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Sealy's goal lifts Wizards over Rapids

Apr 6, 2008 - 12:41 AM By Marc Bowman PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Ticker) -- Scott Sealy broke a tie game with a goal in the 87th minute to lead the Kansas City Wizards past the Colorado Rapids, 3-2, on Saturday.

The Wizards (2-0-0) became the first team in MLS this year to win two games in defeating the Rapids (1-1-0) for the first time since 2006.

Sealy's deciding goal came on a restart outside the box. Jack Jewsbury deflected the ball back to Sealy, who used a left-footed shot to slide the ball into the left corner past Rapids goalkeeper Buona Coundoul.

"Jack played a very good ball," Sealy said. "As a forward you want to find good spots and I was there. I was fortunate the ball came right to me. That's the game sometimes. The first two (opportunities) didn't work out but the third one happened to go in and tonight it was the game-winner."

"We've got a great group of forwards," Jewsbury said. "We're even more versatile than last year. We gave up two goals but getting that third goal helps keep us going."

After a scoreless first half, Kansas City captain Jimmy Conrad scored his first goal June 25, 2006.

Carlos Marinelli centered the ball on a restart to Conrad, who headed the ball over Coundoul from the top of the box in the 52nd minute.

Two minutes later, Marinelli connected with Conrad again, this time on a corner kick which Conrad headed into the left side of the net.

"When everyone makes their runs it causes traffic and creates some space for me," Conrad said. "I don't want to say it confuses the defense, but it makes for different runs. It's different than last year when we were more one-dimensional.

"Once teams learned how we scored they could stop us. Now we want to make sure our opponents know we can score a lot of different ways."

It was Marinelli's first multi-assist game since joining the Wizards in 2007.

"Carlos puts a nice dip on his passes," Conrad said. "You don't have to do a lot to get them going towards the goal, but I think I got a little help from the defender on the first one."

Former Wizard Jose Burciaga Jr. - who spent the first seven years of MLS career in Kansas City - got one back for the Rapids three minutes later with a right-footer past a diving Kevin Hartman.

"It was perfect timing," Burciaga said. "I came into space on the side and Colin (Clark) played a good ball. I hit it low and hard. I think it got us going."

"Jose's going to hit it hard," Hartman said. "We know he's got that ability. He's one of those players who is a definite threat offensively and also plays well on defense."

Colorado tied the score in the 68th minute. After a corner kick, Omar Cummings found John DiRaimondo, who hammered a shot into the lower left corner of the net to knot the score at 2-2.

"It was a corner kick that popped out to me and I was lucky to get it," DiRaimondo said. "Even when we were down 2-0 we had confidence that if we stuck with it we could come back. It was a good goal, but giving up that third one ruined it."

"It was like two different teams," Hartman said. "After we got the two goals we got too complacent and then we had to turn it back on again."

The Rapids had a last-ditch shot to tie the score but Omar Cummings rattled a shot off the right post toward the end of regulation time.

"Down 2-0 and to come back and tie it is amazing," Burciaga said. "But we've got to do a lot better at the end. We've got to be more disciplined on the road. We've got a young team and we're going to learn from this."