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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Andy Engel
NEWS RELEASE
DENVER (Tuesday, May 28, 2002) - The Colorado Rapids unleashed an offensive torrent Wednesday night, burying the New England Revolution by a score of 5-2 at INVESCO Field. Rapids midfielders Mark Chung and Chris Henderson each added two goals to the result, while Carlos Valderrama broke the 100-assist plateau with three helpers on the night.
With the win, the Rapids (5-3-1, 16 points) moved back into first place overall in Major League Soccer.
The Rapids began the assault immediately after the opening kickoff, as Chung converted only 32 seconds from the opening whistle. Intercepting a Jay Heaps pass, Chris Henderson sent the ball downfield to Chung. Chung took a wicked one-time shot that blazed past goalkeeper Juergen Sommer and buried itself deep into the back of the net.
Chung's goal is tied for the third fastest from the opening kickoff in MLS history. Ironically, the fastest three goals scored in regular season play have all come off the foot of Revolution players (Giovanni Savarese, Imad Baba and Johnny Torres).
Chung added his second goal of the night in the 31st minute, catching Sommer off his line with a powerful rising shot. As Sommer moved out to cut down Chung's shooting angle from the left flank, the Rapids' midfielder hammered a shot across the mouth of the goal and into the upper right corner of the net.
Carlos Valderrama finally reached a historic milestone with the second Chung goal, becoming the first player in MLS history to amass 100 assists.
A lapse in concentration was all Revolution forward Taylor Twellman needed to get one back for the Revolution in the 33rd minute of play. Heaps crossed the ball in from the right flank, where Twellman sent a first-time left-footed shot past `keeper Scott Garlick. With the tally, Twellman extends his current goal-scoring streak to five games, tying the mark set so far by Dallas' Jason Kreis and Los Angeles' Carlos Ruiz.
The Revolution did not have time to celebrate as forward Chris Carrieri answered less than a minute later. Carrieri, who was running as the Rapids' lone forward, was fed the ball in the heart of the box in the 34th minute. Controlling the ball in tight space, Carrieri made no mistake, driving the ball home and recovering the two-goal lead.
The first half saw one more Rapids goal as Colorado powered out to a convincing 4-1 lead. Valderrama registered his 101st assist in the 44th minute, playing a give-and-go with Henderson.
The Revolution got a bit of a spark in the second half, as coach Fernando Clavijo replaced Mamadou Diallo with forward Wolde Harris. Harris got the Revolution's second goal of the evening in the 59th minute, collecting a loose Carlos Semedo free kick inside the penalty area. Spinning, Harris banked a shot off of the inside of the left post to get New England back into the game.
The last goal of the night came in the final minute of regulation, as Nike Project-40 midfielder Kyle Beckerman combined with Valderrama to send the ball wide to Henderson on the right flank, where Henderson sent a diagonal shot flashing across the mouth of the goal off of the inside of the far post. Easily beating Sommer for the fifth Rapids goal of the night, Henderson racked up his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The Rapids' forwards get another chance to impress a national audience on Saturday, June 1st, as the Los Angeles Galaxy visit INVESCO Field at Mile High live on ESPN2 (4:00 p.m. ET).
Rapids midfielder Mark Chung was selected as Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for the week ending May 26, 2002 for his performance in leading Colorado to its league-high fifth victory last week. Chung tallied twice for the Rapids to key a four-goal first-half onslaught during a 5-2 win against New England Wednesday night in Denver. In claiming the honor, Chung becomes the first individual in League history to earn Player of the Week accolades with three different clubs, including Kansas City and the MetroStars. The two-goal outing improves Chung's season tally to three goals, two assists and the No. 3 position in team scoring.
Rapids forward and captain John Spencer had surgery on Thursday to repair a damaged left knee which was aggravated last week during team training, prior to last night's 5-2 victory over the New England Revolution at INVESCO Field. The procedure was performed by Colorado Rapids' team physician Dr. Wayne Gersoff at the Rose Medical Center outpatient facility in Denver. The half-hour standard scope procedure successfully removed a small piece of the damaged meniscus, acting to relieve irritation and swelling. The somewhat chronic injury had been bothering the Scottish international for an unspecified amount of time. At this point, Spencer is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, including the June 1 game versus Western Conference rival Los Angeles Galaxy, June 8 against the Dallas Burn at the Cotton Bowl and will hope to return to the lineup as early as June 15 when the Rapids take on the New England Revolution at INVESCO Field. Spencer, a 2001 Discovery pick from Scotland, set a single-season franchise scoring record last year with 14 goals, 7 assists and is currently second in that category with 4 goals, 3 assists after nine games in 2002. The injury sidelined the Rapids captain during Wednesday night's league-leading fifth win as he headed into the match on a three game scoring streak.
