COLORADO RAPIDS vs D.C. UNITED
DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK, Commerce City, Colo.
June 20, 2009 (WEEK 14) / MLS Game #105
7:30 p.m. MT (Altitude; CSN-DC)
Facing the second game in four nights in a Western road swing, Eastern Conference leaders D.C. United visit Dick's Sporting Goods Park to take on the Colorado Rapids and try to reverse a long trend. United haven't won in Colorado since 2000 and have lost on their last four visits to the Centennial State; they've lost just once in their last 11 games after Wednesday's 3-3 draw in Seattle. The Rapids haven't played in two weeks, since a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake, with a second bye weekend this season in between.
REFEREE: Michael Kennedy. SAR (bench): Rob Fereday; JAR (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Abbey Okulaja MLS Career: 113 games; FC/gm: 30.9; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 22; pens: 46
INJURY REPORT: COLORADO RAPIDS - PROBABLE: MF Terry Cooke (L knee sprain) ... D.C. UNITED - PROBABLE: MF Ben Olsen (hamstring strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: COL: Conor Casey (USA; June 6 vs. Honduras)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Dejan Jakovic
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: COL: Conor Casey, Cory Gibbs, Ugo Ihemelu ... DC: Christian Gomez, Dejan Jakovic; Clyde Simms, Rodney Wallace
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (30 meetings):
Rapids 10 wins (1 shootout), 38 goals ... United 14 wins (2 shootout), 53 goals ... Ties 6
AT COLORADO (14 meetings): Rapids 8 wins (0 shootout), 25 goals ... United 2 wins (1 shootout), 21 goals ...Ties 4
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/4: COL 2, DC 0 (Peterson 53; Erpen 72)
8/23: DC 3, COL 0 (Vide 45; Quaranta 82; Kirk 87)
• The teams have split the season series in each of the last two years, each maintaining home form. They've split their series in four of the last five years as well.
• D.C. United have not won in Colorado since May 6, 2000 - a span now of nine visits to the Rocky Mountain State. The Rapids have won the last four matches at home between the teams, dating back to the 2004 season, and five of the eight encounters since a 5-2 United victory on May 6, 2000.
• Colorado hasn't won at RFK Stadium since July 10, 1999, when they took a 2-1 victory. United have won six of the 10 meetings in the nation's capital since that game, with four draws.
• Coaches record: Gary Smith v DC: P1 W0 L1 D0 ... Tom Soehn vs. COL: P4 W2 L2 D0
COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids return to action after their second bye week of the season, their last match a come-from-behind 1-1 draw against Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Rapids have 17 points from 11 matches, sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference, 10 points behind the Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA but with a clutch of matches in hand.
LAST MATCH
• The Rapids came into the second Rocky Mountain Cup meeting of the season with two wins and three draws in their last five and just one loss since the season opener. RSL was trying to put the brakes on a six-game winless run, including four losses.
• The game's first goal finally came 11 minutes from the end. Taking a crossfield pass in the right side of the area, Yura Movsisyan cut back inside, skipped away from a trio of defenders and lashed a shot inside the left corner for his second on the season.
• Yet just three minutes later Real were left a man down when Robbie Russell was sent off by referee Jeff Gontarek for a second bookable offense.
• It took the Rapids just six minutes to take advantage through a stunning strike. Omar Cummings spun off his marker at the edge of the area and hammered a blistering drive that sailed over RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando and off the underside of the crossbar and in, his third goal of the year and first since March 28.
• Rapids head coach Gary Smith made two changes to the team that defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-2 at Giants Stadium the previous week. With Pablo Mastroeni and Conor Casey both on national team duty, Smith returned Terry Cooke to the midfield and started Jacob Peterson as a striker.
• Here's Smith's team (4-3-1-2): Matt Pickens - Ugo Ihemelu, Cory Gibbs, Scott Palguta (Ross Schunk 84), Jordan Harvey - Terry Cooke (Kosuke Kimura 31), Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark - Mehdi Ballouchy - Jacob Peterson (Greg Dalby 71), Omar Cummings. Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Ty Harden, Michael Holody, Rob Valentino
TEAM NEWS
• After a second bye week already this season, the Rapids have at least two games in hand on the remainder of the Western Conference.
• "To be in the pack as we are now, a couple of teams are games in front, certainly in the East, but in our own division, we've got Chivas and Houston now, who have bagged the points," head coach Gary Smith said before his team's second bye weekend. "That's a nice position to be in. We're in a good position with a difficult start."
• Colorado kicks off a stretch of nine of the next 12 games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park with the United match, after opening with seven of their first 11 matches on the road.
• "This stretch of games for us is really the key to our season," Pablo Mastroeni said. "If we can find ways to get good results at home in this next stretch of nine games, we feel like we'll put ourselves in a good position to go into the playoffs. We haven't played a whole lot of games at home, and people expect a more attacking style of soccer."
• While Conor Casey was called into the U.S. national team in a quick decision for the second World Cup qualifier against Honduras - then staying with the team for the FIFA Confederations Cup - holding midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was returned to the Rapids, much to the club's pleasure.
