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Crew ready to roll against Rapids

Fri 25th, July 2008

Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - The second-place Columbus Crew will be hoping to close the gap on Eastern Conference leaders New England on Sunday when they kick off the second half of the season at Dick's Sporting Goods Park against the Colorado Rapids.

The Crew has been one of the surprise packages in Major League Soccer over the first half of the season, and they can move to within two points of the first- place Revolution with a win.

Head coach Sigi Schmid's side has won only one of its last four games, but they did well to come away with a draw in their last contest against Kansas City after falling behind by two goals.

"It was a good game for the fans, an exciting game," Schmid said. "I think in the first half, we had the better of the game, except for those five minutes where we gave up two goals. The first one was a little unfortunate; the second was a matter of being caught unaware. We did a great job in fighting back and taking a 3-2 lead."

Despite allowing the Wizards to snatch a draw with a second-half goal, Schmid still had to be encouraged by the fact that his team has been able to find the back of the net on a consistent basis since being held scoreless in four straight games.

The Crew has tallied 13 times in its last six match, but the attack will be weakened over the next six weeks by the absences of winger Robbie Rogers and midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo, who will be playing for the United States and Nigeria respectively in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The duo has combined for seven goals and two assists this season, and their absence will put even more pressure on Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno.

The Rapids will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to Columbus on June 28 in the first meeting between these two teams. Since that loss, Colorado is unbeaten in its last three games, and despite sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference, the team is just three points behind conference-leading Real Salt Lake.

The West has been wide open throughout the season, and the Rapids will have a chance to put themselves in the middle of the race if they are able to piece together a few wins. The club will play its next three games on home soil, giving them a chance to continue picking up points.

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