played 78 minutes in a reserve league 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City on Monday and appears ready to go again. The big striker has been out since tearing his ACL on the pass that led to an own goal in extra time and the Rapids 2-1 win over FC Dallas at the MLS Cup Championship in November.

Traveling Men: Cummings rejoined the Rapids on Friday after appearing in an international friendly for Jamaica. Nyassi was due to meet the team today after playing for Gambia against Congo. Coach Gary Smith said if and how much each will play today will be a game time decision.

The Rapids have played Los Angeles 55 times and Dallas (first as The Burn and then as FC) 51. Next on that list is San Jose, which has met Colorado 46 times since that first MLS season in 1996.

The Earthquakes, who won a pair of MLS titles in the team’s original incarnation, also holds a 21-17-8 record against the Rapids. For The Thursday List, we take a look at how the two teams have battled since San Jose rejoined the league in 2008.

April 19, 2008, San Jose 2, Colorado 0
July 12, 2008, San Jose 1, Colorado 1

Sept. 18, 2009, Colorado 1, San Jose 1
Sept. 23, 2009, San Jose 1, Colorado 1

May 1, 2010, San Jose 1, Colorado 0
Aug. 7, 2010, Colorado 1, San Jose 0
Playoffs: Nov. 13, 2010, Colorado 1, San Jose 0

The Rapids were winless (0-2-3) in the team’s first five meetings with the re-entry Earthquakes. In the past two meetings, Colorado has beaten the Earthquakes on a terrible own goal mistake by goalkeeper Jon Busch off an Omar Cummings cross, and a stunning strike by Kosuke Kimura in the Eastern Conference finals last fall.

This season, San Jose has struggled to score, but with a busy schedule of CONCACAF Champions League matches and a drive to the MLS playoffs, the Rapids face a challenge at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Colorado has had a tough time with this old foe.