RAPIDS EARN DRAW WITH WIZARDS, HEAD TO DALLAS IN QUEST FOR MLS CUP 2002

Club Enters "First-to-Five Points" Quarterfinal Playoff Action at Cotton Bowl, Wednesday, Sept. 25; Return to INVESCO Saturday at 7 p.m.

Rapids Finish Season in Fifth Place

The Colorado Rapids ended their regular season campaign Friday night at INVESCO Field, coming to a 1-1 overtime draw with the Kansas City Wizards and placing them in the No. 5 position in the overall MLS standings as they head into the 2002 MLS Cup playoff bracket. Friday's result means that the Rapids will face the Dallas Burn at the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night (6:30 p.m. MT live on AT&T Broadband CH. 21), and then at INVESCO Field on Saturday night. Pending the outcome of the first two games, the teams will face each other again on October 2nd at the Cotton Bowl. The Rapids last matched up against the Burn in the playoffs in 1997 and were victorious in two straight games to become the 1997 Western Conference Champions.

Rapids Among Leaders in Final MLS Standings

The Colorado Rapids can be seen in the Top 10 in several different categories of the final MLS regular season stats. The dynamic duo of midfielders Mark Chung and Chris Henderson leads the way for the Rapids as they end the regular season in the sixth and ninth place respectively in the Budweiser Leading Scorers category. After scoring again in Friday night's 1-1 tie with Kansas City, Chung ends the season with a total of 32 points (11g, 10a) in 27 games. This year also marks Chung's personal career best season, topping his 1997 campaign of 29 points as a member of the Kansas City Wizards. Fellow midfielder Chris Henderson made the list as well, taking the No. 9 position with 29 points (11g, 7a) and also marking the midfielder's best campaign, as he tops his career record of 28 pts, established while leading the Rapids to the 1997 Western Conference crown.

Rapids midfielder Carlos Valderrama ("El Pibe"), made trouble for opponents all season long as he led the league in game-winning assists with a total of 6. Valderrama ended the season as the league's No. 2 assist man with a total of 16, and also set a new club record for single-season assists for the Rapids (15), previously held by teammate Chris Henderson during his 1997 campaign.

No Media Luncheon Scheduled this Week

There will be no media luncheon this week, as the team will be traveling to Dallas for their Wednesday night match-up against the Dallas Burn.

Viewing Party at Croc's for First Playoff Game

The Colorado Rapids and Croc's will host a viewing party for the Rapids' first playoff game against the Dallas Burn this Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. MT. Croc's, the official "Rapids home away from home", is located in the heart of downtown Denver at 1630 Market Street.

Community Care Foundation Raises Money in First Annual Jersey Auction

The Colorado Rapids Community Care Foundation raised $6,040 as it hosted the first annual "Meet and Greet Jersey Auction" on Friday at INVESCO field in conjunction with the Rapids last regular season game against the Kansas City Wizards. Fans had the opportunity to bid on one authentic jersey of each Rapids player. The winners of each jersey (and a guest) then had the opportunity to meet the player whose jersey they had won. For more information on the CRCCF please contact Annie Vinton, Director of the CRCCF, at (303) 299-1575.

Rapids Earn Top Honors in 2002 MLS Attendance

For the second consecutive season, the MLS is celebrating an average attendance increase of more than five percent, averaging 15,822 for the 2002 regular season campaign. In 2002, the Rapids became the league leaders for average attendance for the first time ever, averaging 20,690 through 14 games at INVESCO Field * an increase of over 25% from last year. As a strong testament to the increase in the popularity of MLS, the Chicago Fire sold out their fourth consecutive game in Naperville, IL. on Sunday as they outpaced the Crew 2-1. The defending champion San Jose Earthquakes also enjoyed a double-digit increase this season, upping their average attendance 13% from the 2001 season.

"Pay When We Play"

The Colorado Rapids have clinched a spot in the 2002 MLS playoffs and have devised a family-friendly, affordable ticket plan as the team fights its way through the post season. Fans can secure their seats for a maximum of four playoff games (quarterfinal and semi-final rounds) and pay only when the Rapids play. As an added incentive, reserving your seats now gets you an official 2002 MLS Cup Playoffs T-shirt. Single game ticket prices range from $14 for an end line seat to $35 for a club level seat. For more information, call the Rapids office at (303) 299-1599. Don't miss the Rapids in 2002 post-season action at INVESCO Field!

Rapids In the Record Books

The Colorado Rapids became the first team since the 2000 MLS season to have three players with double-digit goals in their regular season campaigns. Midfielders Mark Chung, Chris Henderson and forward Chris Carrieri each tallied 11 goals this year * the first time the Rapids have had three double-digit goal scorers since 1998.

Injury Report: Scott Garlick - OUT - left thumb fracture
	          
Training Schedule:
Tuesday, September 24 - 	Training at 10:30 a.m.; Team departs for
Dallas at 1:00 p.m.	
Wednesday, September 25 -	Game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas at 6:30
p.m. MT
				Live broadcast on AT&T Broadband (Channel
21)
Thursday, September 26 - 	Team returns to Denver at 12 p.m.
Friday, September 27 - 		Training at 10 a.m.
Saturday, September 28 -          Game vs. Dallas Burn at INVESCO Field at
7:00 p.m.


MLS CUP PLAYOFF TABLE - September 23, 2002
 
Overall Standings (top 8 teams qualify)
SD   TEAM                   GP   W   L   T  PTS  GF  GA    
--------------------------------------------------------
1. xy Los Angeles Galaxy    28  16   9   3   51  44  33  
2. xy N.E. Revolution       28  12  14   2   38  49  49    
3. x  San Jose Earthquakes  28  14  11   3   45  45  35   
4. x  Dallas Burn           28  12   9   7   43  44  43   
5. x  Colorado Rapids       28  13  11   4   43  43  48   
6. x  Columbus Crew         28  11  12   5   38  44  43   
7. x  Chicago Fire          28  11  13   4   37  43  38   
8. x  Kansas City Wizards   28   9  10   9   36  37  45   
   z  MetroStars            28  11  15   2   35  41  47   
   z  D.C. United           28   9  14   5   32  31  40   

x = Clinched playoff berth
y = Conference Champion     
z = Eliminated from playoff contention

Notes:
NE wins first tiebreaker vs. CLB (head-to-head: 2-1-1)
DAL wins first tiebreaker vs. COL (head-to-head: 2-1-1)

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