By Ridge Mahoney, senior editor

LOSS LEADER: The Quakes have the best record in the league (13-8-3, 42 points) despite their pathetic road mark, which dropped to 2-8-2 with a 3-0 loss to Colorado.

Last year, San Jose was 5-5-3 on the road during the regular season and won two of three playoff games away from Spartan Stadium.

No MLS team has won the league title while compiling an away mark of below .500.

Two champions — D.C. United in 1999 (13-3) and Kansas City in 2000 (5-3-8) — posted the best away records in the league that year. Two others — D.C. United in 1996 (11-5) and Chicago in 1998 (13-3) — had the second-best road marks.

But San Jose is not the league's worst road team. That distinction belongs to D.C. United, which dropped to 0-9-3 away from RFK by losing to the Metros, 1-0, and is just two games away from becoming the first MLS team to go winless on the road for an entire season.

New England came closest last year with a 1-9-4 road record and several teams have won only twice in a season.

EX-QUAKES ROCK: The Quakes traded Chris Carrieri, their No. 1 pick in the 2001 SuperDraft, to Colorado in the middle of last season and he's responded with that second opportunity.

Carrieri scored his 10th goal of the season to open the scoring in the Rapids' win and he's tied with teammate Chris Henderson for 10th in the league scoring charts with 25 points. Another former Quake, keeper David Kramer, got the shutout.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Metros' stoppage-time winner that downed D.C., 1-0, pushed Kansas City into the role of most vulnerable team.

New England (25 points) trails both the Metros and the Wizards by seven points for the final playoff spot, but Kansas City has only three games remaining while the other two teams each have five left to play, including two against each other.

MARKSMEN: Clint Mathis scored his first league goal for the Metros in nearly four months. His last MLS goal had been on April 27 against San Jose.

Jason Kreis has scored only one goal since the Fourth of July, but it was his pass that set up Bobby Rhine to score in overtime as the Burn downed Los Angeles, 1-0, to take back second place in the Western Conference.

Also on the assist list was Andy Williams. He picked up his 13th of the season — a career best — with a pass to Rodrigo Faria, who set up Mathis.

BEST GOALS: It was a simple putaway for Mathis, but the Metros' winner was a product of aggressive team play in stoppage time.

Craig Ziadie won the ball from Bobby Convey in his own half of the field and passed to Andy Williams, who pushed it forward and then sent it up the left wing.

Faria ran onto the ball, pulled it back to evade Eddie Pope, and sent it across the goalmouth for Mathis to tuck away at the far post.

Wolde Harris scored New England's first goal in a 2-1 win over Chicago with a vicious left-footed volley.

BEST SAVES: Nick Rimando saved a penalty from Mamadou Diallo in the D.C.-Metros game and counterpart Tim Howard denied Eddie Pope from point-blank range with a spectacular reflex save.