RAPIDS CAN'T CONTAIN FIRE, FALL 2-1 IN OVERTIME AT CARDINAL STADIUM

Henderson Tallies Team-Leading Seventh Goal in First Overtime Loss of Season

NAPERVILLE, IL - The Chicago Fire snapped Colorado's two-game winning streak today in Naperville, taking advantage of a David Vaudreuil golden goal in the 95th minute. Despite posting an early 1-0 lead on an early first-half strike from Chris Henderson, the Rapids were unable to find the net through the rest of game, dropping their first overtime match of the season 2-1 at Cardinal Stadium.

Back and forth play in the midfield defined the opening minutes of the match, with neither team threatening the goal until the fifth minute, when a long Carlos Valderrama pass found Chris Henderson in stride. A slight stumble on the artificial surface robbed Henderson's scoring chance and the Fire regained possession of the ball. Then, as play swung back to the other end of the field, Amos Magee blasted a shot well over the net from close range.

Chicago nearly struck in the 10th minute, but the crossbar prevented the goal. Kelly Gray put a soft shot at the goal after Magee got the ball to him near the endline, and Billy Walsh found himself in position to finish off the chance, but his header bounced off the bar and was cleared by the defense.

The Rapids broke the scoreless tie in the 12th minute through Chris Henderson, who finished off a brilliant passing sequence with a low shot to the far post. Carlos Valderrama made the play possible, deftly touching a long upfield pass to Mark Chung, who immediately split the defense with a long pass that hit Henderson in stride.

Playing without suspended striker John Spencer and Pablo Mastroeni, who sat out the match as a precautionary measure after tweaking his right knee in training Friday, Head Coach Tim Hankinson turned to a slightly-adjusted lineup that featured Thursday's hat-trick hero, Chris Carrieri, as the main target forward.

The speed of Chicago's DaMarcus Beasley caused headaches for the Rapids as the match neared the 30-minute mark. Three times he was fouled within striking distance of the goal, but each time the Fire was denied a quality scoring chance off the restart.

Magee worked along the right flank and again served in a dangerous ball in the 32nd minute, but goalkeeper David Kramer, making his fourth consecutive start, was quick off his line and smothered the cross before it could reach any of the waiting Fire players.

Valderrama nearly set up a second goal with an accurate pass to Carrieri in the 36th minute, but the second-year forward dropped a pass to the charging Ritchie Kotschau, who watched his shot partially blocked as it left his foot.

Returning World Cup forward Josh Wolff used his speed to exploit a hole on the side of the Colorado defense in the 38th minute and found Dema Kovalenko with a pass in the 18-yard box, but a superior defensive effort by midfielder Wes Hart, who tracked back from the midfield, nullified the chance.

Just seconds later the Rapids nearly stole a goal to double the lead. From near the midfield stripe, Chung spotted Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton off his line and unloaded a 50-yard shot with his left foot that sailed only inches over the crossbar.

Billy Sleeth provided the Fire with the first good scoring chance of the second half, serving a ball into the penalty area for Beasley, who snapped his shot high over the crossbar.

A collision between Kramer, who charged far out of his net, and Beasley, who was in alone on goal, gave the Fire a dangerous freekick from the top of the penalty area in the 56th minute, but Chicago could not convert the opportunity.

Wolff finally tied the score in the 63rd minute with a fantastic individual effort that saw him follow his own shot and head his own rebound into the net. Gray lofted a long pass to Wolff in the penalty area, which the striker one-timed out of the air. The shot bounced off the crossbar directly to Wolff, who headed the ball home.

In the 78th minute Chung almost put the Rapids back in front with a powerful move through the center of the penalty area. Chung split a pair of defenders and cranked a low shot that Thornton did well to stop.

A minute later Kramer kept the score tied with a good save off a hard shot by Sleeth, who blasted a shot from near the corner of the 18-yard box. With neither team having any stellar chances in the closing minutes, Kevin Stott's final whistle saw the match tied at 1-1.

In the final seconds of the first overtime, Vaudreuil worked the ball through several Colorado defenders before sending the square ball wide to Walsh. Walsh fed Kovalenko on the right flank, who in turn fought off a pair of Rapids players to reach the end line. Kovalenko crossed the ball in front of the net for Vaudreuil, who drifted into the play, touching the ball past Kramer with the inside of his back foot.

Colorado (8-8-1, 25 points) will return home to INVESCO Field at Mile High on Saturday, July 13, when they take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a Western Conference showdown that will kick off at 7:00 p.m..

             		1     2     OT	F
COLORADO RAPIDS    1     0      0	1
CHICAGO FIRE       	0     1      1	2

Scoring Summary:
Colorado - Henderson (Chung, Valderrama) 	12th minute 
Chicago - Wolff (Gray, D. Beasley)		63rd minute
Chicago - Vaudreuil (Kovalenko, Walsh)		95th minute
	

CHICAGO FIRE--Zach Thornton, Jim Curtin, Carlos Bocanegra (Billy Sleeth,
24), Kelly Gray, David Vaudreuil, Billy Walsh, Jesse Marsch, Dema Kovalenko,
DaMarcus Beasley (Craig Capano 84), Josh Wolff, Amos Magee (Jason Moore,
46).

TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (D. Beasley, 4) SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Five Players, 1); FOULS:
16 (Sleeth, 4); OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: Thornton 3; CAUTIONS:
Sleeth, 42; Moore, 71; EJECTIONS: none; 

COLORADO RAPIDS--David Kramer, Ritchie Kotschau, Rick Titus, Jeff Stewart,
Robin Fraser, Wes Hart, Mark Chung, Chris Henderson (Zach Kingsley, 78),
Raul Palacios (Kyle Beckerman, 58), Carlos Valderrama, Chris Carrieri (Steve
Herdsman, 91).

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Kotschau, Chung 2) SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Four Players, 1);
FOULS: 17 (Chung, 3); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: Kramer 3;
CAUTIONS: Palacios, 28; Kramer 56; Stewart 71; Fraser 91, EJECTIONS: none

Referee: Kevin Stott; Assistant Referees: George Gansner, Greg Barkey
Attendance: 10,211; Weather: 87F, humidity 57%

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