Matchday 26 Report Card: VWFC vs. COL

Once again, the official Rituro Scale of Grading:

• A - Fantastic performance. Few, if any faults. An example of the player's best work and a masterclass in how to play the position. Since this means an A+ would be near-perfection, don't expect me to hand out those any time soon.
• B - Above average. A good day at the office for the player, with no major mistakes to speak of. Was a help more than a hindrance to the team on and/or off the ball.
• C - Average. Made some mistakes, had some good moments. Nothing to put the player in the doghouse, but nothing to write home about, either.
• D - Below average. A worrying performance that will leave coaches, teammates and/or supporters concerned about future efforts. Turnovers, poor clearances, missed big chances and soft goals will earn you this grade.
• F - Atrocious. Get off the field, hand in your kit and never darken the halls with your presence ever again.
• I - Incomplete. Player suffered an injury, was substituted at halftime with a view to later matches or some other occurrence that would leave us with insufficient evidence to assign a grade.

And now, the rankings for a match that can only be described as WOOOOOOOOOO YEAHHHHHHHHHH KENDALL WASTON GET IN GET IN GET IN GET [expletives] IN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH WOOOOOOOO!

Mauro Rosales: C-
Mauro had an off-day by my reckoning from a suite above the Southsiders. He took his fair share of lumps, as is almost becoming a habit now, but he also didn't take much of the opportunities presented to him. More than a few times, the offense died on Rosales' feet - something we're not accustomed to seeing from Rosales no matter where he's plying his MLS trade.

David Ousted: A
Yes, you complainers, I'm finally giving out an "A". Ousted absolutely deserves it - he was sharp to deny a tricky shot before half-time that would've given Colorado a lead against the run of play and even sharper in the dying moments of the game as the defense began to falter around him. If Jason deVos is to be believed, he named Ousted his goalkeeper of the year. The big Dane did nothing to dispel that accolade with a performance that not only earned him his league-leading 13th(!) clean sheet but firmly entrenched him in the year-end awards debate. It'll be tough to overcome strong years from Nick Rimando and Bill Hamid but if anybody could show up as a dark horse against those two, it'd be Ousted. (Meanwhile, in a distant 4th place, Jon Busch laments wasting an award-calibre performance on a broken team... but I digress.)

Sam Adekugbe: B
Holy [expletive], when did this kid learn how to play a killer through ball along the deck? Adekugbe was called into action after Steven Beitashour left with a hamstring strain in the 33rd minute. The youngster, much like Kianz Froese did a short while ago, made the absolute most of his cameo appearance and not only held his own against a scrappy Colorado attacking corps but made a number of excellent passes to start the Vancouver attack. Jordan Harvey, look out - your position may not be safe for much longer.

Kendall Waston: A-
I know Greg will be furious at me for this one; he's already shocked I'm not handing out an A+ as it is. Don't get me wrong, that goal? That goal? It'll be with us for some time, which is why Kendall gets bumped up from the "B" range. On the defensive end, though, Kendall was guilty of overplaying a few defensive situations as the game wound down, allowing Colorado's attackers to get looks at goal they wouldn't have. All the good vibes from a magical, crowd-rising-just-before goal evaporates if Colorado gets an equalizer; luckily for the big Costa Rican, his goalkeeper made sure that wouldn't happen.

Pedro Morales: B
Even an average day at the office for the captain looks pretty darn above-average when he's picking out players with his trademark long-balls and setting up the winning goal on a clinical corner. That said, Morales looked a little overwhelmed in midfield once he and Rosales were closed down and conceded some uncharacteristic giveaways. Since the team won, I'll partially forgive it. Since he and Russell Teibert stood on the advertising boards and waved national flags in front of the Southsiders to celebrate the victory, I'll forgive the other part.

Kekuta Manneh: B
The young Gambian was a spark plug off the bench and nearly opened the scoring himself with a curling shot that thundered off the crossbar. Manneh is still a super-sub, which limits the tactical options available for the 'Caps somewhat; thankfully, Manneh is more than capable of maximizing his abilities to be a game-changing super-sub and showed that off in spades against the Rapids.

Whether you were in the stands or watching at home, what did you think of the game? How did the rest of the team fare on your own report cards? Keep the discussion going in the comments section below.

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