SERNA WON’T HOLD BACK IN HIS PLAY
Midfielder’s comeback doesn’t show any sign that he is holding back
A year ago this week, Dillon Serna’s budding career as a Rapids midfielder hit a jolting detour when he suffered a right knee injury playing at FC Dallas in a U.S. Open Cup match. As the Rapids prepare to play FCD there again Tuesday in another Open Cup match, Serna can’t help but reflect on the journey from there to here and back.
In his first start since the injury, Serna scored against Los Angeles last Wednesday with a left-footed missile that gave his comeback an exclamation point for its sheer power. He also started at Atlanta last Saturday.
Serna, who grew up in Brighton and signed with the Rapids in 2013 as a young “homegrown player,” saw spot duty in a handful of substitute appearances this season before last week, but now he looks like the old Serna.
“I feel great,” Serna said. “Being able to get minutes and start games and contribute makes it feel normal and back to my normal self. I’m ready to keep doing that.”
Serna’s goal was a beauty, a one-timer with his dominant left foot that Galaxy goalkeeper Clement Diop was helpless to stop. Serna nearly scored 20 minutes before that, forcing Diop to make a leaping save that Diop barely tipped over the cross bar.
Serna had shown hints of what was to come the previous game when he came on in the second half and provided a noticeable lift to the team in a come-from-behind win over Portland. His readiness to go 90 minutes comes at a good time because star winger Shkëlzen Gashi is injured.
“Serna has been waiting on an opportunity, working hard, and (against LA) he showed his level on both sides of the ball,” coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “Offensively he brought players into the game, put in a couple good balls, took some good shots, and obviously scored a fantastic goal.”
Serna said it was a “pretty emotional” evening and he was “super-excited” about it.
“But at the same time, I feel like this is what I’m capable of, and I feel like I’m back to 100 percent again,” Serna said. “I want to continue to do that and want to continue to contribute to the team as much as I can.”
Serna suffered the knee injury early in the Open Cup match last June when FCD defender Agustin Jara tackled him from behind. Jara, an Argentinian who was on trial with FCD, was released last August. He received a yellow card on the play, and Serna believes he would have been suspended if the game had been an MLS match.
“It was definitely dirty, in my opinion,” Serna said.
As with all knee injuries, it was a long road back. But Serna, 23, looks back on it as a valuable learning experience.
“Being a younger player, I felt like this was a great opportunity for me to grow up and mature a bit. Obviously it was a difficult situation and difficult circumstances, but I think ultimately I did grow from it and I learned a lot through the process. It put a lot of things in perspective for me. This career is shortlived and I can’t take it for granted. I have to work for it every single day.”