who was the second-youngest goalkeeper to start a game in MLS history -- and when he handled the ball, referee Abbey Okulaja called for an indirect free kick in the penalty area.
• Colorado's Herculez Gomez sent the ball under the wall and into the back of the net on the first attempt, but Okulaja had not whistled for play to restart. So on the second chance, Gomez's shot banged into the wall -- but the rebound went back to Kyle Beckerman, and he lashed a low shot through the goalmouth scrum into the goal.
• Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo made just one change to the team that lost 3-1 to FC Dallas eight days earlier, but it required a reshuffle of his lines. With Brandon Prideaux out with a knee injury, Pablo Mastroeni moved into central defense from midfield as Ugo Ihemelu went to right back, Jovan Kirovski moved back into central midfield, and Roberto Brown returned from suspension to play up top.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul - Ugo Ihemelu, Pablo Mastroeni, Mike Petke, Greg Vanney - Terry Cooke (Nico Colaluca 69), Kyle Beckerman, Jovan Kirovski, Herculez Gomez (Dan Gargan 88) - Roberto Brown, Nicolas Hernandez. Substitutes Not Used: Jose Cancela, Conor Casey, Zach Thornton, Daniel Wasson, Chris Wingert
• "I felt that we controlled possession throughout. We had to keep our tempo and we had to keep time of possession, and we did that," Clavijo said. "But even in the first half we didn't create enough, we were not aggressive enough going forward and we wanted to change that in the second half. So we had to attack and force mistakes and that's what we did, and the goals came."
TEAM NEWS
• A year ago there were some hard feelings after the Rapids got the necessary win at Rice-Eccles Stadium to retain possession of the Rocky Mountain Cup. The reactions after Monday's win showed it's become a real rivalry.
• "Any time we get to beat this team here, in front of their fans, it's awesome. We like to send them home unhappy. If their team is mad, we celebrate afterwards, tell them to win the game then. If they don't want us to celebrate after, then win the game," said Kyle Beckerman.
• Even though Brandon Prideaux was lost to the team for up to the next month after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee in the loss to FC Dallas, the Rapids recorded their first clean sheet of the campaign, with Pablo Mastroeni moving into central defense as Ugo Ihemelu, who had been in the center, moved to right back. It was the third career clean sheet for Bouna Coundoul, in just nine career MLS appearances.
• "Our back four is clicking; they are playing hard and for each other. I feel good about everyone right now," Clavijo said. "We took chances with a younger goalkeeper and he's showing us what he can do. I am very proud of the guys, absolutely."
• Said Coundoul: "It feels good, so that means I want to many more to come. I was looking at the first game and didn't happen, the second game, third game ... so finally it happened here. Hopefully for the rest of the season there are a lot of shutouts. I'm trying to go for the record to lead the whole league in goals against average."
• For Brown, it was his second match-winning goal in his second full match. He played just six minutes against Chicago on April 15 before being sent off with a straight red card; he scored the opening goal in the First Kick win against D.C. United.
• "He was unbelievable (Monday)," Beckerman said to the Rocky Mountain News. "He battled for every ball. He took the one mistake they gave him and buried it with a classy goal. That was big for us because it really got us over the hump in this game."
• The Rapids also wanted to get a good result after losing 3-1 to FC Dallas in their first game away from Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
• "It feels great. We said today that if we want to become a good team, and not an average team, we're going to have to win road games," Beckerman said. "We thought this game was really important to us, to get us on a good run." Added Coundoul: "[Success on the] road is very important. We come from a loss to a team that was a little shaky, but coming here, beating a team 2-0, it's a boost of energy and boost of confidence for the upcoming games."
• The Rapids have reached the MLS Cup Playoffs nine of their 11 seasons in the league - equal with FC Dallas, and behind only the Los Angeles Galaxy in terms of postseason qualification success. But they've reached the MLS Cup Final just once - in 1997, when they played D.C. United.
