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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Andy Engel
NEWS RELEASE
The Colorado Rapids wrapped up the 2002 road campaign Saturday night with a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Wizards in front of 19,270 at Arrowhead Stadium. The win was the first for Colorado in Kansas City since Sept. 25, 1999. With the win, Colorado returns to INVESCO Field on Friday, Sept. 20 hosting Kansas City and looking to take the regular-season series for the first time since 1999 when they swept all four games. Currently, the Rapids lead the series 2-0-1, opening the 2002 season with a 1-1 tie at Arrowhead on March 23 and posting a 2-0 victory at INVESCO Field on May 11. The Wizards lead the all-time series 14-12-5 (including playoffs), recording a 11-4-1 mark in Kansas City, while the Rapids have registered an 8-3-4 record in Denver where they have not lost since April 29, 2000. Chris Henderson has been the historical Wizards killer, posting 6 g, 6 a (18 points) through 16 games, now in his fourth season with Colorado. For Kansas City, Preki has been the thorn in the Rapids' side, posting 7 g, 11 a (25 points) in 25 games.
The Rapids are set to host the 6th annual soccer ball giveaway night in conjunction with the Sept. 20 match against the Kansas City Wizards. The first 6,000 kids age 16-and-under to enter the stadium will receive a free Rapids soccer ball, courtesy of Dairy Queen and the Colorado Rapids. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early, as the Rapids expect a large crowd. The 7 p.m. match between the Rapids and the Wizards is the final 2002 regular season game at INVESCO Field, before the playoffs begin in late September.
The media will have the opportunity to speak with players and coaches as the Rapids host their weekly media luncheon at the Westminster Training Facility on Tuesday afternoon. The luncheon will be held at 12 p.m. at the Westminster Training Facility, located at 10485 Sheridan Blvd. Media members with questions should contact Rich Schneider at 303-299-1487 or Andy Edgel at 303-299-1590.
The 2002 MLS Playoffs begin Sept. 25 and culminate in America's most coveted soccer prize - the MLS Cup - to be held Oct. 20 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., live on ABC Sports at 1:30 p.m. (ET). To date, five of eight playoff berths have been clinched, by the San Jose Earthquakes, Los Angeles Galaxy, Dallas Burn, Colorado Rapids and most recently the Columbus Crew (by virtue of a 2-0 victory over Chicago on Saturday night). The MLS playoffs consist of three rounds (quarterfinal, semifinal and final) with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds laid out in a three-game, "first to five (points)" format. Structured just like a regular season MLS game, three points are awarded for a win and one point is awarded for a tie, with two, five-minute overtime periods added to determine a winner. In case neither team has reached five points at the end of the third game (plus overtime), 20 minutes of overtime would be allotted, with a "golden goal" (first team to score) deciding the winner. With just one game remaining for each club, the upcoming week will determine the final playoff seedings, deciding date, time and venue locations for clubs earning a postseason berth. A massive dog fight will ensue * between the MetroStars, Kansas City Wizards, New England Revolution, Chicago Fire and D.C. United * for the final three playoff positions beginning Thursday, Sept. 19. The top four finishers (seeds No. 1-4) in regular season play will enjoy home field advantage, during two of a maximum three games, in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, with the final being played in a one-game, winner-takes-all format.
The Rapids are set to face Western Conference nemesis Dalllas Burn in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, with this week's results determining the recipient of home field advantage. By virtue of a 2-1 victory over the Wizards on Saturday night, the Rapids (42 pts.) took control of home field advantage, leapfrogging the Burn (40 pts.) who dropped a 2-1 decision to New England over the weekend. Should Colorado beat Kansas City on Friday at INVESCO Field, the club will earn home field advantage (regardless of the Dallas result), hosting the Burn for two-of-three quarterfinal round games, Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Wednesday, Oct. 2 and traveling to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 28. Should the Rapids tie or lose on Friday, the Burn would steal home field advantage * by virtue of a head-to-head competition playoff tiebreaker * with a win over D.C. United on Thursday at RFK Stadium.
The Rapids A-league call-up, midfielder Zach Kingsley, has shown himself to be quite a valuable addition to the club in the latter half of the season. Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium proved to be no exception as the former Seattle Sounders midfielder slammed home a diving header past Kansas City goalkeeper Tony Meola, giving Colorado the 1-0 advantage. In the last four games, Kingsley has scored three goals, helping to lift the Rapids back into the race for home field advantage as the 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs loom right around the corner. On 8/24 versus San Jose, Kingsley nodded home a Mark Chung corner kick in the 67th minute to give Colorado a 2-0 lead. One week later, on 9/1 at INVESCO Field, the young midfielder beat Dallas goalkeeper Matt Jordan with a low shot to the near post in the eventual 3-2 victory. Since making his MLS debut on June 19th, Kingsley has totaled four goals and one assist in just nine starts for Colorado.
