only to bounce off the face of the crossbar. Pickens then scrambled to smother the ball at Hernandez's feet and preserve the draw for both teams.
• Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo made three changes to the team that lost 4-1 at D.C. United the Thursday before. After Mike Petke suffered a fractured ankle, Ugo Ihemelu came back from suspension to take his center back spot, and Jovan Kirovski replaced Daniel Wasson in the midfield. Facundo Erpen made his Rapids debut, replacing the player he was traded for, as Greg Vanney went to D.C. United.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul - Dan Gargan, Ugo Ihemelu, Facundo Erpen, Brandon Prideaux - Terry Cooke (Roberto Brown 71), Jovan Kirovski, Pablo Mastroeni (Daniel Wasson 38), Colin Clark - Jacob Peterson, Nicolas Hernandez. Substitutes Not Used: Jose Cancela, Nico Colaluca, Stephen Keel, Zach Thornton
• "I thought we played well. For 90 minutes, we came here to get three points. I thought the team came here to defend and we created chances," Clavijo said.
TEAM NEWS
• While the Rapids put an end to their five-game losing streak - one shy of the Colorado club record - they were not able to claim a first victory since May 26. The Rapids have scored just one goal in their last four games.
• "I'm disappointed but the performance on the field was outstanding. We are in a precarious situation, because the team has not won in the last five games," Clavijo said. "But I think the team came here to play. We are not afaid to lose but you have to score and you have to get the ball to bounce your way. So far, we haven't been able to do that."
• In his first game back from the U.S. national team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Pablo Mastroeni had to come off after 70 minutes against D.C. United. Things got worse three days later, when Mastroeni was forced to come off with an injury before the first half was over.
• "It's too premature to say. It looked like he pulled something, the groin, but we don't know how bad it is yet," Clavijo said.
• Clavijo started Facundo Erpen after he had barely joined the team. Erpen was acquired by the Rapids on June 29 from D.C. United - the day after Colorado 4-1 to United at RFK Stadium. Veteran Greg Vanney went the other direction, going to United.
• The Rapids did record a shutout for the first time in six games, dating back to their last win, the 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy. "It's a new beginning for us now," Coundoul said to the Rocky Mountain News. "The past month was kind of tough, but it's over now. We're going to get a lot of points and we're going to win. We're coming back."
• Colorado is 10-1-0 all-time in its annual Independence Day game, and the Rapids have now won seven in a row dating back to 2000 after last year's wild 3-2 win against the New England Revolution. The only loss came in 1999 - to the Columbus Crew, this year's opponent. The annual fireworks display, billed as the best in Colorado, always draws large crowds who spur the team to perform. Eight times the game-winning goal has come in the 69th minute or later.
COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew won for the third consecutive match, getting the lone goal of the game midway through the second half in a victory against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday at Crew Stadium. The Crew now have 18 points from 14 matches, sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind D.C. United and three ahead of the Chicago Fire.
LAST MATCH
• The Crew were coming off back-to-back wins for the first time on the season, while the Red Bulls were playing for the first time after a two-week layoff, a loss and a tie in their last two games.
• The stage seemed set for a wild attacking spectacle, with the Crew having scored eight goals in their last three games (a draw followed by two wins), and the Red Bulls having allowed 11 goals in their last four games.
• But the game's only goal came in the 69th minute. Andy Herron was given time to run at the Red Bulls from the right flank and he served in a good cross to the far post, where Kei Kamara rose up to clinically head down and home back inside the far post.
• The shutout meant an end to Juan Pablo Angel's goal-scoring streak, meaning his bid for history would end at six consecutive games with a goal, one shy of the league record.
• Crew head coach Sigi Schmid made four changes to the team that defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 the weekend before. With Ezra Hendrickson and Danny O'Rourke suspended, Frankie Hejduk (back from international duty) and Rusty Pierce returned to the team, as Stefani Miglioranzi moved forward into midfield. Jacob Thomas made his first start of the season and Kei Kamara also came, replacing Eddie Gaven (national team) and the injured Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
• Here's Schmid's team (4-2-3-1): Will Hesmer - Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Chad Marshall, Rusty Pierce - Duncan Oughton, Stefani Miglioranzi (Jed Zayner 91+) - Jacob Thomas (Andy Herron 67), Ned Grabavoy, Kei Kamara (Jason Garey 86) - Alejandro Moreno. Substitutes Not Used: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Andy Gruenebaum, Ben Hunter, Ryan Junge
• "I said at the start of the season that what this teem needed was to get a couple wins just to get confidence. I thought today, overall, when you look at the whole game, we were the better team," Schmid said. "All we talked about at halftime was, 'don't get impatient, don't get anxious, and the goal will come.'"
TEAM NEWS
• After losing back-to-back games, the Crew turnaround began when they stormed back to snatch a 3-3 draw at New England on June 16 - just as they said it would at the time. It's now the first time the Crew have won three games in a row since Aug. 20-Sept. 3, 2005.
• "Confidence is a big part of it because now you are in the mindset when you step on the field when it's 0-0 at halftime, that 'OK, we'll get it' versus 'oh, I hope nothing happens.' So, it becomes a different story," Schmid said.
• It was the first game for Frankie Hejduk after returning from national team duty. When he left, the Crew hadn't won in five matches.
• "Whenever you play at home, you have that extra edge and finally we're having that edge. Earlier on in the season, we just weren't getting over that hump. We were playing well, but we were getting ties when we should have got wins and losses when we should have got ties, and now the breaks are coming our way," he said.
• It was the first start of the season for Jacob Thomas, who had not played a minute in league competition while battling a calf strain. "Tonight as well, with Jacob Thomas, and his first minutes of the year, you can see how much he impacted the game. He brings an element of fear to the opponent, and adds an element of attacking danger for us, so that was a real plus for us tonight," Schmid said.
• It was also the first start for Kei Kamara since May 5. "We're missing some guys, but in all fairness, Kei [Kamara] and Jacob [Thomas] stepped in and did an incredible job, so there wasn't any drop off at all," defender Chad Marshall said.
• The Crew ended Juan Pablo Angel's goal-scoring streak one game shy of tying the MLS record. "We watch film on our opponents every week and we know he's a good player so you just have to stay focused and stay with him for 90 minutes, because it's that one second you lose him or give him an extra foot, that he punishes you, so I just told myself to stay focused and I thought we did a pretty good job on him," Marshall said.
