RAPIDS FACE DO-OR-DIE SEMI-FINAL GAME 2 VERSUS GALAXY, WEDNESDAY AT INVESCO FIELD

Club Must Win or Tie To Force Decisive Game 3 Saturday in Los Angeles

Colorado Rapids vs. Los Angeles Galaxy - Kickoff: 7:30 MT
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 
INVESCO Field - Denver, CO

Radio: 1510-AM KNRC (English), Radio Unica 1150-AM (Spanish)
TV: Fox Sports Net (West 2) - West Coast

RAPIDS ALL-TIME MLS RECORD v. GALAXY
Overall: 9-22-0 	Home: 7-8-0 		Away: 2-14-0
Shootout: 1-2 (1996-99) 	Overtime: 2-2-0 	Playoffs: 0-3-0

Match-up to watch for: Carlos Ruiz v. Rapids Defense

Whoever draws the difficult task of matching up with Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz will have his hands full on Wednesday night. Carlos Ruiz's six goals and two assists gives him a League-leading 14 points in the 2002 postseason, tying the record for the most points ever scored in a playoff year. (The Chicago Fire's Ante Razov also registered 14 points on four goals and six assists during the 2000 playoffs.) The Guatemalan's six goals also match another postseason record set by Raul Diaz Arce (D.C. United) and Roy Lassiter (Tampa Bay Mutiny) in 1996. The Galaxy's dynamic duo of Jones and Carlos Ruiz has combined to net nine goals and five assists for 23 points, the most of any two players from a single team. A possible candidate to shut down Ruiz may be Colorado's ADT Defender of the Year, Rick Titus. Titus, one of the Rapids' most aggressive defenders, successfully shut down the Guatemalan striker in the first meeting of the teams on 4/27 at the Rose Bowl, breaking a five-game scoring streak for Ruiz and handing the Galaxy what would eventually be their only loss of the season at home. Los Angeles is 14-1-2 at the Rose Bowl this season, including playoffs.

Colorado v. Los Angeles Series Notes

The Colorado Rapids are 0-3-0 in all-time head-to-head playoff action against the Los Angeles Galaxy, failing to find the net in 270 minutes of regulation game time. Los Angeles and Colorado last met in the playoffs in 1999, when the Galaxy swept the series * winning 3-0 on Oct. 17 at Mile High and 2-0 on Oct. 24 at the Rose Bowl. The Galaxy holds the edge in the regular season series 19-9-0 all-time, including a 14-2-0 record at home. Colorado fares better in Denver, however, posting a 7-8-0 all-time mark at Mile High. In 2002, the Galaxy and Rapids split the series 2-2-0 with each club stealing a victory on the road. In fact, the Rapids' 1-0 overtime victory at the Rose Bowl on 4/27 gave Los Angeles their only home loss of the 2002 regular season, ending the campaign with an incredible 11-1-2 record. Should Colorado win or tie tonight, they would force a series-deciding Game 3, to be played on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, CA.

Caution Point Troubles

Heading into Game #2 vs. Los Angeles, Colorado defensive anchor Robin Fraser must be conscious of the MLS disciplinary committee, as he is in danger of reaching the caution points threshold of 13 set for MLS postseason action. Players who accumulate THIRTEEN (13) or more caution points will be suspended for the next Playoff Game (including the Championship Game, if applicable) and fined. If Fraser receives a caution worth 2 or more points in the next game in which he appears, it will result in a 1-game suspension, as he currently sits at 11 points. Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas is also in danger of suspension and will serve a one-game suspension if he receives a third consecutive caution and exceeds 10 total caution points in three consecutive games.

2002 MLS Cup Playoffs Presented by Budweiser

The MLS playoff structure awards three points for a win and one point for a tie, with the first team to five points advancing to the next round * in this case the MLS Cup Final on October 20, 2002 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. On the other side of the playoff bracket, The Crew and The Revs battled to a 0-0 tie last Sunday in New England, moving the series to Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH. Wednesday night tied at 0-0-1.

Rapids Probable Starting Lineup
		GP	G	A	
G  	David Kramer   (1-2-1, 2.18 GAA)
D  	Wes Hart	4	0	0
D	Steve Herdsman	4	0	0
D  	Robin Fraser	4	0	1
M   	Ritchie Kotschau	4	0	0
M	Chris Henderson	4	0	2
M  	Pablo Mastroeni	4	0	0
M  	Carlos Valderrama	4	1	0
M  	Mark Chung 	4	1	1
F  	John Spencer	4	2	0
F 	Chris Carrieri	4	1	2

(Playoff Statistics)

COLORADO RAPIDS
2002 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Record: 13-11-4  Goals For: 45 Goals Against: 49
Home: 9-3-2   Road: 4-8-2

Day	Date	Opponent	Time/Result
Sat.	March 23	at Kansas City	1-1 T
SAT. 	MARCH 30	SAN JOSE	1-0 W
WED.	APRIL 3	DC UNITED  	2-0 W
SAT.	APRIL 13	METROSTARS	1-2 L
Sat.	April 20	at San Jose	0-2 L
Sat.	April 27	at Los Angeles	1-0 W
SAT.	MAY 11	KANSAS CITY	2-0 W
Sat.	May 18	at Dallas	1-3 L
WED.	MAY 22	NEW ENGLAND	5-2 W
SAT.	JUNE 1	LOS ANGELES	3-2 W
Sat.	June 8	at Dallas	1-4 L
SAT.	JUNE 15	NEW ENGLAND	1-2 L
Wed.	June 19	at DC United	0-2 L
Sat. 	June 22	at San Jose	0-4 L
Wed.	June 26	at MetroStars	1-0 W
THUR.  JULY 4	CHICAGO	3-2 W
Sun. 	July 7	at Chicago	1-2 OTL
SAT.	JULY 13	LOS ANGELES	1-3 L
Sat. 	July 20	at Columbus	1-1 T
Wed.	July 24	at New England	3-2 W
SAT.	JULY 27	DALLAS	2-2 T 
SAT.	AUG. 10	COLUMBUS	2-1 W 
Sat.	Aug. 17	at Los Angeles	0-4 L
SAT.	AUG. 24	SAN JOSE	3-0 W 
Wed. 	Aug. 28	at New England	1-3 L
SUN.	SEPT. 1	DALLAS	3-2 W
Sat.	Sept. 14	at Kansas City	2-1 W
FRI. 	SEPT. 20	KANSAS CITY	1-1 T
Wed.   Sept. 25*	at Dallas		2-4 L
SAT.    SEPT. 28*	DALLAS		1-0 W
Wed.   Oct. 2*	at Dallas		2-1 OTW
Sat.     Oct 5*	at Los Angeles	0-4 L

HOME GAMES IN CAPS	(* = Playoffs)

Click Here to Return to COLORADO RAPIDS News Releases Home Page

Click Here to Return to COLORADO RAPIDS HOME PAGE