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RAPIDS COACHES PREPARE FOR FRIDAY'S MLS SUPERDRAFT IN KANSAS CITY

Mastroeni, Beckerman and Trembly Busy with National Teams

DENVER (Monday, January 10, 2003) - Colorado Rapids head coach Tim Hankinson and General Manager Dan Counce are currently in South Florida with other members of the coaching staff preparing for the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft, which will take place on Friday, January 17 in Kansas City, Mo.

Hankinson and Counce are assessing the talent pool at the adidas MLS Player Combine in Sunrise, Florida, where they will observe more than 50 of the top draft prospects in exhibition games on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Friday the scene will shift to Kansas City, where the 2003 MLS SuperDraft will be held in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

To assist media covering the Player Combine and SuperDraft, MLS Communications has created an online draft and combine guide with the draft order, Combine schedule, complete team rosters and bio information on all the participants.

The guide can be downloaded at:

The Colorado Rapids first selection will come in the third round of the draft with the 28th overall pick. The Rapids also have selections in the fourth round (# 38 overall), fifth round (#48), and sixth round (#58). D.C. United holds the top pick in Friday's SuperDraft, which is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. MT from the Kansas City Convention Center.

BECKERMAN, TREMBLY IN PORTUGAL WITH U-23 NATIONAL TEAM

- U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick named a 20-man roster last week for a five-game trip to Portugal from Jan. 10-23. The roster, which features Colorado Rapids pair Kyle Beckerman and Seth Trembly in addition to young MLS stars like D.J. Countess, Kelly Gray and Brad Davis and college standouts like Alecko Eskandarian and Roger Levesque, is very similar to that of the last camp in which the U.S. split a pair of games with Canada last month in Ft. Lauderdale. The U.S. will play three games against reserve squads from the top pro clubs in Portugal across three consecutive days (Jan. 14-16), then take a four-day break before facing Russia on Jan. 21 and an opponent to be named later on Jan. 23 to finish the five-game trip. This first camp of 2003 will provide further preparation for the 2003 Pan Am Games, which take place in the Dominican Republic from August 1-17 and will act as the team's first major international competition since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

U-23 MNT Schedule in Portugal	
Date 		Opponent			City			Kickoff (MT) 
Jan. 14 	Sporting Lisbon (Reserves) 	Alcochete, Portugal	7 a.m. 
Jan. 15 	Benfica (Reserves)  		Riachos, Portugal	10:30 a.m. 
Jan. 16 	Santarem District (Reserves) 	Almeirim, Portugal	12 p.m. 
Jan. 21 	Russia  			Almeirim, Portugal	1 p.m. 
Jan. 23 	Slovakia/Portugal winner 	Abrantes, Portugal	TBD

MASTROENI BACK WITH USA SQUAD FOR CANADIAN ENCOUNTER JAN. 18

- Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni remains in Florida where he has been training with the U.S. Men's National Team for this weekend's international friendly against Canada at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale. The match against Canada is a rematch of the team's 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal clash on January 30 in Pasadena, Calif., which was won by the U.S. in penalty kicks after a well-played 0-0 draw. In their history, the U.S. and Canada have squared off against each other 25 times in a rivalry dating all the way back to 1925, with the U.S. holding a slight 9-8-8 advantage. However, the United States has not lost to Canada in nine consecutive games, compiling a 5-0-4 mark in a stretch dating back more than 17 years to a 2-0 loss in Vancouver on April 2, 1985. Mastroeni rose to international prominence with a series of excellent performances for the USA in the 2002 Gold Cup and the FIFA World Cup. Following the contest against Canada, The U.S. squad will meet Argentina at the Orange Bowl on February 8 before traveling to Kingston, Jamaica, for a match against the Reggae Boyz on February 12.

RAPIDS INTRODUCE NEW SUPPORTER SECTION AT INVESCO FIELD AT MILE HIGH

- The Colorado Rapids have announced plans for a special "Supporter Section" at INVESCO Field at Mile High for the upcoming 2003 season. The lower area of section 127 on the east side of the stadium has been selected as the meeting place for passionate fans who want to contribute a more constant vocal and visual atmosphere at Rapids home games. Fans wanting to sit in the "Supporter Section" can purchase season tickets for $180 - a $54 per seat savings compared to other season tickets and a $90 savings compared to game day prices! This includes the 15 game regular season and 3 games to be determined, which could include international exhibitions and playoff games. Though tickets will have seat assignments, the section will feature a General Admission atmosphere. A flexible exchange policy will allow unused regular season game tickets to be exchanged for another game, and additional seats in the section will be available in advance to season ticket holders at $10 per regular season game.

The Rapids will inform fans in the stadium and at the box office of this section and that standing, singing and noise is accepted and will provide any fan not wishing to be around the section a chance to change seat locations during the game.

Season tickets, group packages and Flex Plan tickets are now on sale for 2003 regular season games at INVESCO Field at Mile High. Individual game tickets will go on sale in February. For more information about the new Supporter Section or Rapids tickets, please call 303-299-1599.

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