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| Saturday, August 10, 2002 02:39 EST |
Fire, Burn square off in key Brimstone Cup game
[SportsTicker]
Chicago Fire at Dallas Burn
When: 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2
2002 Head-to-Head: Dallas leads series 1-0-0 (Burn lead 3-1 on
aggregate goals)
All-time Head-to-Head: Chicago leads series 8-7-1 (Fire lead
31-28 on aggregate goals)
Top scorers: Chicago: F Ante Razov (11g, 4a = 26pts); Dallas: F
Jason Kreis (12g, 2a = 26pts)
Did you know?: Chicago has a 1-6-1 mark against the West with
its only win coming against the Colorado Rapids on July 7 in a
2-1 overtime contest ... The Burn are 5-1-1 vs. the East this
year.
Key players out: Chicago: D C.J. Brown (disciplinary
suspension), M Chris Armas (torn ACL-R), M Peter Nowak (sprained
MCL-L), D Evan Whitfield (torn ACL-L); Dallas: None to Report
Notes: Chicago vs. Dallas is never just an ordinary battle in
MLS.
Notes: The matches between these two teams, including memorable
and intense postseason games, have their own prize at stake:
the Brimstone Cup which is awarded by the fans to the teams with
the most head-to-head wins in all competitions during the
calendar year ... The trophy ceremony will have to wait well
after Saturday's second and final regular season match-up, as
the teams can still face one another in the postseason ... The
Fire won the Brimstone Cup last year with a 3-1-2 overall record
against Dallas (including MLS Cup Playoffs) ... The Burn won
the first match-up of the 2002 season in Naperville, Illinois
3-1 on June 15 ... In that game, Chicago was missing its three
attacking stars in DaMarcus Beasley, Josh Wolff and Ante Razov,
who should all be on the field in this match together with a
healthy Hristo Stoitchkov coming off the bench ... Dallas' Jason
Kreis scored two goals in that June 15 encounter but is
currently in the midst of his longest slump of the 2002 season,
failing to score in five consecutive matches ... The Burn are
7-0-4 in games in which Kreis has tallied a goal and 1-4-4 in
games in which he's been held scoreless ... Things may not get
easier for Kreis against Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton who is
currently riding a season-high 237-minute scoreless streak and
has only allowed one goal in the last 380 minutes ... Unlike the
Fire, who were idle in midweek, Dallas will have 111 minutes of
a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match in their legs (1-0 win over
Rapids) ... Ronnie O'Brien, who scored the game-winner on
Wednesday for Dallas and was a July 12 Discovery Player signing
for the Burn, may get a chance to go up against the team which
traded his discovery slot to Dallas ... Chicago's discovery
option was the "future considerations" element of a 2002 draft
day trade which gave Chicago one of the Burn's second round
picks (17th overall which turned out to be Craig Capano) ... The
two regular season matches of 2002 are the fewest between the
rivals in MLS history ... With both teams so close in the
standings (Burn -- 31pts, Fire -- 28pts), this meeting may be
important in a future tiebreaker.
Final Whistle: The dependability of the Dallas Burn back line has been one of the main reasons behind the team's success this season ... In the likes of Josh Wolff, Ante Razov and DaMarcus Beasley Dallas will face its greatest test yet.
Scheduled Referees: Referee: Gus St. Silva; Assistant Referees: Roger Itaya (SAR), Kermit Quisenberry (JAR)
Kansas City Wizards at D.C. United
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
2002 Head-to-Head: Kansas City leads series 2-1-0 (Wizards lead
5-3 on aggregate goals)
All-time Head-to-Head: Series is tied at 8-8-1 (Wizards lead
36-30 on aggregate goals)
Top scorers: Kansas City: M Preki (4g, 8a = 16pts); D.C.: F
Santino Quaranta (3g, 4a = 10pts)
Did you know?: D.C. (19g, 20gp = 0.95 gpg) is on pace to score
the least amount of goals in one season. The 2001 Tampa Bay
Mutiny and the 2000 MetroStars both scored 32 goals in their
respective seasons.
Key players out: Kansas City: none to
report; D.C.: F Santino Quaranta (abdominal hernia)
Notes: After a blowout loss to Monarcas Morelia in Mexico on
Wednesday in the first leg of the semifinals of the Football
Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup, Kansas City will look to get back on track against United ... D.C. has scored a miniscule 19 goals in 20
games played (the next closest team is Los Angeles with 27) ...
Midfielder Preki returns to MLS action for Kansas City after
serving a one game disciplinary suspension on July 31, a 1-0
Wizards win over Dallas ... Ray Hudson's squad has eight games
to make up seven points in the table to secure a playoff berth
... Kansas City is the latest team with a chance to win three
consecutive games for the first time this season ... Honda MLS
All-Star MVP Marco Etcheverry will need to utilize the momentum
from the All-Star Game to create scoring opportunities for
United, which is playing without leading scorer Santino Quaranta
... Wizards defender Diego Gutierrez is listed as questionable
as he hopes to return to MLS action after sitting out the last
three weeks with a fractured orbital bone ... Stephen Armstrong,
with two goals in the last two games, has picked up his play
for the Wizards with Preki and Gutierrez out of the lineup of
late.
Final Whistle: Nick Rimando may be called upon again to
save D.C. United as they struggle to score goals. The former
UCLA standout has allowed two goals in the past four games
(0-2-2). Fabbro, Simutenkov, Armstrong and Preki will be running
on all cylinders as the hottest team in the League (5-2-3 in
their last ten games) has climbed from last in the Western
Conference to third in the playoff table behind the Eastern
Conference-leading MetroStars.
