RAPIDS DROP SEMIFINAL GAME 1 TO LOS ANGELES, 4-0

Series Resumes Wednesday in Denver at INVESCO Field at 7:30

PASADENA, CA (Saturday, October 5, 2002) - Carlos Ruiz scored a pair of goals and Cobi Jones added a pair of assists as the Los Angeles Galaxy rolled to a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the first game of the MLS Semifinal playoffs before a raucous crowd of 24,742 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The tone of the match was set early, indicating that the game would be a physical one. Defender Robin Fraser picked up an early yellow card after a challenge on Jones sent the midfielder to the sidelines for treatment for an abdominal strain, and moments later the Galaxy's Alexi Lalas was cautioned for a late tackle on Pablo Mastroeni.

A shot by Chris Henderson provided the game's first scoring chance, in the 11th minute, when his long-range shot forced Los Angeles goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to make a diving stop. Hartman stopped the shot, but could not hold on to it, and needed defender Danny Califf to come to his rescue and clear the ball from danger before any Colorado players could respond.

Shortly after, Los Angeles went on the offensive. Ezra Hendrickson set up the team's first quality scoring chance, delivering a cross from the far corner to Ruiz, who flashed a header just over the crossbar.

Then, in the 21st minute, the Galaxy scored the first of two goals in quick succession. Jones made the play possible with an out-swinging ball that found defender Danny Califf, who headed a ball near-post and past goalkeeper David Kramer.

Just three minutes later Los Angeles doubled its lead through Ruiz. As three Colorado players converged on him, forward Alejandro Moreno controlled a ball that bounced off defender Ritchie Kotschau and flicked it to his left to Ruiz, who took advantage of the space made available to him and patiently banged a shot back across the box from inside 10 yards that easily beat the helpless goalkeeper.

Los Angeles continued to press the attack, and nearly added a third goal in the 33rd minute. Midfielder Simon Elliott took a free kick for Los Angeles outside the Rapids penalty area and drove a ball forward toward the goal where Lalas out-jumped his mark an headed a ball just wide of the left post.

The Rapids came close to scoring their first goal of the night on a penalty kick in the 36th minute, but were denied by Hartman. Kotschau earned the spot kick after Moreno bumped him to the ground, but John Spencer's blast slammed off the goalkeeper's left elbow and bounced over the goal.

Colorado came to life as the half drew to a close, taking three of their five shots on the half in the final three minutes. Of Hartman's four saves in the half, two came in injury time as the half expired, as Kotschau and Mark Chung saw their efforts denied.

The physical play picked up in the second half right where it had left off after the first 45 minutes, as the team's traded knocks as they made back-and-forth offensive runs.

Los Angeles held a slight advantage in possession time in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and their hard work nearly paid off as the game passed the one-hour mark. Mauricio Cienfuegos did well to control the ball in traffic and worked a crisp give-and-go with Hendrickson, who took the ball inside the penalty area but fired over the goal.

Colorado made the game's first substitution in the 66th minute when head coach Tim Hankinson inserted midfield Rookie of the Year candidate Zach Kingsley into the match for Wes Hart.

The Rapids came close again in the 69th minute after a corner kick by Mark Chung was deflected across the box by Elliott. Valderrama, stationed at the far post, headed the ball back across the six-yard box to Spencer, who powered a header at the upper-right corner of the goal from close range that was stopped by Hartman and Hendrickson, who combined to block off the path to the goal.

Los Angeles would not allow the Rapids to gain any momentum from the play, however, and charged right back up the field with an offensive thrust that provided the third goal in the 71st minute. Hendrickson threaded a pass through to Cienfuegos at the top of the penalty area, and the diminutive midfielder managed to test Kramer with a quick, powerful shot. Kramer made the initial save, but Hendrickson, following his own shot, pounced on the rebound and slammed home the goal from directly in front of the net.

And then, in the 84th minute, the Galaxy put a cap on the scoring, netting their fourth goal of the night. Again it was Ruiz, who this time finished off an Elliott pass from the center of the box.

The Rapids (0-1-0, 0 points) and Galaxy (1-0-0, 3 points) will face each other again in game two of the first-to-five-points semifinal series on Wednesday night, October 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring Summary:
LA --Califf (Jones) 21
LA --Ruiz (Moreno) 24
LA --Hendrickson (Cienfuegos) 71
LA --Ruiz (Elliott, Jones) 84

Lineups:
COLORADO RAPIDS--David Kramer, Wes Hart (Zach Kingsley 66), Steven Herdsman
(Jeff Stewart 80), Robin Fraser, Ritchie Kotschau, Chris Henderson (Seth
Trembly 82), Pablo Mastroeni, Carlos Valderrama, Mark Chung, John Spencer,
Chris Carrieri
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Spencer 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Spencer 4); FOULS: 27 (Fraser
5); OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: Kramer 6; CAUTIONS: Fraser 4,
Kotschau 55; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 49%

LOS ANGELES GALAXY--Kevin Hartman, Danny Califf, Alexi Lalas, Tyrone
Marshall, Ezra Hendrickson, Cobi Jones, Mauricio Cienfuegos (Adam Frye 82),
Simon Elliott, Sasha Victorine, Alejandro Moreno (Chris Albright 72), Carlos
Ruiz (McKinley Tennyson 86)
TOTAL SHOTS: 22 (Cienfuegos 4, Ruiz 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Cienfuegos 3);
FOULS: 15 (Marshall 4); OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: Hartman 7;
CAUTIONS: Lalas 8; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 51%

Referee: Kevin Terry; Assistant Referees: Chris Strickland, David Bragg
Attendance: 24,742; Weather: Clear, 71 degrees

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