first adding about 17 minutes to the halftime break, then for some 42 minutes at the 70-minute mark. And after the second delay, still down a man and a goal, the Rapids came out flying.
• They found the equalizer just six minutes after the resumption. Terry Cooke found Conor Casey on the right, and he slid a square pass to Colin Clark across the edge of the area. Clark's first touch split a pair of Chivas defenders and he raced to collect the ball deep in the area, chipping it over the on-rushing Brad Guzan for his second goal.
• Chivas USA head coach Preki made three changes to the team that defeated the LA Galaxy 3-0 he Super Clasíco three nights earlier. Jason Hernandez came back in for Claudio Suarez in central defense, while Laurent Merlin and Ramon Nuñez came in as an all-change strike pair in place of Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo.
• Here's Preki's team (4-4-2): Brad Guzan - Lawson Vaughn (Anthony Hamilton 79), Jason Hernandez, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein - Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza - Laurent Merlin (Maykel Galindo 68), Ramon Nunez (Alex Zotinca 63). Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, John Cunliffe, Orlando Perez, Claudio Suarez
• "At halftime there was a [lightning delay], and then there was another at the end of the game and we knew that they had nothing to lose at that point and they were going to throw everyone forward," said Chivas USA captain Jesse Marsch. "It is kind of tough to deal with, and we could have done a lot of little things better, so we gave up a goal and we were pretty lucky not to give up another one. But at the beginning of the day if you would have asked me if I would be happy to get out of here with a point I would have said yes."
TEAM NEWS
• While the draw extended the Chivas unbeaten streak to seven games, they felt they should have taken the full three points.
• "At the end of the game we actually played very disorganized, and that's not the style of our team," said Preki. "I don't know if that was because we were fatigued or if it was because they were pushing people forward, but I wasn't happy with that.
• "Obviously after the break they came out with a little more energy than we did but at the same time I felt we gifted them a goal because we had possession in their half. At this level you can't get caught on the break, especially when you are playing 11 against 10."
• After having a three-week layoff, Chivas have had to deal with a couple of short bursts of activity - first playing three games in a week, then four games from Sept. 6-16. But the Red-and-White haven't lost since going into that break with the 3-2 loss in Kansas City, which was the second of four games on an Eastern swing.
• "This is our fourth game in 11 days," said Preki. "I said from the beginning that we were lacking a little bit of energy. But it is the way it is and we have to cope with it."
• Just one more point over their final six games will secure a postseason berth for the club for the second year running.
• "We're not worried about that at all," said Marsch. "We're just trying to keep going in the right direction. And to be honest ... we are just pretty beat up right now. We just wanted to come out and be smart, and for the most part we did that. The last 20 minutes were just a hectic display of desperation. We tried to deal with it the best we could and in the end we gave up a goal so we failed, but on the whole I am happy with what we did today."
• Kljestan's penalty kick was his fourth goal of the season and third since the 2-0 win at New York on July 26. Entering the week, Kljestan has four goals and nine assists, two assists shy of league-leader Steve Ralston of New England despite having missed five games to suspension and international duty.
• "Lately I've been picking my times when to come in and kind of sneak in behind the midfielders who don't see me coming and I can get the ball in the midfield and go at the defense," Kljestan said. "It's just me getting used to and having more confidence of when to come inside and when to try to stay outside and go at a guy and work with my outside back, whether it's Lawson (Vaughn) or (Alex) Zotinca coming around me."
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards took a huge step toward playoff security, getting two goals in second-half stoppage time for an incredible 3-2 victory against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium. The Wizards now have 36 points from 25 matches, still seventh place overall in the MLS table, but six points ahead of eighth-place Chicago Fire (after last weekend) with five games to play.
LAST MATCH
• Both teams came in needing a victory to provide some assurance for their playoff futures. The Wizards were in a better spot, still seventh overall, but with just one win in their last six games, while the Crew hadn't won in six games, falling out of the top eight as a result.
• The Wizards took the lead in the 31st minute through some free kick mastery. Clipped down beyond the left corner of the area, Scott Sealy curled the resulting free kick over the wall and high inside the near post for a terrific opener.
• But the Crew came out flying after the break and scored twice in three minutes to take the lead. In the 65th minute, an Eddie Gaven shot from inside the area was knocked down by a diving Kevin Hartman, but Alejandro Moreno was there to bundle the ball home for his fifth goal on the year.
• Then in the 67th minute, a corner came in from the right, and Marcos Gonzalez headed it back across goal to the right-hand post, where Andy Herron flew in to side-foot home a close-range volley.
• That set the stage for a remarkable comeback. Into stoppage time, Kerry Zavagnin fell over Stefani Miglioranzi's challenge in the area, and Eddie Johnson scored the leveller from the spot -- though only after it hit the inside of the post and just crossed the line. Then not a minute later, freed on the right, Eloy Colombano drove in a cross and Sealy laid himself out for a header at the near post, beating Crew 'keeper Will Hesmer for the winner.
• It was just the third time in MLS history a team had come from behind after trailing at the 90-minute mark with the winning goals in stoppage time.
• Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo made two changes to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with Houston Dynamo two weeks earlier at Robertson Stadium. Jose Burciaga Jr. and Carlos Marinelli returned from the substitutes' bench, coming in for Michael Harrington and Sasha Victorine respectively.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-3-1-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury (Eloy Colombano 77), Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Davy Arnaud, Kerry Zavagnin, Kurt Morsink (Sasha Victorine 66) - Carlos Marinelli - Scott Sealy, Eddie Johnson. Substitutes Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Ryan Pore, Ryan Raybould, Tyson Wahl, Lance Watson
• "It was a terrible feeling," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo said of the final minutes of regulation time. "But you never give up hope. I knew the guys wouldn't give up. I thought we would end up tying the game."
TEAM NEWS
• With just one win in their previous six games, it looked like the Wizards' playoff dreams could once again be in trouble. But Onalfo said the final two minutes changed all that, on a night that might well be long remembered. "We're going to build on this," he said. "This was a galvanizing moment for this team."
• They sit in the seventh spot with 36 points, one behind the New York Red Bulls. But, more importantly, it means they stay well above the fray for the final spot, where Columbus, Colorado and Chicago finished the weekend separated by only two points.
• "In a two-minute period of time, we put ourselves in a great position to make the playoffs," said midfielder Kerry Zavagnin. "A loss tonight would have really damaged those chances. It's a 90-plus minute game, and no matter how you do it, the only thing that matters is three points."
• But the attitude over the final minutes was also a difference-maker - led primarily by Onalfo. "Once I saw us get that point, and I saw [the Crew's] heads go down, that's when I was like -- we're going for the next one," he said. Added Sealy: "Our team is not a desperate team, but we were at home and we didn't want to disappoint the fans. We went into the half one-nil and then they got two goals and we had two options, either give up or come back and our team has shown that we can come back and tonight was a perfect example."
• Sealy's free kick goal was his third of his injury-riddled season, after going from April 14 to Aug. 22 without a tally. "I've been doing it in practice for a while now, just never had a chance to take one in a game," said Sealy who was the victim of the foul that led to the chance. "Tonight it was in a good spot."
• Nick Garcia made his 219th league appearance for the Wizards, the club record, surpassing the total amassed by current Chivas USA head coach Preki during his time with the Sky Blues.
• "This game was a rollercoaster for me, the team, the fans and what a game to remember. It was very special for everyone to participate and enjoy it whether it was a record-breaking night for me or a big win for the team," Garcia said.