Scheduled Referees: Referee: Noel Kenny; Assistant Referees: Steven Taylor (SAR), Todd Perry (JAR)
Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids
When: 9:00 p.m. ET
2002 Head-to-Head: Series is tied 0-0-1 (Aggregate goals are
tied 1-1)
All-time Head-to-Head: Colorado leads 9-3-3 (Rapids lead 28-21
on aggregate goals)
Top scorers: Columbus: F Jeff Cunningham (10g, 4a = 24pts);
Colorado: M Mark Chung (8g, 7a = 23pts)
Did you know?: In 2002, the Colorado Rapids have scored 21 of
their 31 goals in the friendly confines of Invesco Field at Mile
High. However, the team's last win in Colorado came July 4.
Key players out: Columbus: D Daniel Torres (disciplinary
suspension), M John Harkes (sprained MCL-R), M John Wilmar Perez
(sprained MCL-L); Colorado: M Pablo Mastroeni (disciplinary
suspension), GK Scott Garlick (fractured thumb-L)
Notes: Both teams are coming off Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
quarterfinal road trips with different results ... A depleted
Rapids squad without the services of John Spencer, Raul Palacios
and recent signing Musa Shannon, lost a 1-0 overtime
heartbreaker in Dallas ... The Crew advanced to the semifinals
of the tournament with another away win against the MetroStars
in Uniondale, Long Island, 2-1 ... The match at the Mitchel
Athletic Complex marked another solid outing for 25-year-old
goalkeeper Jon Busch, who is now 4-1-1 in six matches (including
two U.S. Open Cup victories) since taking over the starting
spot from Tom Presthus ... The game between the Crew and Rapids
will be a rematch of their July 20 encounter, finished 1-1 with
an 88th minute Chris Carrieri tally equalizing a Dante
Washington goal for Columbus ... With the right combination of
results on Saturday, the Crew could jump from the eighth and
final playoff position to the second overall seed with a victory
... One of MLS' best road teams this season (4-5-1), the Crew
are making their first visit to Invesco Field ... With John
Wilmar Perez out due to a knee injury, rookie playmaking
sensation Kyle Martino will lead the Crew midfield's attacking
charge ... Colorado's Kyle Beckerman and Seth Trembly return for
the Rapids from a successful trip with the Under-23 U.S.
National Team in England where the team capped off a four-game
tour with a 2-1 win over Manchester United's Reserves ... The
Crew's Edson Buddle was also on the trip to England but returned
in time for the midweek Open Cup match in New York ... The
Rapids have been more successful against the Crew than against
any other MLS team in club history, posting a 9-3-3 record since
1996, including a 4-1-2 home mark ... The Crew are one of only
two MLS teams that the Rapids have not defeated thus far in 2002
... This will be another match with possible tiebreaker
implications at the end of the season.
Final Whistle: Suspended World Cup star Pablo Mastroeni would have likely been entrusted with keeping the Crew's Kyle Martino in check, a task which will
probably be assigned to Wes Hart ... If Martino is able to distribute and break down the defense with his dribbling, Columbus may be able to further capitalize on the speed of Brian West and Jeff Cunningham with their trademark runs behind the
opposing back line.
Scheduled Referees: Referee: Gerry Corrie; Assistant Referees: Greg Barkey (SAR), Richard Huber (JAR)
New England Revolution at Los Angeles Galaxy
When: 10 p.m. ET
2002 Head-to-Head: New England leads series 1-0-0 (Revolution
leads 3-2 on aggregate goals)
All-time Head-to-Head: Los Angeles leads 9-5-1 (Galaxy lead
31-18 on aggregate goals)
Top scorers: New England: F Taylor Twellman (15g, 4a = 34pts);
Los Angeles: F Carlos Ruiz (16g, 0a = 32pts)
Did you know?: Despite Carlos Ruiz's League-leading 16 goals,
the Galaxy (27) find themselves second-to-last in goals scored
on the season behind D.C. United (19). Only forward Brian Mullan
(3) and defenders Ezra Hendrickson (2) and Alexi Lalas (2) have
more than one goal for Los Angeles.
Key players out: New England: D Joe Franchino (disciplinary suspension), D Jay Heaps (disciplinary suspension), D Rusty Pierce (strained groin-L), F
Diego Serna (torn ACL & meniscus-L); Los Angeles: None to Report
Notes: In a matchup of MLS' two hottest young stars, Carlos
Ruiz and Taylor Twellman will lock horns for the title of best
scorer in the League ... New England, six points out of a
postseason with eight games to play, looks to make a strong
stretch run to clinch an MLS Cup Playoff berth ... Newly-signed
defender Douda Kante will help the cause in the absence of
backliners Joe Franchino and Jay Heaps, both serving
disciplinary suspensions ... Coming off a 1-0 overtime victory
over San Jose in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, Los
Angeles hopes to continue its recent run of success ... With a
6-1-2 record at the Rose Bowl, the Galaxy have the second-best
home record in the League ... Los Angeles has dropped into the
basement of the Western Conference, but still holds the sixth
overall seed in the playoff table ... With the speed of Ruiz up
front, the Galaxy will look to run by a depleted Revolution
defense, which has been the Achilles' heel of the team when it
is not at full force.
Final Whistle: New England will have to turn to newcomer Daouda Kante to shore up their defense against the potent Ruiz, who seems to have come out of a midseason funk with four goals in his last three MLS games. If Ruiz is shut down, the Revolution's chances of winning improve with the Galaxy not showing much scoring punch from any other players. The combination of All-Stars Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston will play a key role for New England down the stretch in their
run for the postseason.
Scheduled Referees: Referee: Ricardo Salazar; Assistant Referees: Nate Clement (SAR), Fabio Tovar (JAR).
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