BURN DROPS 2-1 DECISION TO COLUMBUS

Dallas Falls Despite Outshooting Crew 27-4

DALLAS  - The Dallas Burn, despite playing the entire second half with a man advantage, dropped a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Crew tonight at the Cotton Bowl. After both teams battled to a 1-1 tie late in the second half, the Burn (6-6-1, 19 points) seemed to catch a major break in the 44^th minute as Jeff Cunningham was ejected from the match for stepping on Burn defender Ryan Suarez's head following a foul.  It was Columbus, however, that made the most of their opportunity in the second half, striking for the game-winner in the 54^th minute.  Tenywa Bonseu sent a long ball from midfield to Brian West at the right of the penalty box.  West did a brilliant job of bringing the ball down with his chest and taking it into the right side of the box before burying a left-footer to the near post.  The Burn, which outshot the Crew 24-7 for the game and 13-1 in the second half, were unable to find the equalizer as Columbus often had all 11 men behind the ball in order to protect the lead.

Dallas opened the scoring in the 19^th minute of the match with the Big Three all factoring in on the goal.  Bobby Rhine intercepted a poor Columbus clearance at the top of the box and dribbled into the right side of the box.  Rhine's cross hit Jason Kreis in front of the goal but Kreis' shot was blocked by a Crew defender.  The rebound went directly to Ariel Graziani, who one-timed a left-footer to the left side of the goal.  Columbus evened the score in the 30^th minute after Jorge Rodriguez fouled Jeff Cunningham to the left of the penalty box.  On the ensuing free kick, John Wilmar Perez sent a short kick to the edge of the six-yard box.  Mike Lapper beat Burn defender Eric Dade to the ball and headed into the left side of the goal for a 1-1 lead at the half.

"Clearly we've lost some bad games at home this year," said Burn Head Coach Mike Jeffries  "but this has to be the worst.  Presthus came up big the times he had to and I give him a lot of credit."

        The Burn returns to MLS action this Saturday, June 30 at 3:00 p.m. vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy in a game televised nationally on ESPN.  Following that match, at approximately 6:00 p.m., Mexican First Division teams UNAM Pumas will square off against Tigres in an exhibition match

                        1       2       F
1       1       2      
1       0       1      

SCORING SUMMARY:
DAL - Graziani - 4 (Kreis - 7, Rhine - 6) - 19^th minute
CLB - Lapper - 1 (Perez - 6) - 30^th minute
CLB - West - 3 (Bonseu - 2, Lapper - 2) - 54^th minute

Cautions:
DAL - Broome - 88^th minute (Tripping)
CLB - Lapper - 91+ (Delay of Game)

Ejections:
CLB - Cunningham - 44^th minute (Violent Conduct)

Attendance: 10,940

Referee: Michael Kennedy        Referee's Assistants: George Gansner, Richard Huber