Denver, CO, May 23, 2004 (CSA) — The paltry home attendance versus New England was revealed as the undertow signaling the massive tidal wave that is Freddy Adu and D.C. United. In front of an explosive crowd of 31,443 fans the Rapids made a strong impression, delivering brilliant goal-scoring in besting D.C. 2-1.

“It was a good atmosphere,” said midfielder Chris Henderson. “Looking to the future, when we get our own stadium, I think that’s the kind of atmosphere we’re going to have...you can feel the crowd, and it helps us.”

“Tonight was a big night; the crowd had a lot of energy,” said Head Coach Tim Hankinson. “It’s a crowd that we can resell ourselves to.”

Indeed, Colorado went with the hard sell and clinched sole ownership of a major MLS record, becoming the only team to go 16 consecutive games at home without a loss.

Setting a major league-wide record is “a first for our organization,” Hankinson said. “It’s remarkable.”

Assisting on the game-winning goal, Chris Henderson not only sealed a place in history for the Rapids, he boosted his point total to the magic 101.

“I feel like Colorado’s been my club all the way through,” Henderson said after the game. “I felt that, even when I was traded away to the [Tampa Bay] Mutiny.”

On becoming the Rapids all-time points leader, the hustling star midfielder said simply, “I was happy to be named with Paul Bravo (who previously held the record of 100 points), who’s a good friend of mine.”

Winning when they had to while still seeing room for improvement — the Rapids are showing the fortitude to develop a championship spirit. They won, but know they can do better.

“We came into the locker room afterwards...nobody was very happy with [our performance],” said defensive midfielder Darryl Powell. “We all came in disappointed, because we know we can play better. And to say that after winning a game, it’s commendable.”

Rapids net minder Joe Cannon agreed.

“I thought we got outplayed,” he said. “They came in with three days rest, and for parts of the game I think they outworked us, out hustled us, and outplayed us.”

Against the backdrop of a steady northerly wind blowing through the stadium, there was a palpable excitement directed to the field, generated by the phenomenon of Freddy Adu’s talent and charisma, in Denver for his first performance before the Rapids faithful. The pregame warmup was loud enough that players could not hear the kids chanting their names.

With everyone healthy, competition for starting spots meant the coach could finally put his best 11 forward for the game. Surprisingly, this did not include regular starting defender Matt Crawford or striker John Spencer, as Hankinson moved the flexible Antonio De la Torre to right wingback and chose forward Zizi Roberts to start up front opposite Jean Philippe “Pedro” Peguero.

In his first start of the season and after coming off a lengthy injury without serious playing time, Roberts displayed an extremely satisfying performance over 89 minutes.

“Zizi held the ball up well,” Powell said. “He was tremendous for us tonight.”

For D.C. it was again Freddy Adu’s turn to start, replacing Ronald Cerritos up front and going strong for 80 minutes. United Head Coach Peter Nowak also had a surprise in store, as recently signed development player Troy Perkins made his first-ever MLS appearance in goal, replacing the beleaguered veteran Nick Rimando.

“Everyone deserves a shot,” was Nowak’s oblique explanation for Perkins getting the nod.

The game heated up early as Joe Cannon found himself facing a one-on-one opportunity from Adu. Coming 10 yards off his line, Cannon kept the crowd and the Rapids in the game with a fearless save as he neatly deflected the 14-year-old striker’s first attempt.

“Joe Cannon made a great save on the breakaway,” said Hankinson. “And the goal that we got [a few minutes later] was spectacular, and great for the fans.”

That goal came in the 13th minute as the Rapids punished a surprised D.C. defense. De la Torre quickly restarted play with a longball to Mark Chung, who schooled United defender David Stokes on the edge of the 18 before calmly playing the ball to onrushing midfielder Kyle Beckerman, whose shot was deflected.

With numbers in the box for Colorado, the ball sailed above a sea of heads, finding Pedro, who got on the end of it with a leaping bicycle kick that screamed towards goal. Zizi, who was honored earlier in the evening as 2003 Liberian Player of the Year, stuck his foot out to careen the ball past Perkins' outstretched hands and into the upper net for his first goal of the season.

The Black & Blue maintained momentum through the first 30 minutes of play before D.C. modified their attack to even the possession and scoring opportunities in the remainder of the first half.

Darryl Powell noticed the difference: “They made a change, and we started to struggle.”

The Rapids still seemed adrift to open the second half as Adu tallied his first assist on a 47th-minute equalizer for D.C. He calmly slotted a throughball in a classic give-and-go to fast-paced veteran Earnie Stewart, who got the ball wide right before drifting a teasing ball slowly across the box to the far side, where Joshua Gros came crashing in alone to get on the end of it to bring the game to 1-1.

