The USL Premier Development League has existed since 1995 as the highest amateur soccer level in the United States. The name was changed and tweaked early on but by the time the Chicago Fire entered a team into the league in 2001, it was referred to as what it is referred to today: PDL. Chicago became the first Major League Soccer team to have a PDL team thanks to support from former Fire President & General Manager Peter Wilt and the direction of current Fire Player Development Director & Consultant John Dorn.

By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Nov 3, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In the ‘regular-season wrap up' edition, Tony asks about various MLS statistical leaders, which team management is at least willing to ask questions about caliber of play, and finds a National Team alum thriving in the NASL. What players led MLS in games played this year?

Losing Conor Casey was a major blow for the Rapids in 2011. (Getty Images)

A little programming note to kick things off today. Sorry for the radio silence yesterday (except for Geoff's Champion's League previews), I was hardly even able to look at soccer stuff until late in the evening when the two MLS playoff games were on.

by Pedro Gomes
The Colorado Rapids headed into Live Strong Sporting Park to face Sporting Kansas City down 2 goals and a handful of starters. They had a difficult task ahead of them and the 18,565 fans and heavy rain were not going to make it any easier for them. Sporting got the first couple of chances in the match and in the 28' converted on one of those.

Sporting KC moved one step closer to a potential trip to LA and MLS Cup last night when they took out the Colorado Rapids at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, winning 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate. The shutout was the team's fourth straight, the most in a row since the team's run to the championship in 2000.

Sporting Kansas City hosted the Colorado Rapids on a rain-soaked pitch the second leg in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The home team did exactly what they needed to do in order to preserve their 2-0 lead from the first leg and added two insurance goals on set pieces. Colorado had a few promising moments but were unable to put any kind of sustained pressure on their opponents.

Colorado spent 3,330 minutes this season defending the 2010 MLS Cup Championship, which put the team 180 minutes shy of defending its title.

Graham Zusi provided the services in the 28th and 76th minute as Sporting Kansas City recorded another 2-0 victory over the Rapids, giving KC a 4-0 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference Semifinal.

Colorado spent 3,330 minutes this season defending the 2010 MLS Cup Championship, which put the team 180 minutes shy of defending its title.

Graham Zusi provided the services in the 28th and 76th minute as Sporting Kansas City recorded another 2-0 victory over the Rapids, giving KC a 4-0 aggregate win in the Eastern Conference Semifinal.

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson
Sporting KC took a big first step in the playoffs on Sunday night in Colorado as they took out the Rapids 2-0 in the first leg of their home and home series. With the second leg at home at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, KC is firmly in the driver's seat in the series.

Watching Major League Soccer highlights last night one might think hockey season broke out. Sporting KC's Kei Kamara mixing it up against Matt Pickens and the Colorado Rapids was the nightcap, but the undercard in the early evening proved to be the most compelling.
The American soccer world is buzzing about the post-game handbags between New York Red Bulls Rafael Marquez and LA Galaxy's Juninho.

By DAVID GUBALA

Sporting Kansas City went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal first leg looking to hopefully come away with a draw against the Colorado Rapids to send the series back to Kansas City

A nightmarish night for the Rapids helped Sporting KC return to the Midwest with so much more.

A quick turnaround for the Rapids as they are back in action tomorrow. The first leg of the conference semi-finals sees the SporKC's coming back to town. It will be the final home game of the season, no matter what happens, so let's go out with a bang. The tailgate starts at 2:30 with kickoff at 5:30.

The Colorado Rapids took the other MLS wildcard spot, beating Columbus at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. With the Colorado grounds crew needing to quickly prepare the stadium after yesterday's snow, it was the Rapids taking advantage late in the first-half with a goal from Omar Cummings. That turned out to be the game winner, with both teams pressing late.

The Colorado Rapids kick off defense of the 2010 MLS Cup tonight in conditions reminiscent of the night the team won the title in Toronto in November.