Rapids legendary midfielder Carlos Valderrama entered unchartered territory last Wednesday night, recording career assist No. 100 in setting up Mark Chung's second goal of the game in the 31st minute. Pibe then went on to post No. 101 and 102, adding helpers in the 44th and 89th minutes in leading Colorado to the top spot in the West and in Major League Soccer with a 5-2 trashing of the New England Revolution. DC United's Marco Etcheverry now trails Valderrama by 15 as the second-highest career assist-getter with 87.
By virtue of their 16 points in the current MLS standings, the Colorado Rapids have clinched one of the two final spots for the 2002 Open Cup tournament. The Rapids join six other teams -- Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Dallas Burn, Los Angeles Galaxy, NY/NJ MetroStars and San Jose Earthquakes -- that qualified based on their 2001 MLS regular season finish. The remaining three MLS teams -- D.C. United (10 points), New England Revolution (10 points) and Kansas City Wizards (9 points) -- will battle for the last berth to the single-elimination tournament this weekend. Eight MLS squads will enter the 2002 Open Cup in the third round on July 17th.
After last Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the New England Revolution at INVESCO Field, the Rapids improved their 2002 home record to 4-1, a league second-best mark and the club's hottest start at home since 1999. The Rapids host the Los Angeles Galaxy this Saturday in the first of two games at INVESCO this season. Colorado's last home victory over the Galaxy came in overtime on September 8, 2000.
Rapids rookie defender Jeff Stewart and newcomer Raul Palacios wrote their names into the scoring charts last Wednesday night, both claiming assists on Chris Carrieri's 34th minute goal en route to a 5-2 victory over New England. Stewart is a second round 2002 SuperDraft from Santa Clara and early candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year honors in his role as a right-sided defender. Palacios, a fiesty midfielder from Chile was acquired by the Rapids on May 9 and fills the third Senior International spot for Colorado.
In his third start of the year, Rapids forward Chris Carrieri tallied his first points of the season in the Rapids' 5-2 win over the New England Revolution. Carrieri scored a goal and dished out two assists in his break-through game of the season. All four of Carrieri's points came in the first half within a 15 minute window. Carrieri started in place of the injured John Spencer and is projected to stay in the starting lineup until the captain returns. The Rapids acquired Carrieri in a June 2001 trade with the San Jose Earthquakes. He started 11 games last year and ended the regular season with 14 points in 14 games. His five goals and four assists placed him in the running for the Rookie of the Year Award.
After scoring two goals and dishing out an assist in the Rapids victory over New England, Chris Henderson now leads the Rapids with six goals and two assists. The two-time MLS All-Star is tied with Taylor Twellman of New England for third in the league with 14 points. Henderson recorded the third two-goal game of his career in the match (second of the season) and his first ever five-point game. Just nine games into the season, Henderson is only three goals away from reaching his regular season career high (9).
Injury Report: John Spencer - OUT - Left Knee Arthroscopy Training Schedule: Wednesday, May 29 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Thursday, May 30 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility (Followed by 12:00 p.m. Media Luncheon) Friday, May 31 - 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Training Facility Saturday, June 1 - 2:00 p.m. Game vs. Los Angeles Galaxy at INVESCO Field (ESPN2) Western Conference TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 10 5 3 2 17 13 11 Tied 1 5-3-2 Colorado Rapids 9 5 3 1 16 14 10 Won 1 5-3-1 Los Angeles Galaxy 9 4 3 2 14 12 11 Lost 2 4-3-2 Dallas Burn 9 3 2 4 13 11 11 Tied 1 3-2-4 Kansas City Wizards 8 2 3 3 9 9 10 Tied 1 2-3-3 Overall Standings TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Jose Earthquakes 10 5 3 2 17 13 11 Tied 1 5-3-2 Colorado Rapids 9 5 3 1 16 14 10 Won 1 5-3-1 Chicago Fire 9 4 3 2 14 14 9 Tied 1 4-3-2 Los Angeles Galaxy 9 4 3 2 14 12 11 Lost 2 4-3-2 Dallas Burn 9 3 2 4 13 11 11 Tied 1 3-2-4 Columbus Crew 9 3 4 2 11 9 11 Tied 1 3-4-2 MetroStars 10 3 5 2 11 13 16 Tied 1 3-5-2 N.E. Revolution 8 3 4 1 10 14 17 Won 1 3-4-1 D.C. United 9 3 5 1 10 11 14 Won 1 3-5-1 Kansas City Wizards 8 2 3 3 9 9 10 Tied 1 2-3-3
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