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Johnson continues torrid scoring pace in tie with Rapids

Jul 23, 2007 - 4:11 AM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Eddie Johnson continues to show why he is the most prolific scorer in the MLS.

Johnson scored twice in the first half as the Kansas City Wizards played the Colorado Rapids to a 2-2 tie on Sunday.

The MLS scoring leader with 12 goals in 11 games, Johnson has found the back of the net in four straight games and has accounted for all of the Wizards' scoring since returning from international duty July 14.

"It is always nice to score two goals in a game," Johnson said. "But when you don't win, it takes that feeling away a little. This was an emotional game and I am an emotional player, but now we have to learn from this and prepare for the next game. Every game matters and we will continue to work hard and not give up."

Johnson tallied the game's first goal in the 23rd minute, taking a crossing pass from Davy Arnaud and putting a first-touch right-footer past Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Shortly after scoring, he realized he had injured his left calf and was eventually taken off the field by stretcher, but he missed only six minutes while the Wizards played shorthanded.

"We always look to push forward and attack as a team," Johnson said. "Tonight, we did that well even when we were a man down."

After Jovan Kirovski tied the game on a penalty kick in the 42nd minute, Johnson put the Wizards back ahead, 2-1, taking a rebound off a shot by Arnaud and knocking it back in from five yards out in the 43rd minute.

However, the Rapids tied the game at 2-2 in the 77th minute when Facundo Erpen headed in a corner kick from Terry Cooke.

"I realized he was trying for the near post," Erpen said of Cooke's pass. "I was happy to get to the ball and tie the game. We were losing, 2-1, but we kept pushing forward and found the goal."

The two goals by Colorado marked the first time since April 30 that it had scored more than one goal in a match, not to mention halting its recent woes. The Rapids had only scored one goal in the last six games combined.

"If you look at our history in the league, that's how it has been," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "Right now, we have some (scoring) issues. We're happy to put those away. We needed to get a result against a strong team and we did."

Despite the tie, the Rapids remain winless since May 26, having lost six of nine games and scoring five four goals over that nine-game span. Kirovski's first-half goal was the first tally since June 28 for the Rapids, who are just 1-0-3 over the four-game stretch despite shutting out their opponents twice in that stretch.

The match was physical from the start - leading to a total of 32 fouls - including 20 called on the Rapids that contributed to three Kansas City players leaving the field due to injuries. In all, eight yellow cards and one ejection were handed out to both teams.

"With each minute, the officials lost more control of the match," Kansas City coach Curt Odolfo said. "It was obvious that their (the Rapids) intent was to come out and be disruptive. The referee had no clue about that. He blew it."

"The game got chippy from the get-go," Wizards defenseman Jose Burciaga Jr. said. "We had all the injuries and they get all the calls. We need more experienced referees in the middle. These refs let it get out of hand. It got away from them."

Kansas City players and coaches voiced their disapproval throughout the contest. Two of the yellow cards were issued for "game disrepute."

"It's frustrating," Arnaud said. "There were a lot of decisions and it seemed like everything went their way tonight."