It will be chilly in Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the 8 p.m. battle with the Columbus Crew. But there will be plenty of heat on the field for the Rapids.

The Rapids start the playoffs tomorrow night at the Dick against the Columbus Crew. 4 games in the next 11 days separate them from another trip to MLS Cup. Tomorrow night its simple, win or go home. There will be 30 minutes and, if necessary, PK's to decide a winner. Of course last year when Colorado started their run to MLS Cup they did it by beating the Crew in the first round.

Tomorrow the MLS Cup playoffs kick off when New York takes on FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park. The following night Colorado takes on Columbus in Denver. So the question is, which of the 3 teams (Dallas, Colorado, Columbus) do you want to see Kansas City play on Saturday and next Wednesday in the Eastern Conference Semifinals?

The wettest fixture in the league happens tomorrow as the Whitecaps and Rapids face off in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Its also the final game in what has been a somewhat soggy season for the Rapids. Colorado has clinched a playoff spot though, and with a win they will clinch home field for the wild-card round.

Tomorrow its on. Rapids - FSL with the Rocky Mountain Cup on the line! Need I say more?
OK, I will, but only because the tailgate is almost as impressive as the game. About 5 hours from now the crack Class VI/Pid Army chefs will be arriving at the Dick to start the grill on the biggest tailgate they've ever done, a full pig roast!

Sorry for the double pun. ;) Saturday night a solid game from Colorado resulted in a much needed 3 points. Much like MLS Cup (but not quite as bad) the game wasn't pretty but it was successful.
The Rapids had the better of the play for most of the first half, punctuated by 2 shots on goal between the 23rd and 26th minute.

The Saturday night showdown between FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids was not so much a rematch of the 2010 MLS Cup as it was a desperate 90 minutes for two teams stumbling toward the playoffs.

Colorado came in winless in its last five MLS matches (0-3-2) and Dallas arrived on a string of getting shutout in three straight matches.

The Saturday night showdown between FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids was not so much a rematch of the 2010 MLS Cup as it was a desperate 90 minutes for two teams stumbling toward the playoffs.

Colorado came in winless in its last five MLS matches (0-3-2) and Dallas arrived on a string of getting shutout in three straight matches.

photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com

If the Colorado Rapids entered their game against FC Dallas hoping to close the gap in the standings between the two teams, it was a mission accomplished.

Colorado defeated FC Dallas 1-0 at Dicks Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night on a headed goal from Drew Moor in the first half.

"No disrespect to the Eastern Conference, but tonight was the championship" -- Dallas defensive midfielder Daniel Hernandez after winning the Western Conference Championship in 2010
I just wanted to throw that in as a "friendly" reminder about our guests tomorrow. I expect him to get the official Class VI welcome for 90 minutes!

The Colorado Rapids looked like a team raising the white flag and giving up on the CONCACAF Champions League when they fielded a reserve team in a must-win game against Salvadoran side Isidro Metapan.

At least that was the initial impression. The Rapids reserves had other plans.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

The Colorado Rapids could advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League by winning both of their last two group matches. Even so, it looks like club is throwing in the towel on its tournament run.

Colorado sent a reserve-heavy squad to face Isidro Metapan in El Salvador for Wednesday's match, and head coach Gary Smith didn't make the trip, either, instead leaving assistant coach Steve Guppy to handle the team.

By JOEY SAMUEL

Just when the Colorado Rapids needed a win the most to hold serve in the Western Conference playoff race, they came up short once again.

Despite a late goal off a corner kick from defender Drew Moor, the Rapids' winless streak was stretched to five games as they tied the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-1, in front of their home fans.

Teams earn a share of the points in a tie, but rarely do they toil for it like the Colorado Rapids did on Saturday night.

The record book will show that Chris Wondolowski scored an unassisted goal for San Jose in the 18th minute, and Drew Moor delivered an unassisted equalizer in the 71st. What the stats line will fail to show is the frenzy and oddity on display at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Teams earn a share of the points in a tie, but rarely do they toil for it like the Colorado Rapids did on Saturday night.

