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MLS News Highlights - Page 2

© Corey Arnold

The Kansas City Wizards fell to F.C. Belenenses 3-2 on the 27th in Portugal, marking the Wizards first loss in another country over the last seven games, dating back to last year's trip to Bolivia (1-0-2 in Bolivia and now 2-1-1 in Portugal). F.C. Belenenses, which is currently in 6th place in the Portuguese Premiere League with a 10-5-5 record, played a mixture of players on their first team, both starters and non-starters, players coming off injuries and a few B-team players.

The San Jose Earthquakes closed out their International Spring Training Camp with a 1-1 tie against Mexican First Division powerhouse Atlas on the 27th, finishing with a record of 1-1-2. Chris Carrieri, the Earthquakes number one draft pick from the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, scored his first goal in an Earthquakes' jersey, and Joe Cannon saved the day by smothering a penalty kick late in the match.

The Chicago Fire played the Miami Fusion to a scoreless draw on the 28th in an exhibition game at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. The game marked the first meeting between the two clubs since the Fire's 2-1 victory over the Fusion in the 2000 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final at Soldier Field on Oct. 21, 2000. 2001 Chicago Fire draftee Henry Ring proved to be the difference in today's encounter. The South Carolina graduate used his 6'3, 185 lbs. frame to stop a penalty kick taken by the Fusion's top striker, Diego Serna, in the 42nd minute. The Fusion was awarded a penalty kick after Fusion forward Pete Marino was taken down inside the box.

The Kansas City Wizards defeated Benfica 2-0 on March 1 in Portugal, concluding their five-game tour and finishing with a 3-1-1 record. Benfica, currently in 2nd place in the Portuguese Premiere League, and the Wizards played a tough game in a steady rain, but ultimately Kansas City bounced back from a 3-2 defeat to F.C. Belenenses on Tuesday and outplayed their Portuguese counterparts, which consisted of a mixture of A and B sided players.

The Colorado Rapids defeated Orientale of Portugal 1-0 in an exhibition match also held on the 1st. The Rapids' Junior Agogo scored in the 13th minute to lead the Rapids to a victory over the second division side looking for promotion into Portugal's Premier League. The win ran the Rapids preseason Portugal record to 4-1.

Finally, on the 2nd of March, the Miami Fusion acquired five-time MLS All-Star Preki from Kansas City for the Fusion's 2002 third round SuperDraft pick. Major League Soccer has determined that given the significance of Preki to the league and Kansas City that an allocation will be awarded to his last team upon his retirement. Miami has futher agreed that it will return this allocation to Kansas City upon Preki's retirement.

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