MLS Colorado Rapids

Rapids weekly notes

Published on August 22, 2005 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release


CUNNINGHAM AND MASTROENI VS REAL MADRID: Rapids players Jeff Cunnigham and Pablo Mastroeni were among the 19 players selected by Major League Soccer that will travel to Spain to face nine-time European champions Real Madrid on Tuesday, August 23 in the 27th annual Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu. The star-studded MLS Select Team, led by New England Revolution Head Coach Steve Nicol, features representatives from every MLS club including Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Ronnie O'Brien (FC Dallas), Youri Djorkaeff (MetroStars) and Cunningham, the league's leading scorer. The 19-man roster will be comprised of thirteen American players and six international stars (Djorkaeff, O'Brien, Amado Guevara, Shalrie Joseph, Jaime Moreno and Douglas Sequeira). The soccer extravaganza will be broadcast LIVE Tuesday on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Español at 1:30 p.m. (MT).

HALL OF FAME GAME: The Colorado Rapids will travel to Oneonta, NY on Sunday, August 28 to take on reigning MLS Champions DC United on Monday, August 29th in the 10th annual Hall Of Fame Game. This match, which is the culmination of the entire 2005 Induction Weekend, will be broadcast LIVE at 11:00 a.m. (MT) on Fox Soccer Channel. The weekend's activities include a golf tournament and a gala awards celebration. For more information, fans can contact the Hall of Fame at 800-545-FAME.

STILL AT THE TOP OF THE LEAGUE: Even though he did not score against the Earthquakes on Saturday, August 13th at Spartan Stadium and did not play in the 2-0 win over the New England Revolution on Wednesday, August 17th, Jeff Cunningham remains atop the league's goalscoring department. Cunningham, who has notched an amazing 73 goals during his MLS career, is currently at the top of this year's goalscoring list with 11 strikes, one goal ahead of his closest competitors, New England's Taylor Twellman, FC Dallas's Carlos Ruiz and DC United's Jaime Moreno.

TIGHT RACE: After last Wednesday's 2-0 win over New England, the Rapids have closed the gap between them and the Los Angeles Galaxy in the race for the third place in the Western Conference. The Black and Blue, who sit in the fourth position, are currently seven points behind the Galaxy, who sit in third place and have one more game played than the Rapids. Expansion clubs Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA are fifth and sixth respectively. Salt Lake is nine points behind the Rapids and Chivas are 16 points behind.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES: The Black and Blue continue with their good play during the second half of the regular season. The team has posted a 4-1-2 record in their first seven games of the second half of the season. The Rapids posted a 2-4-1 record during the first seven games of the regular season.

CALL HIM "DEDI": The Colorado Rapids' newest addition, midfielder/defender David "Dedi" Ben Dayan, produced for his newest club during his first appearance on Wednesday, August 17th in the 2-0 win over league-leading New England, as he recorded an assist on the first goal of the night. In the 78th minute of the match, Ben Dayan played a ball into the box to Eric Denton, who dropped the ball back to Alain Nkong. Nkong hit a powerful rocket from about 20 yards out, and his MLS Goal of the Week candidate blasted past Reis, sending the home crowd into convulsions.

SERNA IN CAMP: Former Miami Fusion striker Diego Serna is in camp with the Colorado Rapids again this week. The 13th best goalscorer in Major League Soccer history notched 57 goals during his stint in the league. He then left for the United Arab Emirates, where he played for one season before returning to Colombia to play for current Libertadores Cup Champions Once Caldas. He was currently playing for Deportes Quindío, where he last performed in their 1-1 tie against Atletico Nacional on Wednesday, August 3rd.

RAPIDS PASSBACK: The Colorado Rapids are once again competing in the annual U.S. Soccer Foundation's MLS Team Passback Challenge, to collect the most new and gently-used soccer equipment to benefit our local Colorado community! Clean out your closets, basements, and garages - or better yet get your entire team or club to gather all your gently-used gear -- and bring it to the Rapids match on September 3rd! Help us win the MLS Challenge and help out some needy kids in our community. The Rapids Passback program is a great program of community giving. For more information on the Passback program, log onto www.ussoccerfoundation.org. Remember: no shirt, no shoes.....no soccer!

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 22, 2005


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