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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Ben Grossman
NEWS RELEASE
MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: W L SOW PTS Los Angeles 16 4 1 46 7/15 Leon 4 RAPIDS 2 Chicago 13 7 1 37 Rapids Goals: Trittschuh COLORADO 9 10 2 23 Bravo Kansas City 9 10 2 23 7/19 Wizards 4 RAPIDS 1 Dallas 9 11 4 19 Rapids Goal: Paule (7) San Jose 6 13 1 16
Saturday, 7/25 @ Tampa Bay Houlihan's Stadium 5:30 p.m. MST TV: Fox Sports Rocky Mountain
Colorado fell, 4-1, to the Wizards Sunday afternoon as game-time temperatures reached 106 degrees on the field. The Rapids lost a valuable opportunity to gain ground on the entire Western Conference after the other four conference foes all lost inter-conference games on Saturday to Eastern Conference opponents. Instead of securing their hold on third place and gaining on second-place Chicago, the Rapids fell into a third-place tie with the Wizards.
The Rapids continue to have no answers on the road, losing their seventh consecutive game away from Mile High on Sunday. On the season, the Rapids' away record fell to 1-8, with the lone win a shootout decision over the Clash in San Jose back on March 28. Conversely, Colorado remains 8-2 at Mile High Stadium this season.
Colorado is currently on a three-game road trip, and now faces the Tampa Bay Mutiny on Saturday, followed by a match-up at Foxboro Stadium against the New England Revolution the following Wednesday, July 29.
Ross Paule scored the lone goal for the Rapids on Sunday, his seventh of the season. That total ties him with Paul Bravo for the team lead in that category. Paule's goal was his third in two games against the Wizards this season.
Colorado was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday, falling 4-2 at Leon, and therefore losing 4-3 on aggregate after the 1-0 Rapids win in Denver. Had the Rapids scored one more goal, they would have gone through to the quarterfinals on the "away goals rule." Marquis White had a shot cleared off the line late in the game that would've put the Rapids through in the tournament featuring the top club teams in North America Central America and the Caribbean. The Rapids qualified for the tournament by way of their appearance in MLS Cup '97.
Rapids midfielders Adrian Paz and Marcelo Balboa have been voted in as starters for the 1998 MLS All-Star Game by the league's first-ever fan balloting. Marcelo Balboa and Adrian Paz will face off against one another as members of the MLS USA All-Star and MLS World All-Star teams, respectively. The game pits Major League Soccer's American stars against those from around the world. The 1998 MLS All-Star Game will be held Sunday, August 2, 1998, at Orlando's Citrus Bowl as part of the league's All-Star events at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. The 12:30 P.M. MST game will be nationally televised on ABC (KMGH-TV 7 in Colorado).
Paul Bravo and Ross Paule are among Rapids players being considered as reserves.On Friday, the Rapids signed Canadian National Team midfielder Jason Bent as a Discovery Player. Bent, 21, can play defensive midfielder or outside defender.
NONE TO REPORT
M 7/20 Off T 7/21 Off W 7/22 Practice 9am Westminster R 7/23 Practice 10am Westminster F 7/24 Travel to Tampa Bay; Practice in Tampa S 7/25 RAPIDS @ MUTINY S 7/26 Off