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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Andy Engel
NEWS RELEASE
DALLAS (Saturday, May 18, 2002) - The Dallas Burn got the second home win of the season, downing the Colorado Rapids 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Cotton Bowl. Defender Steve Morrow netted a pair of goals in the contest, his first tallies in MLS play, and midfielder Antonio Martinez took advantage of a rare start to register three assists on the night.
A foul on Ronald Cerritos by Rick Titus in the 9th minute set up Dallas' first good scoring chance, and the Burn took full advantage of the opportunity. Given a free kick just wide of the 18-yard box, Antonio Martinez curled his service into the middle of the goal area, and defender Steve Morrow was able to slip just inside goalkeeper Scott Garlick and head the ball home.
The Rapids nearly equalized in the 17th minute through Mark Chung. From inside the penalty area, John Spencer opted to switch the ball across the box rather than shoot, and his crisp pass landed at the feet of the wide-open Chung. Chung wasted no time in unloading his shot, but his effort was cleared off the line by midfielder Oscar Pareja.
Colorado spent much of the next few minutes in total control of the ball, stringing several passes together with each foray into the Dallas area. Again, in the 23rd minute, Chung nearly tied the score. From a corner kick, his initial shot was blocked, and as the rebound fell to his feet again, he saw his second shot soar over the crossbar.
In the 31st minute, as the action swung back in favor of the Rapids, the visitors were denied by Dallas goalkeeper Matt Jordan. Carlos Valderrama controlled a looping clearance and found Chris Henderson inside the right half of the penalty area. Henderson ripped a low shot that Jordan slowed but could not contain, and the goalkeeper was able to slap the trickling ball away before it could cross the line.
In the 54th minute Kreis scored his team-leading 6th goal of the season to give the Burn a two-goal advantage. Once again it was Martinez who started the Burn scoring play, this time feeding Joselito Vaca with a diagonal pass. Vaca gained possession of the ball on the right edge of the penalty area and finessed a pass between the Rapids defenders and Garlick across the box to Kreis, who had no trouble slotting the ball home.
Just six minutes later, after the Rapids had made a pair of substitutions in an effort to re-energize the offense, Dallas struck for a third goal. Again it was Morrow, and again he found the back of the net with a header off a set piece.
Colorado forward John Spencer gave hope to the Rapids after he converted a penalty kick in the 64th minute. Spencer's goal, his third in three games, was the result of a handball in the box called after Chris Carrieri shot hit the hand of defender Tenywa Bonseu.
In the 80th minute the Rapids had yet another chance, but were denied by the woodwork. Alone on the edge of the 18-yard box, Spencer ripped a low shot that beat Jordan but bounced off the post and back into play.
That play started a flurry of scoring opportunities for the Rapids, who spent the next few minutes feverishly buzzing around the Burn penalty area. Marvin Quijano, Spencer and Carrieri each had good looks at the net, but to no avail as the score stood 3-1 in favor of Dallas at St. Silva's final whistle.
In converting a 65th minute penalty kick against Dallas on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, Rapids captain John Spencer extended his goal-scoring streak to three games - third best in the league this season. The tally also moves him into the No. 5 position in MLS scoring, an honor he shares with teammate Chris Henderson. The three game streak matches a personal best for the Scottish striker, who tallied three times between 5/26/01 and 6/2/01. Taking home Budweiser Scoring Champion honors for the Rapids in 2001 with 14 goals, 7 assists, Spencer is on a similar pace after the first eight games of 2002. At this point in 2001, he stood at four goals, two assists. Currently, his four goals, three assists put him atop all Rapids scorers and fourth in the league with 11 points.
The Rapids return to action tonight at INVESCO Field after an 11 day absence. Fresh off a 2-0 victory over Western Conference rival Kansas City Wizards on May 11, the new venue has been a good luck charm for Colorado in 2002, as they have posted a 3-1 overall record (2-0-0 Western Conference) in front of a franchise record high average crowd of 27,237 so far this season. Average attendance figures at this juncture in the 2000 and 2001 seasons were 12,642 and 14,965 respectively. The Rapids will not be back in action at INVESCO until June 1, when they host the Los Angeles Galaxy at 2 p.m. (MT) for the first of two matches against their division rival in Denver this season.
