Offense awakens as Rapids make Open Cup quarterfinals

Pat Rooney, Special To The Rocky

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

COMMERCE CITY - By the Colorado Rapids' standards, it almost qualified as a bona fide goal-scoring explosion.

Shaking off the doldrums of an eight-game winless streak during which it had scored three goals, the Rapids received one goal and one assist from midfielder Jose Cancela and forward Herculez Gomes in a 3-1 victory against the California Victory in a U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

The Rapids advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will play in early August against the winner of next week's match between CD Chivas USA and the Seattle Sounders.

The San Francisco-based Victory, which plays in the United Soccer League, made Rapids fans nervous by pulling to one goal in the 79th minute, but a late Gomez-to- Omar Cummings goal iced the win and allowed the Rapids to avoid the upset.

"These (Open Cup) games can lift you or sink you," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "If we would have lost this game, realistically, it would have been hard to get them up. But it was good to score three goals. We haven't scored three goals in a long time."

In 17 MLS matches and an Open Cup qualifier this season, the Rapids had scored two goals only three times and had not scored three goals since a double- overtime game in the Western Conference semifinals last season.

The Rapids will disperse for the All-Star break before reconvening for a July 22 match at Kansas City. By then, several injured regulars should be available and Clavijo hopes the momentum from Tuesday's effort can be maintained.

"It got to the point where it was frustrating for everybody," Clavijo said. "We managed to put a couple goals away and create some chances. It was a good win."

Cancela took advantage of a free kick from just beyond the circle in the 22nd minute, curling in a goal to give the Rapids a 1-0 edge.

Gomez, who played all 90 minutes after a personal appeal to the coaching staff so he could try to regain his scoring touch, headed in a Cancela cross in the 50th minute to put the Rapids up 2-0.

"I think we all wanted to come out here and prove something," Gomez said. "We all played with a little bit of a fire underneath us."

Rapids 3, Victory 1

Goals - Colo, Cancela (unassisted), 22; Colo, Gomez (Cancela), 50; Cali, Epitie (unassisted), 79; Colo, Cummings (Gomez), 89.

Shots on goal - Cali, 0-3-3; Colo, 4-3-7. Goalies - Cali (Reed 4 saves); Colo (Thornton 2 saves). Corner kicks - Cali, 1-2-3; Colo, 2-4-6. Yellow cards - Beckerman, Colo, Beckerman 11; Cali, Schwarze 21.

MLS All-Stars

Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni will make his sixth consecutive appearance in the game July 19 after being among the seven reserve selections Tuesday. The MLS All-Star roster (Top XI players in bold):

• GOALKEEPERS

Matt Reis, New England

Kevin Hartman, Kansas City

• DEFENDERS

Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA

Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City

Michael Parkhurst, New England

Eddie Pope, Real Salt Lake

• MIDFIELDERS

Ricardo Clark, Houston Dynamo

Dwayne De Rosario, Houston

Christian Gomez, D.C. United

Shalrie Joseph, New England

Juan Toja, Dallas

Pablo Mastroeni, Rapids

Cobi Jones, Los Angeles

Ronnie O'Brien, Toronto

• FORWARDS

Juan Pablo Angel, New York

Eddie Johnson, Kansas City

Brian Ching, Houston

Landon Donovan, Los Angeles

• THE GAME

When: 7 p.m. July 19.

Where: Dick's Sporting Goods Park (18,000 capacity), Commerce City.

Format: MLS All-Stars vs. Celtic FC, Scottish champion and 2007 UEFA champion.

Tickets: Fewer than 1,000 remain. Cost: Endline, $40; corner flag, $50; premium, $55; VIP, $60. Available at Ticket Horse.com (or 866-461-6556) or at the stadium box office.

TV: ESPN2.