Denver, CO, April 25, 2004 (CSA) - An outstanding finish by midfielder Chris Henderson was all the Rapids needed to secure their first win of the season and finish off defending MLS champion San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0, Saturday night at Invesco Field in front of a depleted crowd of 8,425 boisterous fans.

Rapids forward John Spencer started the play, chesting the ball down to midfielder Kyle Beckerman, who one-touched a long ball through to Hendo. In his first home appearance of the season, Henderson rushed onto the ball in a 50-yard dash, threading it near the back post to beat Quakes keeper Pat Onstad.

After the game, Henderson praised his teammates' assistance.

"Kyle measured the ball great," he said. "I just had to run onto it, and I practice shots from there two to three days a week."

With Henderson's first points of the season coming on a game-winning goal, he is but two points away from becoming the all-time Colorado points leader, currently held by Paul Bravo with 100.

Injury worries for the Rapids started early, when a pre-game hamstring tweak to midfielder Darryl Powell saw Matt Crawford start at right back on just five minutes notice, pushing Antonio de la Torre to center midfield. Despite the shortened Rapids bench, they came out strong with another solid first half.

"There's no question we had three or four more great chances. You like to see at least one get in," Rapids head coach Tim Hankinson noted. "We saw the same opportunities against L.A."

The Rapids found their play recharged with returning players Henderson, making his first home appearance this year, and Pablo Mastroeni at center back in his first showing of the season following a hip flexor injury.

Reviewing the play of the U.S. national team defender, Hankinson sees Pablo as "a best XI center back…I think his voice and organizational skills have been excellent."

The coach continued, "He's one of the best defenders in the league in dealing with quick, darting, tricky players [such as the Earthquakes' Dwayne] De Rosario. He just seems to read their movements so well and is a true ball winner."

Strong play and overlapping runs by outside backs Crawford and Ritchie Kotschau kept San Jose on their heels and scoreless through the first 45 minutes.

There was "no question" that this was Crawford's best game as a Rapid, according to Hankinson.

Crawford commented on playing three positions in two games: "It's great to be versatile...It was one of my better games for sure. I felt confident out there."

De la Torre was also asked to play in a new position, and was indeed active, this time starting alongside fast-starting midfielder Kyle Beckerman.

"We know Antonio can play in the midfield," Hankinson said. "It's really the best of the two positions that he plays."

A touchline cross by Henderson in the 10th minute from the right found Onstad alone with an onrushing Beckerman, who started the sequence with a pass to Spencer before continuing his run. Beckerman one-touched Henderson's pass with a cheeky right-foot tap behind his left leg that nutmegged the surprised Onstad, but the goal was disallowed as Beckerman was flagged offside.

It wasn't until the 18th minute that the Quakes' De Rosario found his first shot opening, which he shanked wide right of goal. Colorado's tight defensive four ensured that Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon faced no shots on goal until the 62nd minute.

In the 20th minute, San Jose defender Eddie Robinson pulled up lame with a leg injury after working to chase down Rapids forward Jean-Philippe "Pedro" Peguero on the right wing. Pedro's cross went harmlessly to Onstad, but Robinson had to be carried off the field, replaced by Ramiro Corrales.

Henderson's well-timed strike proved to be the game's only goal as the Rapids went up 1-0 in the 26th minute. Through the first half the Rapids continued knocking at Onstad's door. Onstad was forced to make a diving save as Peguero rang up another shot on goal in the 28th, also finding himself called offside three times as his speed led him past San Jose's flat-footed defense and confused the referee's assistant.

Despite few chances, De Rosario made life difficult for the Rapids, pinball-bouncing off several Colorado defenders in the 36th minute before cracking a shot that ended wide left. In the 42nd minute, he attempted to repeat his goal-of-the-week status on a cross by Quakes defender Wes Hart with a leaping, outside-the-boot tap shot that sailed wide.

Firing nine shots in the first half, the Black & Blue slammed four on target, with keeper Onstad busy the full 45.

In the 44th minute, Rapids midfielder Mark Chung crossed a brilliant floater into Peguero, who was running toward the six-yard box. Peguero got his head squarely on the pass for a shot, and a hustling Onstad made a push save. This fed the ball out to Nat Borchers; he passed to Toño, who lofted a cross through the six-yard box to Spencer on the far side, whose diving header cracked off the bottom of the post for his third denial by the wood in the past two games.