Rapids legendary midfielder Carlos Valderrama is still looking for his career milestone and MLS best 100th assist. After appearing to have set up Chris Henderson's 88th minute goal against the Wizards on May 11 at INVESCO Field, Valderrama and Co. celebrated the assist, only to find out soon thereafter that the midfield maestro did not receive credit. Pibe came close several times in Dallas on Saturday as the Rapids posted 24 shots, but did not wind up on the helping end of any scoring opportunities and remains at 99. DC United's Marco Etcheverry trails Valderrama as the second-highest career assist-getter with 87.
New England forward and 2002 1st Round SuperDraft pick (2nd overall) Taylor Twellman has already made a name for himself in MLS by scoring five goals in six games for the Revs. Despite playing alongside the high-scoring likes of forwards Alex Pineda-Chacon and Mamadou Diallo, Twellman has quickly become a go-to guy on a squad packed with veteran scoring power. His five goals currently make him the fourth highest scorer in the league. Twellman returns to American soccer after one-and-a-half seasons with TSV 1860 Munich of the highly-revered German Bundesliga.
The Mask Project, a charity art auction aiming to help provide quality end-of-life care to thousands of our community's terminally ill and their families, had its inaugural U.S. premier in Denver in 1998. Now in its third presentation, it has once again captured the hearts and the pallets of America's famous celebrities and finest artists, and this year Rapids midfielder Chris Henderson and General Manager Dan Counce have created and donated masks to the Mask Project to benefit the Hospice of Metro Denver. The Mask Project has been embraced nationally by the non-profit community as a leading fund-raiser. More than ten projects have debuted in various states each bringing in significant dollars for its charity. To date, Denver's project has raised $1 million dollars for Hospice of Metro Denver through the sales of two collections. Hundreds have stepped forward to support Hospice of Metro Denver patients and families with masks, sponsorships and television interviews, such as: Brooke Shields, Glenn Close, Mariel Hemingway, Bill Cosby, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Dole, Joe Montana, Barbara Streisand, Tom Watson, Janeane Garofalo, Jesse Ventura, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Tom Skerritt and Dolly Parton. Bidding on Rapids masks created by Henderson and Counce starts at $50. For more information on how you can support this program, please call Annie Vinton in the Rapids office at (303) 299-1575.
Injury Report: None to report Training Schedule: Tuesday, May 21 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility (No Media Luncheon) Wednesday, May 22 - 7:00 p.m. Game vs. New England Revolution at INVESCO Field Thursday, May 23 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Friday, May 24 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Saturday, May 25 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility (Tentative) Miscellaneous Notes... ...The Rapids lead the 14 game all-time series with the Revolution 8-5-1 and have posted a 5-2-0 record in Denver. ...The Rapids all-time scoring leader against the Revolution is now a member of the Revolution, Wolde Harris. In five games against New England, Harris, who played for Colorado from 1997-99, posted six goals and two assists. Western Conference TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 9 5 3 1 16 12 10 Lost 1 5-3-1 Los Angeles Galaxy 8 4 2 2 14 10 8 Lost 1 4-2-2 Colorado Rapids 8 4 3 1 13 9 8 Lost 1 4-3-1 Dallas Burn 8 3 2 3 12 10 10 Won 1 3-2-3 Kansas City Wizards 7 2 3 2 8 8 9 Won 1 2-3-2 Overall Standings TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 9 5 3 1 16 12 10 Lost 1 5-3-1 Los Angeles Galaxy 8 4 2 2 14 10 8 Lost 1 4-2-2 Colorado Rapids 8 4 3 1 13 9 8 Lost 1 4-3-1 Chicago Fire 8 4 3 1 13 13 8 Won 1 4-3-1 Dallas Burn 8 3 2 3 12 10 10 Won 1 3-2-3 MetroStars 9 3 5 1 10 12 15 Lost 3 3-5-1 D.C. United 9 3 5 1 10 11 14 Won 1 3-5-1 Columbus Crew 8 3 4 1 10 8 10 Won 1 3-4-1 Kansas City Wizards 7 2 3 2 8 8 9 Won 1 2-3-2 N.E. Revolution 6 2 3 1 7 9 10 Lost 1 2-3-1
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