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Rapids-Toronto FC Preview

Jul 9, 2010 - 9:10 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Colorado (6-3-4) at Toronto FC (5-4-4), 12:00 p.m. EDT

One has to go back to early June to find the last time either the Colorado Rapids or Toronto FC came away with anything but a draw.

Both teams are counting on at least one point Saturday afternoon.

The league's lone Canadian team hasn't lost in seven games and is undefeated in its last 14 at BMO Field, facing a Rapids team hoping to extend its unbeaten run to seven.

Both Colorado (6-3-4) and Toronto (5-4-4) have played three consecutive draws, with TFC's ties coming in the first three games of a four-match homestand.

While failing to come away with a win isn't entirely satisfying, Toronto has picked up at least a point in its past seven contests. Defender Dan Gargan's equalizer in the 84th minute July 1 against Houston ensured a 1-all draw, extending TFC's unbeaten streak at BMO Field to 14 games (9-0-5) since June 6, 2009.

Gargan's goal was Toronto's first in three games.

"(It was) a crazy game," coach Preki said of a match that saw two TFC players sent off. "I thought we created enough in the first half and the second half to get a goal. We got a goal down, but we showed a lot of character and mentality to come back."

Toronto won't have midfielders Julian de Guzman or Amadou Sanyang after both were shown red cards against the Dynamo, but it may have a solution to its offensive woes. The team signed two forwards this week - Spanish striker Mista, who played with de Guzman at Deportivo de La Coruna, and Brazilian Maicon Santos, who played under Preki at Chivas USA last season before being released by that club earlier in the week.

Preki is hopeful one of the two can give Toronto another option up front alongside Dwayne De Rosario, who is third in the league with eight goals.

One of those came April 18 at Colorado, but De Rosario was upstaged by Conor Casey, who scored twice in the Rapids' 3-1 win. Casey, who played two games for Toronto in 2007, has scored in each of Colorado's last three games against TFC.

He scored in the Rapids' draws at Chicago on June 9 and Houston on June 26, then set up Omar Cummings on Sunday against New York. Colorado could again only manage one point, settling for a 1-1 draw.

The Rapids have lost all three visits to Toronto and won't have midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy for this trip to Canada due to the Moroccan's immigration problems. Even without one of the team's more creative players, defender Drew Moor is optimistic Colorado can pick up a victory in one of the league's most hostile environments.

"We want to take the game to other teams," Moor told the league's official website. "We are not going in looking for one point, we are looking for three."