RAPIDS FORWARD CHRIS CARRIERI TAKES HOME MLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

Carrieri's Fireworks Power Colorado to Independence Day Win Against the Fire

NEW YORK (Monday, July 8, 2002) - Colorado Rapids forward Chris Carrieri was selected as Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for the week ending July 7, 2002. Carrieri recorded the second hat trick in Rapids history Thursday night as the Colorado beat the Chicago Fire 3-2 in front of a record-setting crowd of 61,213 at INVESCO Field. Teammate John Spencer owns the Rapids other three-goal outburst as his hat trick beat D.C. United last year, ironically on the Fourth of July.

Carrieri scored all three of his goals after coming on at halftime for defender Jeff Stewart. The former North Carolina standout evened the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute, completing a give-and-go play with midfielder Mark Chung. Chung and Carrieri traded passes around the penalty area to free Carrieri, who sent a blazing shot past Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton to knot the score.

With Colorado trailing 2-1 in the late stages, Carrieri took control of the game by scoring twice in a five minute span. In the 82nd minute of play MLS all-time assist leader Carlos Valderrama sprayed a pass to the right wing finding Wes Hart. The midfielder slipped, but regained his footing and fed Carrieri at the top of the box, where the second-year striker sent a chip into the upper right side netting to knot the score at 2-2.

Five minutes later, Carrieri finished off the natural hat trick when his 20-yard blast into the lower right corner beat a diving Thornton for the game-winner in the 87th minute. Carrieri has 15 points on six goals and three assists this season.

In capturing his first career Player of the Week selection, Carrieri beat out New England forward Taylor Twellman and Dallas Burn marksman Jason Kreis for the honor. Major League Soccer's Player of the Week is selected every Monday throughout the MLS season by a panel of journalists from PSRA.

2002 MLS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week	Player			Team			Note

1	Carlos Ruiz		Los Angeles Galaxy	Ruiz's two-goal MLS debut fends off D.C. United's short-handed charge 
2	Marco Etcheverry	D.C. United		Etcheverry's first goal since the 2000 season nets United's first win of 2002
3	Carlos Ruiz		Los Angeles Galaxy	Ruiz earns his second award with another two-goal, golden goal performance 
4	Chris Klein		Kansas City Wizards	Game-winning goal, insurance assist earn Klein award in first game after ACL tear
5	Ariel Graziani		San Jose Earthquakes	First goal in Earthquakes uniform and a helper push San Jose past Colorado, 2-0
6	Peter Nowak		Chicago Fire		Goal and assist lead Fire in 2-2 deadlock with Revs at Cardinal Stadium opener
7	Jason Kreis		Dallas Burn		Kreis leads Burn to 2-1 win vs. MetroStars with goal & assist; scores in 5th straight
8	Taylor Twellman		New England Revolution	Newcomer's two goals unveil new CMGI Field in style with 2-0 win vs. Dallas
9	Ante Razov		Chicago Fire		Razov single-handedly downs Revs with a hat trick in 3-1 win at CMGi Field 
10	Mark Chung		Colorado Rapids		Two goals, one in first 32 seconds of the match, lead Rapids to 5-2 romp over Revs
11	Mark Chung		Colorado Rapids		Chung nets two goals, including the game-winner in a 3-2 win vs. Los Angeles
12	Bobby Rhine		Dallas Burn		Rhine nets first-career hat trick and one assist in 4-1 win against Colorado 
13	Mamadou Diallo		MetroStars		Diallo's four-goal outburst and fourth career hat trick send Galaxy reeling again
14	Tim Howard		MetroStars		Posted nine saves in a 1-0 road win against the Chicago Fire
15	Nick Rimando		D.C. United		Posts second straight clean sheet with five saves against L.A. as D.C. wins in OT
16	Chris Carrieri		Colorado Rapids		Carrieri's three goals douse Fire on Fourth of July for second hat trick in team history

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