• "We have a lot of great players on our team," said Mastroeni. "It's results like this that really make you believe in your team and have confidence in each other. The sign of a good team is improving with every game and learning from your past mistakes."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo lost for the first time at home on the season, but were held scoreless for the third time on the campaign, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Chicago Fire last Sunday at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo are now tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with four points from four games, three points behind the first-place tie between Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas.
LAST MATCH
• Houston Dynamo were returning home after losing their first game of the season in New York, while the Fire were riding a three-game unbeaten streak to begin the campaign, including a pair of wins at their Toyota Park home.
• Dynamo twice came close on either side of halftime. In the first half, Brian Ching rattled a header off the crossbar, then early in the second half, Brad Davis saw a long-range drive also come back off the face of the woodwork.
• Then in the 60th minute, the Fire hit for the only goal they would need. Chris Rolfe took a long ball from Gonzalo Segares on the right side of the area, skipped into the box, sent defender Wade Barrett to the ground with a fake then lashed a left-footed drive back past Pat Onstad inside the right-hand post for his second goal in as many games.
• Dynamo wore maroon jerseys instead of their traditional orange for the game, in honor of Virginia Tech University. Through an online fundraiser and auction of the jerseys, the club raised more than $16,000 for the university's Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made one change to the team that lost 1-0 the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium the previous weekend. Chris Wondolowski made his first MLS start, coming in for Paul Dalglish in attack.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Kelly Gray, Ryan Cochrane (Paul Dalglish 79), Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan (Stuart Holden 76), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Dwayne De Rosario - Chris Wondolowski (Richard Mulrooney 64), Brian Ching. Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Ianni, Alejandro Moreno, Craig Waibel, Zach Wells
• "Anytime you lose, it's disappointing," said Kinnear. "If you play well and lose, like we did tonight, or you play poorly and lose, the reaction is still the same. Our guys are a proud team and I am a proud coach of this team, so maybe this hurts a little bit more. I think we came out with the right attitude and played the right way, we just have to take advantage of some of those good plays.
TEAM NEWS
• After slow starts in their first three matches, Dynamo wanted to get off to a quick start against the Fire. They did start more brightly, and hit the crossbar on either side of halftime, but still saw went goalless for a second consecutive game.
• "I don't know if we could have done anything else but score a goal," said defender Eddie Robinson. "It's frustrating when you go out there and play that well and come up with nothing. Mostly, we were in their end and pressuring them and to still lose 1-0. That is as frustrating as it gets."
• It was the second 1-0 defeat of the season. A year ago, Dynamo lost 1-0 on three occasions - one of those the corresponding fixture, a 1-0 loss to Chicago on May 20 in their lone visit to Robertson Stadium.
• "I thought we played pretty well," goalkeeper Pat Onstad said. "We shut them down pretty well, especially in the first half. In the second half, we started to get a little stretched. I thought Wade (Barrett) did everything he could on the goal. Overall, I thought we played really well. We looked a lot better. If it were another game, we might put three in the net."
• A year ago, Dynamo weren't shut out in back-to-back games at all, and didn't have a stretch of four games where they managed only a single goal.
• "I think everybody knows we have a good quality squad. Once we start finding the back of the net and clicking together, we'll be fine," said Brad Davis. "It's four games into the season. We didn't win every game last year, but we ended up winning the MLS Cup."
• Aware of his team's scoring woes, Kinnear started third-year forward Chris Wondolowski alongside Ching as his strike partnership, with veterans Paul Dalglish and Alejandro Moreno on the substitutes' bench.
• "We created more chances, and we pressed them pretty often, but we couldn't find the back of the net," said de Rosario. "We're going to go home and analyze the tape and continue to work at it. This is our job, and we're going to continue to work at it."
• Said Kinnear: "We need to handle the ball better in the other team's half of the field. We need to move the ball faster, and we need to communicate to each other as well. We're playing well, but maybe that little bit of extra information can help you play a little bit better."
