MLS Colorado Rapids

Rapids game notes

Published on August 11, 2006 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release


Rapids vs. Los Angeles: Despite trailing the all-time series with the Galaxy with a 15-23-4 record, the Rapids have taken the best out of their games against their Western Conference rivals in 2006, defeating them twice this season to date (once at home, once away).

Out for Saturday: Three of the Rapids starters will be out for the team's match against the Los Angeles Galaxy this Saturday. Defender Eric Denton was shown a red card in the match against Salt Lake on Wednesday night, defender Mike Petke saw a yellow card that pushed him over the caution point accumulation and Englishman Terry Cooke suffered a right knee strain in that same match. Denton and Petke will be back after serving a one game suspension, while Cooke is still being treated for the injury.

Rapids Tops When Scoring First: The Rapids are tops in MLS when scoring the first goal. Colorado is 6-0-1 (92.9%) when they get on the board first.

All-Star Performance from Cannon: Rapids 'keeper Joe Cannon was the buzz of the 2006 MLS All-Star Game, making three saves, including a spectacular leg save in stoppage time, to help the MLS All-Stars defeat Chelsea 1-0 on Aug. 5. The Idaho native played 45 minutes and combined with DC's Troy Perkins to post the first ever All-Star game shutout.

Cooke Chasing Rapids Assist Record: With his next assist, Terry Cooke will tie Adrian Paz for fourth place on the Rapids' all-time season high assist chart. He will pass Ross Paule's 2001 and Mark Chung's 2002 totals of 10 assists notched in a season and be just five behind Carlos Valderrama's record of 16. Through 19 games Cooke is ahead of Valderrama's pace with 10 compared to El Pibe's eight at the same point of the season in 2002. Here's a look at the Rapids' ten highest single season assist totals.

Carlos Valderrama '02 16

Adrian Paz '98 13

Chris Henderson '97 13

Adrian Paz '97 11

Terry Cooke '06 10

Mark Chung '02 10

Ross Paule '01 10

Anders Limpar '00 9

Ross Paule '99 9

Chris Henderson '98 9

Terry Cooke, Leading MLS: Englishman Terry Cooke's two assists on July 20 put him back atop the MLS leaders table with 10 total assists. Cooke, the former Manchester United midfielder, is also currently tied for the Rapids' record for the most assists in one game, along with Colombian international Carlos Valderrama and former Rapids stalwart Ross Paule, with three.

Local Talent Gets Playing Time: Continuing with their constant efforts to identify and develop local talent, the Colorado Rapids have already had two local players on the pitch representing the club this year. Fort Collins native Colin Clark, who played at all levels in the state of Colorado, made his MLS debut with the Rapids on Saturday, April 29 in the 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo. Another local talent, Daniel Wasson, who grew up in Colorado Springs, made his debut in the 2-1 win over D.C. United and scored his first career goal on Saturday, May 27 in the 2-2 tie against Real Salt Lake. The Rapids have the third most local players in their roster of all the six Western Conference teams, and the fourth most in Major League Soccer. The Galaxy and Chivas USA lead the pack, followed by the Red Bulls. Here is the count of local players with their respective club: Chivas USA (10 players born in CA); Los Angeles Galaxy (9 players born in CA); Red Bulls (6 players born in NY/NJ); Colorado Rapids (5 players born in CO); DC United (4 players born in DC metro area); Chicago (2 players born in IL), New England (2 players born in NH and RI), Dallas (2 players born in TX), RSL (2 players born in UT); Houston (1 player born in TX), Kansas City (1 player born in MO) and Columbus (1 player born in OH).

Rapids All-Time vs. Opponents at INVESCO: The Rapids will be opening their new stadium in Commerce City in April 2007, and as they close their final season at INVESCO Field, the numbers tell the story of a home field advantage that will only increase at the new facility. DC, Columbus, New England and Kansas City have already played their final games at the stadium and the records will be updated as opponents play their final games at the mile high venue this season. Rapids Final All-Time Records vs. opponents at INVESCO Field:

vs. DC United (4-0-2)

vs. Columbus (4-0-2)

vs. New England (5-1-1)

vs. Kansas City (6-1-1)

vs. Chivas USA (1-0-3)

vs. Houston (1-1-0)

vs. Salt Lake (3-1-0)

Man's Best Friend Can Attend the Rapids' Aug. 12 Game: The Colorado Rapids announced the club's 2nd annual "Dog Days of August" promotion, which will allow fans to bring their dogs to INVESCO Field at Mile High for the Saturday, August 12, 2006 game against the L.A. Galaxy, which will kick off at 7:00 p.m. (MT). The promotion will allow all canines to sit in the stands with their owners as they enjoy the Rapids match, along with a Rapids Doggy Bag filled with free goodies! Special seating at the stadium for this event will include a play and refreshment area on the stadium's south deck for the dogs in attendance, as well as other activities for the pets. Owners and their dogs will also sit together for the match itself in the south stands of INVESCO Field. Fans can register their dogs for this promotion at ColoradoRapids.com

Stuff for Students: The Colorado Rapids Community Care Foundation has partnered with 9News, KUVO, Telemundo and Volunteers of America in this year's "Stuff for Students" School Supply Drive. You can help students get the tools they need to succeed by bringing new school supplies to the table outside Gate 10 at the Rapids game on August 12th. Donations will be sorted and distributed to students in need by Volunteers of America. To see a list of needed supplies, please visit www.ColoradoRapids.com

Covering Kids and Families: With nearly 8.3 million uninsured children in America, the need for outreach about low-cost and free health care coverage available to eligible families through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is more important than ever. That's why the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will hold its seventh annual Covering Kids and Families Back-to-School Campaign this August and September. The Colorado Rapids Community Care Foundation has joined in this effort and will distribute information on insurance programs for children at the Foundation table inside Gate 10 on August 12th. For more information please visit www.ColoradoRapids.com

Make Sun Safety Your Goal: The Colorado Rapids Community Care Foundation is joining the American Academy of Dermatology to remind kids to "Make Sun Safety Your Goal" this summer. "Make Sun Safety Your Goal" is a public education program designed to raise awareness about the simple, everyday steps soccer players and their fans can take to prevent skin cancer. The Foundation will have additional information about the program available at the table inside Gate 10 on August 12th. You can also visit www.makesunsafetyyourgoal.org for more details.

Check out the Colorado Rapids Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 11, 2006


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