(Sports Network) - The Colorado Rapids will aim to solidify their chances at making the 2009 Major league Soccer playoffs when they travel to take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday night.

The Rapids (10-8-6) are currently in fourth in the West, but in the crowded playoff picture, any slip up could drop them out of the top eight in the league.

The team is coming off a 3-2 loss at Toronto in its last league fixture, and hope to have better luck on the road vs. the Western table's bottom team this week.

"It's disappointing," Colorado coach Gary Smith said after the loss in Toronto. "This is a tough place to play with a makeshift group, I thought we did a wonderful job of trying to get something out of the game."

Despite the loss, Smith has lofty goals for the team's remaining six games this season.

"We want to put the two top teams [in the Western table] under pressure but we don't want to set our sights too highly or be too unrealistic, because that would have an adverse effect," Smith said. "Our challenge is to get into the playoffs and be in that shakeup at the end of the season."

San Jose (5-12-5), on the other hand, returns to league play for the first time since a 2-1 loss at New England on Aug. 29 and will be looking to just close out the season on a positive note over the final couple months.

"We had to make sort of a late decision on both Cornell (Glen) and Bobby (Convey) couldn't go, so we mixed it up a little bit and decided to go with Andre Luiz in the middle back, Ramiro (Corrales) left back and obviously starting with Simon (Elliott) and Ramon (Sanchez) in the middle, but I think our first half was great," Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop said after the loss in New England. "I thought we did all of the things we talked about doing in the game in the team talk, and basically, really, if you look at the chances and that we had the same number of chances."

The team will be playing on Friday without midfielder Darren Huckerby while midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Bobby Convey are questionable, and midfielder Shea Salinas is probable.

The Rapids will be without midfielder Pablo Mastroeni because of suspension, while midfielders Colin Clark and Jamie Smith are out with injuries. Also, defender Cory Gibbs is doubtful and defender Scott Palguta is probable, both with injuries.



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