• "There's nothing sinister about it," Smith said. "Bob [Bradley] knows about Pablo, and he's more than happy with him. He realizes Pablo is there for him. I'm just not sure that he needs to be going on a trip like that, and Bob recognizes that. There are others in the group that he wants to see."
• The Rapids were finally able to get some cover at striker, acquiring Pat Noonan from the Columbus Crew for allocation money and a first-round selection in the 2009 SuperDraft.
• "Conor and Omar [Cummings] have been absolutely outstanding for us and have formed a very good relationship," Smith said. "But there's no getting away from it, we needed competition. We've lost Conor right now. There's a very good chance we'll lose Omar for the Gold Cup, so we needed some strength in that position."
• While Omar Cummings had been contributing with five assists, he hadn't scored since hitting in each of the first two games of the season. His third goal on the year was long-awaited.
• "I think you've got to say it was an individual goal that you're not going to see too often," said Smith. Said Cummings: "I just looked to get some space, and once I looked up I just wanted to turn and shoot. That was the only thing in my mind."
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United started off a difficult Western road swing in fine fashion, coming back from a two-goal deficit in the final quarter of the game for a 3-3 draw with Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field. United have 23 points from 15 matches on the season, now leading the Eastern Conference by two points ahead of the Chicago Fire.
LAST MATCH
• An entertaining match was certainly on offer with both teams coming off victories and yet another sellout crowd at Qwest Field.
• The visitors nosed ahead in the 34th minute. Santino Quaranta swung in a cross from the right touchline and Chris Pontius ghosted in at the back post to send a low volley home. But Sounders FC were level just four minutes later, Osvaldo Alonso hammering a long-range drive high inside the upper right corner.
• The home side took the lead just before the halftime break. Nate Jaqua turned and shot from inside the area, and it took a deflection off United defender Marc Burch past Josh Wicks for an own goal.
• Sounders FC went ahead in the 57th minute. Fredy Montero skipped across the top of the penalty area from the right and lashed a low shot home inside the far post for his second goal in as many games and sixth on the season.
• But United began their fightback just six minutes later. Christian Gomez took the ball and raced forward from midfield, ripping a low drive inside the left post past Kasey Keller for his second goal in as many weeks and third on the campaign.
• United then completed the comeback in the 87th minute through fortunate circumstances, Pontius driving in a cross from the left and Tyrone Marshall powerfully heading into his own goal for the leveler.
• D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn made two changes to the team that defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 the weekend before at RFK Stadium. Andrew Jacobsen came back into the midfield with Christian Gomez going to the substitutes' bench, and Luciano Emilio returned from suspension to replace Jaime Moreno in attack.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Josh Wicks - Bryan Namoff, Dejan Jakovic, Marc Burch - Santino Quaranta, Andrew Jacobson (Christian Gomez 46), Clyde Simms, Rodney Wallace - Fred (Ange N'Silu 21) - Chris Pontius, Luciano Emilio (Thabiso Khumalo 73). Substitutes Not Used: Greg Janicki, Avery John, Milos Kocic, Ben Olsen
• "Overall I was a little disappointed in some of the performances on our side. We gave them a lot opportunities and in environment like this you can't afford to do that," Soehn said. "Again the group was resilient and the guys who came in impacted in a big way. We fought back to get a point on the road."
TEAM NEWS
• It was yet another late comeback for United. It was the fifth time this season United had scored goals in the final five minutes of a game to get a result. A stoppage-time equalizer gave United a draw with New England on April 17, then two goals after the 90th minute provided a 3-2 win at New York April 26. United twice pulled even after the 85th minute in the 3-3 draw with Toronto before the trip to Chivas, where the tying goal came in the 85th minute.
• "We talked about chemistry all year and we all like each other and have a great locker room. We just kept battling today and a couple of shots here and there. Things went our way," said rookie Chris Pontius.
• It was United's second trip to Qwest Field - the first a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid before better than 66,000 fans three years ago. But this time the sellout crowd had an effect on United's performance.
• "I think we let the environment takes its toll on us. We still have a few inexperienced guys and it is the first time they have been into a place like this. The energy Seattle brought, we backed down quite a bit. When you're playing on the road you need all 11 guys to play well and we were way below that tonight," Soehn said. "But there were certain guys that I would give credit to who fought and competed."
• It was also once again the introduction of Christian Gomez that changed the game, as he came on at halftime. Gomez has come on in a substitute's role in five of his last eight appearances since May 2, after starting the first five games of the season.
• "Yeah, especially after their first goal, the momentum changed. It allowed their fans to get into it and it is a loud stadium. I don't think many of us have played in anything like that, I know I haven't. It was definitely something we had to adjust to. In the second half we calmed down a little bit," Pontius said.
• Josh Wicks made his fifth consecutive league start in goal, and after having allowed three goals in the previous four games, matched that total by conceding a United season-high. "For Josh's sake, I don't think he's at fault for any of them. I lot of their chances came directly from our mistakes," Soehn said.
