COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids may have found a solution to their troublesome left back position with the recent acquisition of Miguel Comminges.

Comminges was signed Sept. 9 and came on as a second-half substitute in Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League game against Santos Laguna (Mexico).

“I thought he did a fabulous job,” coach Gary Smith said. “There were some difficulties down our left hand side in the first period. He did some really decent things defensively, fitted in quite nicely, looks (to be) what we need, which is quick, athletic and competitive.”

The Rapids have solid defenders in Kosuke Kimura, Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne and Tyrone Marshall, but left back has been a frequent problem.

“We have eight games left including Champions League,” Smith said. “I have to think he’s going to be playing a serious part in most of those. The key for me was quickly finding out where he’s at. He’s given a good account of himself in 45 minutes. There’s no reason to suggest that’s not going to improve with fitness and sharpness, but he’s going to have a baptism of fire.”

Valuable experience.

Despite the score, reserve goalkeeper Steward Ceus played well in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss.

The athletic Ceus made seven saves in his second appearance for the Rapids. He was huge in Colorado’s 1-1 draw at Real España on Aug. 23 in another CONCACAF match.

Ceus has been with the Rapids since 2009 but has not made an MLS appearance, backing up Matt Pickens.

“He’s made some very, very good strides,” Smith said. “These games are very good experience for him. Goalkeepers take a lot longer to mature and go on a lot longer as well. That experience is vital to their performance. He’s got all the physical and athletic tools you could want for a goalkeeper. I think his performances, in both of his displays in the Champions League, have been very, very good.”

Meanwhile, Pickens was named to this week’s MLS team of the week for his play Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy, a 1-0 loss that could have been far worse if not for his spectacular play.

Playoff format.

Keep in mind as the regular season winds down that MLS has a new playoff format. Last year the top two teams in each conference and four wild cards qualified. This season, 10 teams qualify, with the addition of a pair of “play-in” games.

The top three finishers in each conference get automatic berths. The next best four clubs, irrespective of conference, get wild-card berths.

The four wild cards will play single-elimination games against each other, with higher seeds hosting (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3). After the two play-in games, the lowest remaining seed will face the league’s top team in a conference semifinal. The other will face the other conference’s regular-season leader. The other two conference semifinals will match teams that finished second and third in conference.