In a stifling afternoon game, Colorado split the points with visiting Dallas and completed a winless July.

Colorado manages a tie with visiting Kansas City, remaining winless since the World Cup break, and slipping further behind in the Western Conference.

A sublime moment turned a night of soccer drudgery into a Colorado Rapids win as two unlikely heroes connected. The Rapids head to the break in third in the conference and riding a stifling defense.

None of the Colorado Rapids were included on Bob Bradley’s preliminary roster for the World Cup. And, while personally painful, that’s probably good news for the Rapids.

Colorado couldn’t quite connect as the Rapids fell to San Jose 1-0 on Saturday night.

Road wins and Pablo Mastroeni goals, once rare occurences for the Rapids, are suddenly coming into vogue.
The team captain, who went more than four years between goals before scoring in ’09, delivered a 73rd minute dagger Saturday that propelled Colorado to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution. Mastroeni’s goal came eight months after he scored against Chivas USA on Aug. 8, 2009.
With the road win, the Rapids moved to 3-1-1 (10 points) and second place in the West. New England fell to 2-3-0 (6 points).
In three road games …

Hopes for gathering two road wins in the first two games of the season proved futile for the Rapids as the team fell to the host Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Saturday night.

Omar Cummings delivered a historic goal as the Rapids won an opening game on the road for the first time in club history. Prior to beating Chivas USA 1-0 on Friday night, the Rapids were a dismal 2-10-2 in season openers.

As the season nears, here’s a look at some possibilities and a few concerns for the Colorado Rapids 2010 season.

Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney has chosen Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni for his all-decade U.S. men’s national team. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ ColoradoSoccerNow.com)