Denver, CO, April 4, 2004 (CSA) - A dozen excellent saves by Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon allowed Colorado to leave the Cotton Bowl with a point after tying Western Conference rival Dallas Burn 1-1 in last night’s MLS season opener for both teams.

Burn head coach Colin Clarke believes that “...at the end of the night, (Rapids coach Hankinson) has to sit back and thank Cannon because he was outstanding tonight with some of the saves that he pulled out.”

For his performance, MLSnet.com named Cannon Man of the Match.

The Burn put through 10 shots on goal in the first half of play, overwhelming a makeshift Rapids defense early. Without starting defender Pablo Mastroeni--lost to a hip injury sustained last week in a friendly for the US Men's National Team in Poland--the 4-line defense struggled to contain the Burn’s multiple attacks.

“Stylistically, the way the Burn played with a constant long ball, they kept our defense on our heels,” stated coach Tim Hankinson after the game. “We made some adjustments at halftime that helped settle our defensive issues and helped us get back to the way we wanted to play.”

Two Rapids defenders made their debut for in the MLS. Antonio “Toño” De La Torre, veteran of Mexican first and second division leagues, was brought in to replace Wes Hart, who was traded during the off-season to San Jose. Rookie Gary Sullivan was green-lighted for his first start after the coaching staff’s gametime decision to hold Mastroeni off the teamsheet.

Nat Borchers and Ritchie Kotschau rounded out the backfield and helped Cannon frustrate the fast-moving Burn offense in the first half of play.

Cannon had praise for each of his back line in withstanding this initial barrage. “You really feel comfortable with a guy like Nat (Borchers) playing in front of you," he stated. "And with Sullivan, it is just a matter of playing more and more games. He showed today that he has what it takes to make it in this level, I have no doubt about it."

"With Antonio (De La Torre) and Ritchie (Kotschau) it is the same," Cannon continued. "They are professionals that come out and adapt to the offense to play at their best.”

With Spencer healthy, and a new lineup of recently signed attacking forwards, the Rapids looked ready for greater offensive production. However, Zizi Roberts’ continued knee problems meant he was not available for Saturday's game. Making his Rapids and MLS debut in place of Roberts was Jean-Philippe “Pedro” Peguero, who has also started for Haiti’s Men’s National Team.

Despite just two shots on goal in the first half by the new duo, one of the attempts found the back of the net.

The Rapids opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Spencer brought up the ball to the top of the penalty box before dishing off to an onrushing Mark Chung on the left side. Chung left-footed the ball across the area to Peguero, who used his head to nicely settle the ball at Spencer’s foot. Spencer one-timed the shot with power past the outstretched arm of Garlick, who got a touch on the ball before it trickled over the line to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead.

After this, Peguero struggled to maintain his touch on the ball after several good longballs and crosses from teammates De La Torre, Kyle Beckerman, and John Spencer put him with the ball near the Burn’s 18-yard box.

“(Pedro) had a couple of good chances in the beginning of the game,” noted Rapids head coach Tim Hankinson. “He probably had the first game jitters. He is a good player that we believe in. He'll produce and get goals as the season goes on.”

The second half opened with continued pressure by the Burn midfield resulting in more scoring chances. The Rapids midfield slowly came alive with full-field play as Beckerman successfully challenged for balls in the backfield and carried them across midfield before sending some excellent crosses through to Spencer and Peguero.

Despite heavy pressure from Dallas, the bunkered Rapids defense held them and no goals were scored in the run of play. The tying goal from Dallas came as a 75th-minute penalty shot. An unfortunate handball called on Darryl Powell resulted in an opportunity for Burn second-half substitute Bobby Rhine, who effectively directed the ball into the side netting to even the score at 1-1.

In the 88th minute, Chris Henderson received his second yellow during a game where he constantly harried the Burn midfielders, and was sent off. He will miss the Rapids home opener against the Galaxy at Invesco Field at Mile High on April 17th.

In the final moments of the game, Matt Crawford was substituted for Peguero to shore up Colorado’s defense as they dropped to 10 men.

After the game, coach Hankinson was clearly happy to have taken a point away from the Cotton Bowl. "Overall you are expected to win at home," he explained. "When you take a point on the road and deny a conference team to get the full amount of points, I consider that a good performance."

With a break for the Easter holiday weekend, the Rapids expect both Zizi Roberts and Pablo Mastroeni to be available for the home opener, opening up more options in both attack and defense.