Colombian midfield legend Carlos Valderrama has established yet another record in Major League Soccer * this time as the playmaking maestro for the Colorado Rapids. Collaborating with Chris Henderson at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night, Valderrama set up the eventual game-winner by John Spencer, improving his 2002 assist tally to 15 and catapulting him to new heights as the club's single-season assist record holder. The mark surpassed Henderson's 1997 campaign * a season in which he led Colorado to a Western Conference crown and berth in the MLS Cup Final. The helper was the 18th for Pibe since joining the Rapids midway through the 2001 season. Since coming to MLS in the inaugural 1996 season, Valderrama has posted 113 career assists, with the nearest competitor, DC United's Marco Etcheverry at 93. The six-time MLS All-Star still holds the league's single-season assist record, notching 26 as a member of the 2000 Tampa Bay Mutiny squad and has registered double-digit assist totals in six of seven campaigns.
Colorado's veteran midfield duo of Mark Chung and Chris Henderson have recently established new personal single-season career best perfomances while leading Colorado toward MLS Cup 2002. Posting an assist in the Rapids' 3-2 victory over Dallas on 9/1, Chung improved his season scoring tally to 29 points (10 g, 9 a) * besting his 1997 campaign in Kansas City (28 pts.). The four-time MLS All-Star jumped that total again in Kansas City, getting an assist on Kingsley's 34th minute goal and moving to 30 points. Just one game after Chung's milestone, Henderson, the Rapids' second all-time leading scorer (83 pts.) established a new career best on Saturday, as the recipient of an assist on Spencer's 49th minute goal. With the point, the Colorado midfielder ascended his season scoring total to an unparalleled personal mark of 29 points (11 g, 7 a), surpassing his 1997 total of 28 points as a member of the Western Conference Champion squad. As similar type midfielders, this playmaking duo has registered strikingly close career numbers * Chung: 39 g, 59 a (137 pts); Henderson: 38 g, 60 a (136 pts).
Rapids fans, bring your kids to Friday's game against the Kansas City Wizards and have a chance to meet a legend of the Mexican Soccer League during the 1980's, Argentinian Daniel Alberto Braylovsky. Braylovsky, a one- time leading scorer for Club America and well-known name in Mexican First Division Soccer, will be signing autographs for all fans during the Rapids game. You can reserve your pass to meet Braylovsky at International Sports at 1550 S Federal Blvd or call 303-742-9181. Braylovsky played under Cesar Menotti with Argentina in the early 80's, and also represented Israel Internationally. He made his mark with Club America in Mexico as the leading scorer for 3 years straight years, helping them win 3 titles. Currently, he lives in Mexico and covered the Mexican national team from Japan and Korea in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Braylovsky played with Maradona in Carlos Hermosillo's farewell game in Mexico earlier this year.
The Colorado Rapids have clinched a spot in the 2002 MLS playoffs and have devised a family-friendly, affordable ticket plan as the team fights its way through the post season. Fans can secure their seats for a maximum of four playoff games (quarterfinal and semi-final rounds) and pay only when the Rapids play. As an added incentive, reserving your seats now gets you an official 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs T-shirt. Single game ticket prices range from $14 for an end line seat to $35 for a club level seat. For more information, call the Rapids office at (303) 299-1599. Don't miss the Rapids in 2002 post-season action at INVESCO Field!
Injury Report: Scott Garlick - OUT - left thumb fracture
Training Schedule:
Tuesday, September 17 - Training at 10:00 a.m. Westminster Training
Facility
MEDIA LUNCHEON at 12 p.m. (immediately
following training)
Wednesday, September 18 - Training 10:00 a.m. INVESCO Field
Thursday, September 19 - Training at 10:00 a.m. Westminster Training
Facility
Friday, September 20 - Game v. Kansas City Wizards 7:00 p.m. at
INVESCO Field
MLS CUP PLAYOFF TABLE - September 15, 2002
(Top 8 teams qualify)
SD TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
--------------------------------------------------------
1. X*Los Angeles Galaxy 27 15 9 3 48 43 33
2. X*Columbus Crew 27 11 11 5 38 43 41
3. X San Jose Earthquakes 27 14 10 3 45 45 34
4. X Colorado Rapids 27 13 11 3 42 42 47
5. X Dallas Burn 27 11 9 7 40 40 40
6. MetroStars 27 11 14 2 35 41 44
7. Kansas City Wizards 27 9 10 8 35 36 44
8. N.E. Revolution 27 11 14 2 35 46 49
Chicago Fire 27 10 13 4 34 41 37
D.C. United 27 9 13 5 32 28 36
X = clinched playoff berth
* = Conference leader
Notes:
MET owns three-way tiebreaker vs. KC & NE (pts/game in head-to-head)
KC owns pts/game & straight head-to-head tiebreakers vs. NE
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