Rapids look to next match on Sept. 9 at LA and next home game Sept. 13 vs. Santos ; Four Rapids players to play with National Teams in matches held this week;Drew Moor’s impressive consecutive games streak comes to a close
RAPIDS TO FACE LA GALAXY ON THE ROAD ON SEPT. 9: The Colorado Rapids have a rare break in action this weekend before taking on the LA Galaxy on Friday, Sept. 9 at The Home Depot Center in Carson , Calif. , in a match between two of MLS’ best teams. The Galaxy (14-3-9, 51 points) currently have the top record in the league, while the Rapids (10-7-11, 41 points) are three spots back in the overall standings. The match kicks off at 9:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.
SANTOS LAGUNA VISITS ON SEPT. 13 IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The Rapids earned a point at Real España of Honduras on Aug. 23, and the result propelled Colorado to the top of the Group B standings in the CONCACAF Champions League, just ahead of Santos Laguna, one of Mexico ’s most storied clubs. The two teams will face off on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the year. For more information on the tournament, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.ColoradoRapids.com/championsleague.
LARENTOWICZ, NYASSI, CUMMINGS AND CEUS WITH NATIONAL TEAMS: Four Colorado Rapids players will be traveling this week to participate with their National Teams in matches held across the world. Goalkeeper Steward Ceus (Haiti, 9/2 vs. US Virgin Islands, 9/6 @ Curaçao), midfielder Jeff Larentowicz (United States, 9/2 vs. Costa Rica, 9/6 @ Belgium), and forwards Sanna Nyassi (The Gambia, 9/3 @ Namibia) and Omar Cummings (Jamaica, 9/2 @ Ecuador, 9/6 vs. Colombia) will all join their countries this week. More information on each player is available at www.ColoradoRapids.com, which will also be updated after their matches.
DREW MOOR’S ‘IRON MAN’ STREAK TO END AT 69 CONSECUTIVE GAMES: Rapids defender Drew Moor has set an MLS record among field players by playing the full 90 minutes in 69 consecutive league matches, meaning that he did not miss a minute of action in over two years. However, by picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday’s match at the Chicago Fire, Moor receives a mandatory one match suspension, and will miss the Sept. 9 game at the LA Galaxy. Moor’s streak began on August 6, 2009, and consisted of 6,210 consecutive minutes of MLS regular-season action.
PLAYOFF UPDATE – RAPIDS IN WILD-CARD SPOT: The Rapids have just six games remaining in the MLS regular season, and currently sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. In the MLS Cup playoffs, the top three teams from each conference earn spots in the postseason, and the next best four teams qualify as Wild Cards. The Rapids currently occupy the first Wild Card spot, and if the season ended today, would host the New York Red Bulls in an elimination match to start the playoffs. More information can be found at www.MLSsoccer.com/playoffstandings.
RAPIDS RESERVES WIN IN CHICAGO AND FACE HOUSTON ON THURSDAY: The Colorado Rapids Reserve team earned its first win of 2011 on Sunday in Chicago , topping the Fire Reserves by a 2-0 score at TOYOTA PARK . Both goals came in the first half, with Quincy Amarikwa finishing a penalty kick after he drew the foul in the box, and then Steven Emory putting home his own rebound after good combination play from Amarikwa and Andre Akpan. Steward Ceus kept the shutout for the Rapids Reserves, who are 1-5-1 (W-L-T) in 2011. The Reserves’ next match is this Thursday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at 11:00 a.m. against the Houston Dynamo.
UNBEATEN STREAK SNAPPED IN CHICAGO : The Rapids were carrying an eight game unbeaten streak in all competitions into TOYOTA PARK on Saturday night for a match against the Chicago Fire, but had the run snapped in a 2-0 defeat. A pair of first half goals gave the Fire the victory, while the Rapids also had a streak snapped of eight straight MLS matches in which the team scored two or more goals, a club record. The Fire won the season series against the Rapids this year, taking a win and a tie in the two meetings between the clubs in league play.
