Colorado Searches for Rapid Recovery in Playoffs

Four hundred and ninety-nine minutes.

That’s how long it has been since the Colorado Rapids scored a goal.

If the Galaxy can extend that Major League Soccer record for futility by 90 more minutes today at the Rose Bowl, the team should almost be assured of winning Game 1 in the best-of-three, first-round playoff series.

But Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid cautions against undue optimism in the face of Colorado’s woes. Scoring droughts have a habit of ending suddenly, and Schmid knows that, in Swedish midfielder Andres Limpar, the Rapids have a player who can make it rain goals.

“They rarely had Limpar [in the lineup recently because of injury] and when they got him back he got red-carded, so he was out again,” Schmid said. “I think with Limpar in they become a much different team.

“I know it’s a cliche that for the playoffs you can throw all the records out. But the point is, Limpar has marvelous ability to do unexpected things and it certainly changes the approach of their team and the complexion of their team.

“On the other hand, they’re a team that we feel we match up well with. We owe them a little bit. We took two 1-0 losses up there in Colorado. We feel confident in our ability to play against them.”

That confidence was boosted considerably by a 4-0 victory over the Rapids at the Rose Bowl last month. After that loss, Rapid Coach Glenn Myernick called his team “sloppy” and “reckless.”

Goal-less would be more like it.

Nineteen games into the season, the Rapids were 14-5 and securely in first place in the Western Conference. The team that finished runner-up to Washington D.C. United in 1997 appeared on course for another strong run through the playoffs.

Then the sky fell.

Colorado (20-12) went 6-7 the rest of the way and wound up fourth. The Rapids failed to score in 10 of the last 13 games and were shut out in their last five matches.

That has left players shaking their heads.

“The pressure of people saying we can’t score goals puts more pressure on our forwards,” defender Marcelo Balboa told the Denver Post.

“I’ve spent a lot of sleepless nights,” forward Paul Bravo told the Rocky Mountain News. “I go home and think about the game over and over and over. My teammates depend on me to score goals, and it kills me from the inside.

“Things are bound to turn around. Every team in the league has gone through bad spells. I don’t think it’s a lack of energy. I don’t think we’re a bad team . . . but every minute that goes by without us scoring chips away at our confidence.”

Dan Counce, Colorado’s general manager, said the unavailability of key players plagued the team during the latter half of the season.

“That’s been a big part of our demise--guys going out with injuries and guys going to the U.S. national team,” he told the Post. “Some games we have missed up to six starters. Being undermanned has drained us physically and mentally. I don’t want to use that as a crutch, but we finally have everybody back, and I think we’ll begin playing like we’re capable of [playing].”

The Rapids are at full strength for today’s game. So is the Galaxy (20-12), which also stumbled near the finish line before winning the conference title. It went 2-3 in its last five games.

“We hit a couple of bumps in the road, but those were all games that were important to us in terms of learning,” Schmid said. “I’d rather take a few losses at the end of the season and learn from them so that we can avoid those situations in the playoffs.”

Complicating matters for Colorado is the presence of Kevin Hartman in the Galaxy nets, behind the stingiest defense in MLS.

The Galaxy gave up a league-low 29 goals in the regular season, becoming the first team in league history to yield less than a goal a game. Hartman led the league with a 0.91 goals-against average and 11 shutouts.

Trying to break open that defensive wall will be the 34-year-old Limpar’s responsibility.

“He’s our playmaker and he has not been with us for a long stretch. We need him to create things in the middle,” Myernick said.

If Limpar can provide the ammunition, forwards Bravo, Jorge Dely Valdes and Wolde Harris should manage a few shots on goal this time around. Colorado got none in its last game at the Rose Bowl.

“These guys were lighting it up earlier this season,” Balboa told the Post. “It’s rare for three forwards to hit a drought at once. But I guess that’s soccer.”