Before the first-half whistle, De la Torre attempted another slippery chip shot from 65 yards out, almost catching Onstad off his line before flying over the crossbar.

Similar to last week's home-opener against the L.A. Galaxy, the Rapids quickly dissolved into a quagmire of loose defending and lackluster possession in the second half.

"We actually have been trying to encourage them to continue to play [in the second half]," Hankinson said. "I think that our match fitness still can improve...the other team's sitting in the locker room saying, 'how can we get this back.'"

Through several fast-paced San Jose counterattacks, the Rapids often found themselves with a two-man defensive line as both wing backs pushed into the attacking third of the field and were caught out of position.

"We had a lull the first 20-30 minutes in the second half," Henderson said.

Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear agreed.

"I was disappointed at halftime and we came out with a little push in the second half, but we did not have enough to get a result tonight," he said.

Mastroeni and Borchers were up to the challenge of dealing with pressing San Jose strikers, although Cannon earned his keep with three diving saves to deliver the Rapids' first clean sheet of the season.

San Jose quickly earned the first of four corner kicks in a row in the 50th minute, but horrible crosses played into the box ensured they were unable to capitalize.

"It's a win against the defending champions and I've been telling the team all week, if you want to be the champions you have to defeat the champions..."
Tim Hankinson

De Rosario was the Earthquakes' clear leader, generating chances off counters and creating much of the team's offensive output. He recorded the team's first shot on goal in the 62nd minute, forcing Cannon low for the save.

The Rapids caused containment trouble for the Quakes, with three San Jose players being shown yellow cards in a 10-minute period.

In the 71st minute, Spencer would come up lame during a fast break with a pulled left hamstring, and be replaced by David Castellanos, marking his MLS debut.

Suddenly, the Rapids were back in the game. They quickly racked up four successive corners, generating shots in the 75th, 76th, 77th, and 78th minutes.

Jamil Walker replaced former Rapids defender Wes Hart in the 83rd minute as the Earthquakes turned up their offensive effort.

Gary Sullivan, fighting chest congestion related to allergies, was substituted in for Peguero in the 89th minute to shore up the Rapids defense as San Jose pressed hard with several floating crosses into the 18-yard box.

"It's not very often that I make a substitution to try to close out a game," explained Hankinson. But the Quakes began throwing an extra striker forward and the coach felt Sullivan's heading ability could help deny the last-minute desperation service by San Jose.

Hankinson further noted that teams no longer fear removing a striker when he may be needed after a late-tying goal.

"You're not looking at overtime anymore," Hankinson said, "and that maybe changes some of our approach."

Even as the Rapids worked to manage the game in stoppage time, Castellanos created two great opportunities against the Quakes, leading to one-on-one shot chances that ultimately fizzled.

Cannon stole a dangerous floater off De Rosario's head for an important save to finish San Jose's comeback attempt.

After the game, San Jose Earthquakes President and General Manager Alexi Lalas was frank in assessing his team's performance.

"We played very well last week and, obviously, this week we turned in a poor performance," he said.

"They are all honest with their assessment, both collectively and individually, and they would all agree this was a poor performance. The mark of a true champion is to grow from this."

Notes
- Mid-week injuries sidelined two additional players: a re-aggravated right knee bone bruise will keep striker Zizi Roberts out for at least the next two weeks, and a concussion to Michael Erush will keep him off the active roster the next six to eight weeks.

- Despite coming on in the 89th minute, Gary Sullivan remains less than 100%. During practice last week Sullivan said, "I can't run two minutes without dying," his lungs straining against what the Rapids are calling allergy-related symptoms.

- Ending a 10-game winning drought extending back to the 2003 season, the Rapids have now pushed their regular season undefeated streak at home to 14, nearing the MLS record of 15.

- An important win, the Rapids have pulled ahead of San Jose on points, 5-4, to move up from last place in the Western Conference. Next week, the Rapids put their confidence to the test as they go on the road to meet the Kansas City Wizards, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. (MDT). San Jose is back home against the struggling Freddy Adu and his D.C. United side.

Scoring Summary:

	1	2	F
San Jose	0	0	0
Colorado	1	0	1

COL -- Chris Henderson 1 (Kyle Beckerman 1, John Spencer 1) 26