The record book will show that Chris Wondolowski scored an unassisted goal for San Jose in the 18th minute, and Drew Moor delivered an unassisted equalizer in the 71st. What the stats line will fail to show is the frenzy and oddity on display at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

The last time the Earthquakes were in town the Rapids sent them packing after a crazy goal by Koz and the trophy celebration to the left sent Colorado to MLS Cup. The stakes aren't quite so high tomorrow night but if the Rapids have any hopes of repeating they need to repeat the result from that night to solidify their playoff position.

Colorado Rapids have lost four straight meetings at BMO Field when playing Toronto FC and added a fifth one by losing 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

It was the stellar Dutch striker, Danny Koevermans that piled on more misery for the Colorado Rapids. Toronto FC's Designated Player showcased an impressive second half brace, scoring six goals total in seven league appearances for the club.

The last time Colorado was in Toronto they left with their first ever win at BMO Field, and more importantly, the MLS Cup! Tomorrow they try to make it two in a row North of the border. The Rapids probably need 1 more win to really assure themselves of a playoff spot and their best chances are tomorrow and next week when they host San Jose.

Every week the New England Soccer Today crew will look beyond the standings to rank each of the 18 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O'Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker's name and the rank they gave that team.

1.

The Colorado Rapids entered Tuesday night sitting atop their CONCACAF Champions League group with a chance to move themselves in pole position for a quarterfinal place.

Santos Laguna had other plans.

The visitors from Mexico turned Dick's Sporting Goods Park into their own personal playground, demolishing a make-shift Rapids defense with speedy wing play and precise passing on their way to a 4-1 victory.

Charlie Davies scored a hat trick, Real Salt Lake won on the road in a 10 vs 10 matchup and the Galaxy cemented their case for best team in MLS. Here's your week 26 recap from Pedro Gomes.
Philadelphia Union 4, New England Revolution 4
The New England Revolution went into PPL looking to get the win against an always boisterous 16,148 fans.

LA 1 - Colorado 0 The Los Angeles Galaxy became the first team to qualify for the 2011 playoffs, beating Colorado at the Home Depot Center on Friday night. A passing move that started with David Beckham ended with Landon Donovan beating Matt Pickens for the game's only goal in the 36th minute. Donovan Ricketts returned from a June 25th injury to get the shutout.

Over the years, the Colorado Rapids had enjoyed success against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center.

The Rapids had beaten the Galaxy in its last three visits to the stadium, with one of them being a US Open Cup match, which Colorado won in a penalty shootout. This time however, LA made sure the result was to their liking.

Landon Donovan makes the most of his play against the Rapids, and he did it again on Friday night, delivering the lone goal in the LA Galaxy's home win over Colorado.

This time, the goal came in the 36th minute as Donovan was unmarked when receiving a pass from Sean Franklin. Unlike his miss against Costa Rico on the same field in a USA friendly a week early, Donovan was clinical.

Landon Donovan makes the most of his play against the Rapids, and he did it again on Friday night, delivering the lone goal in the LA Galaxy's home win over Colorado.

This time, the goal came in the 36th minute as Donovan was unmarked when receiving a pass from Sean Franklin. Unlike his miss against Costa Rico on the same field in a USA friendly a week early, Donovan was clinical.

The Rapids come off their two week break with a trip to LA to face the Galaxy. It wasn't all rest though as Ceus, Cummings, Larentowicz, and Nyassi played for their National Teams. Ceus and Cummings got 2 full games, while Nyassi only had one and Larentowicz was on the bench for one and got 15 minutes in the second.

The Rapids traveled to Chicago on Saturday, but everyone might have been better served by Colorado forfeiting the game and staying home for the rest. A 2-0 loss where Colorado was outplayed and out-hustled all night wasn't any better than the 3-0 forfeit score line and added rest would have been.
I'd break down the play and the goals, but honestly they're what you would expect for a tried Mile High Club.