Denver, Colorado- The Colorado State Rams will enter the MCLA tournament as the #14 seed, which means they will have another shot against #3 seed Chapman in the opening round of the playoffs.  They will face-off at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

“We are very excited to be given the opportunity to play in the MCLA Tournament at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park,” commented assistant coach Alex Smith.  “It’s in our back yard, so we are hoping to get some good fan support on Tuesday.”

The first time these teams met earlier in the season, Chapman handed Colorado State their first blow-out loss of 2009 after they won 15-5 over the since struggling Rams.  In that game, Chapman brought speed and a pace to the game the Rams were unexpectant of, and, perhaps, unprepared for.  Although they will head into the game next Tuesday with more of an understanding of what Chapman will bring to the table, Colorado State will have their work cut out for them.

“Chapman has obviously shown that they are an excellent team,” said Smith.  “They have so many offensive weapons that you really have to pick your poison.  I’m glad we get another chance against them because we really let them run all over us last time and our guys would like to show that we are simply a better team than that.”

The level of competition the playoffs offer will be nothing new to the Rams.  Colorado State has faced 13 of the top 25 teams in the MCLA to make their’s one of the toughest, if not the toughest, schedules in the nation.  Every team they lost to has earned a spot in the tournament.

The Rams will have something on their side, however; for the first time the MCLA tournament will be held in Denver, so it will be sort of a home field, or home state if you will, advantage.

“It’s cool that the tourney will be held in Denver for the first time ever and we will get the chance to be a part of it.  Dick’s is a great venue and it should be a perfect showcase for our league.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is home of the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS), and is comprised of 24 fields in addition to the 18,000 seat stadium.  It is located in Commerce City, just 9 miles northeast of Downtown Denver, near the intersection of I-25 and Quebec Street.  The complete bracket and game schedules can be found at: http://mcla.us/national_tournament/2009_denver/brackets/DIV_I/.