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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Andy Engel
NEWS RELEASE
DENVER (Monday, May 6, 2002) - After an early-season break during Week 7 of MLS 2002, the Rapids will be back in action at INVESCO Field on Saturday, May 11 as they host Western Conference foe Kansas City Wizards on Jersey Night.
In the fourth home game of the season, the Rapids will give away free jerseys to the first 6,000 fans age 16-and-under as an appreciation to team supporters during the 3rd annual Jersey Night.
The match-up with Kansas City will be the second of the season for the teams after Colorado tied the Wizards 1-1 at Arrowhead Stadium in the season opener on March 23. With the weekend off, the Rapids slipped from first to third place in the tight Western Conference standings after respective wins by conference rivals San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy. Colorado is 10-14-5 all-time against Kansas City and 7-3-4 all-time in Denver.
Six seasons and three teams after joining Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996, Rapids midfielder Carlos Valderrama heads into Saturday's match-up with Kansas City looking for his 100th career MLS assist. Most recently, El Pibe worked to set up John Spencer's 94th minute game-winner on April 27, leading the Rapids to their first victory at the Rose Bowl since 1996 and giving Valderrama his first assist of the 2002 campaign. As the record-holder for most assists in one season - 26 in 2000 with Tampa Bay - Valderrama also stands atop the list for most career game-winning assists with 27.
Rapids youngsters Seth Trembly, Steve Shak and Kyle Beckerman spent the end of MLS Week 7 in Canada as guest players for A-League affiliate Minnesota Thunder as the team traveled to Vancouver, B.C. and Calgary, Alberta for a two-game weekend stint. The players, on loan from Major League Soccer, were picked up by the Thunder due to the team's short-handed roster and its back-to-back games over the May 3-5 weekend. A somewhat depleted Thunder squad faced the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday just 20 hours before taking on the Calgary Storm in Calgary on Saturday. Trembley and Shak went 90 minutes in the defense that dropped a 1-0 decision on a last-minute corner kick.
Beckerman and Trembley, who were members of the U.S. U-17 National Team that finished fourth in the world in 1999, have ties to Thunder general manager Jim Froslid. Froslid oversaw the administration of all U.S. youth national teams at U.S. Soccer from 1998-2000, including the U-17's during the 1999 championships in New Zealand. The Minnesota Thunder, founded in 1990, is a professional soccer franchise that plays in the Western Conference of the 18-team A-League.
On Friday, May 3, second-year Rapids defenseman Robin Fraser and his wife gave birth to their first child, Danielle Rian, at 3:03 p.m. in Littleton. She measured in at 7 lbs., 12 oz. and was 19 ˝ inches long. The Fraser's certainly enjoyed the weekend off from MLS action and are currently resting at home, doing well.
Injury Report: Mark Chung - Right Hamstring - Probable Training Schedule: Tuesday, May 7 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Wednesday, May 8 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Thursday, May 9 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Friday, May 10 - 10:00 a.m. at INVESCO Field Saturday, May 11 - 7:00 p.m. vs. Kansas City Wizards at INVESCO Field Western Conference TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 7 4 2 1 13 10 7 Won 1 4-2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy 6 3 1 2 11 8 6 Won 1 3-1-2 Colorado Rapids 6 3 2 1 10 6 5 Won 1 3-2-1 Dallas Burn 6 2 1 3 9 7 7 Won 1 2-1-3 Kansas City Wizards 5 1 2 2 5 6 6 Lost 1 1-2-2 Overall Standings TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 7 4 2 1 13 10 7 Won 1 4-2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy 6 3 1 2 11 8 6 Won 1 3-1-2 Chicago Fire 6 3 2 1 10 10 6 Won 1 3-2-1 MetroStars 7 3 3 1 10 9 9 Lost 1 3-3-1 Colorado Rapids 6 3 2 1 10 6 5 Won 1 3-2-1 Dallas Burn 6 2 1 3 9 7 7 Won 1 2-1-3 D.C. United 7 2 5 0 6 6 11 Lost 2 2-5-0 Columbus Crew 6 2 4 0 6 5 9 Lost 1 2-4-0 Kansas City Wizards 5 1 2 2 5 6 6 Lost 1 1-2-2 N.E. Revolution 4 1 2 1 4 6 7 Tied 1 1-2-1
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