“It was the equalizer, so it felt really good, “ said Adu. “I’m helping a lot. I’m making better runs on the ball now and able to work into space.”

Barely three minutes later, the Rapids would deliver another dramatic finish in the 51st minute. De la Torre once again opened the combination play with a leading ball to Henderson.

In what became Henderson’s record-breaking assist, the midfielder pushed up the right wing and sailed a cross in for Chung. The Rapids again pushed attackers into the box, and it paid off. Chung got his first point of the season leaping over a defender to head the ball into the path of Pedro, who outmaneuvered past his marker to head the ball home for his second goal in as many games.

Powell reflected on what happened next: “In the second half we got the goal and then we allowed them to dominate us, at least for the next 20 minutes.

“We started dropping off too deep and giving them too much room. They put an extra man in midfield, and we didn’t know how to deal with it.”

Hankinson also saw issues in the Rapids second-half play.

“They’re a very mobile team,” he said, “and it was difficult at times to get tight to them.”

In the 76th minute, Cannon read the offense perfectly, rushing out and making himself big to preserve the win as D.C. midfielder Dema Kovalenko delivered a punishing shot which caromed off the keeper’s jaw.

“We were lucky,” Cannon said. “I think the crowd here helped us out with the adrenaline and we were able to pick up three points and grind out a win against a good team.

“We have a lot of work to do. I think Chicago will play a similar system next week, in a 3-5-2. And being on the road, we have to figure out how to play against that.”

Substituted for Peguero in the 77th, Matt Crawford settled the Rapids midfield as he came in on the right side.

“Personally, I was really pleased to have Crawford back on the field,” said Cannon. “He made a difference. I think he can become more of an impact player for this team.”

With this change, the Rapids were able to regain some momentum and match up better with D.C., who was in the midst of a futile all-hands-on-deck comeback attack.

Unable to pick up the clean sheet, Cannon nonetheless felt his performance was improved.

“I felt sharp tonight, and I felt I wanted to get a good game under my belt after last week," he said. "The great crowd helped too.”

On last week’s soft goal, “It wasn’t a goal you normally want to give up (against L.A.),” Cannon added. “I just want to improve every game. We’re seven games in and I’m feeling more comfortable.”

With highlight-reel energy and finishing —including a goal and an assist— Peguero was selected as the night’s MLS Man of the Match (MOTM).

Honorary MOTM mentions should go to Roberts for a strong 89 minutes; the keeper’s best friend for two great saves; and Joe Cannon’s mug for again keeping the Rapids in the game.

Nowak showed a lot of emotion after the game in discussing his team’s performance.

“They played with a lot of heart. The team proved they are going in the right direction,” Nowak said. “We did everything we could to win. Maybe we have to all go to church and pray not to hit the crossbar.”

The Rapids take their game on the road as they face the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field Saturday, 6:30 p.m. (MDT). D.C. United will attempt to collect themselves before another away game versus the New England Revolution Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (MDT).

Scoring Summary:

COL -- Zizi Roberts (Jean Philippe Peguero) 13
DC -- Joshua Gros (Earnie Stewart) 48
COL -- Jean Philippe Peguero (Mark Chung) 51

D.C. United: Troy Perkins, Mike Petke, Brandon Prideaux, David Stokes, Bryan Namoff, Brian Carroll, Joshua Gros, Dema Kovalenko (Ronald Cerritos 79), Earnie Stewart, Jaime Moreno, Freddy Adu (Alecko Eskandarian 80).

Substitutes Not Used: Eliseo Quintanilla, Nick Rimando, Doug Warren.

Colorado Rapids: Joe Cannon, Ritchie Kotschau, Nat Borchers, Pablo Mastroeni, Antonio de la Torre, Mark Chung, Kyle Beckerman, Daryl Powell, Chris Henderson, Zizi Roberts (Seth Trembly 89), Jean Philippe Peguero (Matt Crawford 77).

Substitutes Not Used: Adrian Cann, David Castellanos, Jordan Cila, Zach Kingsley, John Spencer, Gary Sullivan, Scott Vallow.

Referee: Ramon Hernandez
Referee's Assistants: -Steven Davidson; Fabio Tovar
4th Official: Ricardo Salazar
Attendance: 31,443
Time of Game: 1:52
Weather: Cloudy-and-67-degrees

Bilfish can be reached at bilfish@cybersoccernews.com.
© Fisher/Cyber Soccer Associates, LLC 2004