MLS Rapids too Strong for Storm to Navigate
Published on April 7, 2002 under A-League (A-League)
Calgary Mustangs News Release
The Calgary Storm continued their preseason training for their inaugural A league season with an exhibition 4-0 loss against the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. The game was played under excellent conditions at the Colorado School of Mines' Brookes Field in front of 3,100 Rapids fans. The game had been played in Golden in order to facilitate the Rapids' community charity outreach program.
The Rapids opened the scoring just past midway of the first half after solving the Storm's defence. The score remained 1-0 at the half. The Storm had a brief lapse at the beginning of the second half and allowed 3 goals in before the 60th minute. Two of the goals were a result of deflected free kicks that left unlucky Storm goalkeeper John Hawreliak stranded. The Rapids capitalized on their scoring opportunities and once taking the lead dictated the outcome of the game. The biggest problem the Storm faced seemed to be their own difficulty in building up an attack against the Rapids strong defence after falling behind and chasing the game.
"I felt we played well in the game and the score was not indicative of the flow of the game, not to take anything away from the Rapids, but we didn't create enough of an attack to score the goals we needed to take the pressure off our defence." noted Storm Head Coach Thomas Niendorf. "This was a great learning experience for us against a well disciplined team that is currently in first place in the MLS Western Conference. It demonstrated the areas we need to work on before the start of the season."
"We certainly didn't get the result and the breaks we were hoping for but considering where we are in the preseason and that it was our first game on grass, I think we did well. The current conditions in Calgary make it difficult to practice outside at this point. However, I feel we will be ready for our own season if the local weather starts to co-operate with us." added Storm captain Mark McKenna
The Calgary Storm's home opener is at Foothills Park Saturday May 4th at 6:00pm versus Minnesota Thunder. Tickets will be on sale April 17 at Ticketmaster, Calgary Co-op Stores, Calgary Storm Office (770-1183) and at the gate.
A-League Stories from April 7, 2002
- MLS Rapids too Strong for Storm to Navigate - Calgary Mustangs
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