COMMERCE CITY — A year ago there were abundant reasons to wonder whether Pablo Mastroeni would survive a second disappointing season as head coach of the Rapids. Fans were restless after the team won only four of its last 14 games and missed the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Now he has the Rapids in position to finish the regular season with the best record in MLS, which it will secure Sunday afternoon if it beats Houston at home and FC Dallas loses at Los Angeles. Colorado’s record alone is enough to make Mastroeni a strong candidate for coach of the year honors, but the team’s turnaround after the struggles of the past two seasons speaks even more eloquently about the job he has done.