Oct 2, 2009 - 7:04 PM
0 shoutsBy NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer
New England (10-9-7) at Colorado (10-8-9), 9:00 p.m. EDT
The Colorado Rapids and New England Revolution are in the thick of the tightly packed MLS Cup playoff race, but injuries and recent stumbles have prevented both clubs from solidifying their chances.
The Rapids will try to snap a string of three consecutive ties Saturday night by continuing their home dominance of the Revolution.
Colorado (10-8-9) is fifth overall in MLS while New England (10-9-7) is two points behind the Rapids in eighth, leading ninth-place D.C. by one point. The top two teams from each conference advance to the playoffs, and the four teams with the next highest point totals get in as wild cards.
The Rapids have been hampered by season-ending knee injuries to wide midfielders Colin Clark, Jacob Peterson and Jamie Smith, while goalkeeper Matt Pickens may miss his fifth consecutive game with a knee sprain.
"At this point in the season, knowing that all three of our natural wide players are out, I think it's going to be a case of being able to adapt and deal with different situations," coach Gary Smith said.
Colorado is also struggling without Pickens, going 0-1-3 while tying its last three. The Rapids played to a scoreless draw at Kansas City last Saturday.
"Obviously, we want to win. Point-wise, we're still in decent shape. We still have things in our own hands," said forward Conor Casey, whose 15 goals rank only behind Dallas' Jeff Cunningham (16) for the league lead.
"Obviously, it would have been nice to have won the last couple of games. But it's not like we're getting blown out or beaten really bad. We're in the mix."
A return to Dick's Sporting Good Park could help the Rapids, who are 8-2-4 there. They're also 11-3-2 at home against the Revolution, going 5-0-2 in the last seven meetings dating to a 2-1 loss June 15, 2002.
New England has struggled in its last five games, falling to 1-3-1 after losing 1-0 at Dallas on Wednesday in its first game without Steve Ralston. The midfielder, MLS' all-time leader with 135 assists, suffered a torn ACL in last Saturday's 2-1 win over Seattle.
"We're going to have to come out with a lot more energy and work harder," midfielder Shalrie Joseph said. "We have to try to get one and then see what happens. Colorado is a difficult place to play, so we know we're going to have our work cut out for us.
"We're going to have to be prepared to get a point or three points on the road. We need to start getting points instead of not coming away with anything."
The Revs, 3-6-4 on the road, will try to take advantage of Rapids backup Preston Burpo, who has allowed five goals on 19 shots over the last four games.
Burpo is 1-2-5 with a 1.25 goals-against average in eight games and hasn't won since a 3-2 victory at Los Angeles on April 4 - his first start of the season. His three saves against the Wizards secured his first shutout since a 2-0 win over Chicago on Sept. 14, 2008.
From the Bleachers
-
NEW ENGLAND: 1
COLORADO: 1
Final
Oct 3 11:01 PM -
NEW ENGLAND: 1
COLORADO: 1
End of Regulation
Oct 3 10:56 PM -
MLS UPDATE
NEW ENGLAND 1
COLORADO 1
COLORADO PENALTY GOAL: Conor Casey in the 58th minute
Oct 3 10:24 PM -
NEW ENGLAND: 1
COLORADO: 0
Halftime
Oct 3 9:56 PM -
MLS UPDATE
NEW ENGLAND 1
COLORADO 0
NEW ENGLAND GOAL: Kheli Dube in the 29th minute
Oct 3 9:38 PM
