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Colorado aims to end Philadelphia's unbeaten run

Jul 28, 2011 - 9:28 PM Chester, PA (Sports Network) - The Colorado Rapids and Philadelphia Union each had one player representing their clubs at the Major League Soccer All-Star Game on Wednesday.

Those two players have shifted their focus from the carnival-like atmosphere surrounding the game against Manchester United and back to the MLS regular season ahead of their match Friday at PPL Park.

Omar Cummings of the Rapids and Faryd Mondragon of the Union were both named in the starting eleven for the All-Star game, and Cummings acknowledges his excitement when he got the nod.

"I looked around and saw myself on the field with Omar Bravo and Thierry Henry lined up as the forwards, with David Beckham behind us," Cummings told the club's website. "It was pretty exciting."

Mondragon enjoyed himself as well, but recognized that he was immediately ready to move on and focus on Friday's tilt with the Rapids.

"This nice party is over," Mondragon said after Wednesday's match. "And now I'm thinking about Friday because it's a very important game."

The Union enter the match with 31 points on the season, tying them with the Columbus Crew for first place in the Eastern Conference despite playing two less games than the Crew.

In its last regular season match, Philadelphia defeated the struggling New England Revolution 3-0 in a dominating performance at Gillette Stadium on July 17th.

With that result, the Union have put together an impressive five-match unbeaten run to stay atop the Eastern Conference standings. They are 2-0-3 in that stretch.

Colorado finished the first half of the season with a 4-1 thrashing of Red Bull New York and 2-2 draw with the Revolution, both played at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Over the past six regular season matches, the Rapids have gone 2-1-3, keeping them in fifth place in the Western Conference standings with 31 points on the season.

When the Rapids and the Union met earlier this season on June 4th, Conor Casey and Danny Mwanga exchanged goals four minutes apart in the second half, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

A Colorado win would see the club move up to fourth place in the West, while a Philadelphia win would give the Union a three-point cushion atop the East as Columbus are set to play Saturday.