KANSAS CITY - Jimmy Conrad headed home a brace and substitute Scott Sealy scored in the 87th minute to lead the Kansas City Wizards to a 3-2 victory over the suddenly dangerous Colorado Rapids at Community America Ballpark.

The two teams combined for five second half goals after a first period that saw only two shots on goal. Conrad scored twice off set pieces within two minutes, but goals from former Wizard Jose Burciaga Jr. and John DiRaimondo evened the score at twos before Sealy stole the points. The Wizards have claimed all six points after two matches and sit atop Major League Soccer.

"Quite frankly, it was kind of what we expected in the first half," Wizard's coach Curt Onalfo told reporters about the sluggish start. "We knew when the sun is out and the field isn't wet, that it's kind of a slow surface."

"It's a tough surface to play quickly. We knew they were going to drop numbers behind the ball and make it very difficult on us, and that's basically what they did. It took us awhile to find a rhythm."

The Rapids dominated a slow first half from the start with opportunities coming almost immediately. Omar Cummings, Burciaga Jr. and Christian Gomez all missed chances in the first 10 minutes before the Wizards even got a sniff at goal.

Cummings had the Rapid's first opportunity only 30 seconds from kickoff after clever footwork by Colin Clark drew the game's first corner. The ensuing kick deflected to Cummings, but his looping volley sailed over the crossbar.

Then, in the second minute, Burciaga Jr. hit a powerful drive from about 25 yards out that Hartman handled easily.

Gomez pulled the strings offensively for Colorado, while fellow Argentines Claudio Lopez and Carlos Marinelli did the same for Kansas City.

Lopez was Kansas City's only consistent threat in the first half as Colorado's five-man midfield forced the Wizards to resort to hopeful long balls against the wind. El Piojo first made his presence felt in the 17th minute after Marinelli's pass found him behind the Rapid's back line, but Bouna Coundoul was quick off his line to punch the ball away.

"Lopez helps us in so many ways that the casual observer probably doesn't see," said Onalfo. "Just in terms of how he moves defensively and helps keep us organized up top."

Kansas City and Colorado traded half chances over the remainder of a rough period in which the teams combined for 13 fouls. The teams entered the locker room scoreless, but that didn't hold long after the intermission.

The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute when Michael Harrington drew a foul just outside Colorado's penalty area. Marinelli's inswinger found Conrad, who sent a powerful header past the hopeless Coundoul.

Just two minutes later, Marinelli delivered another superb ball from a corner kick that the Wizards captain bounced into net to open a two-nil advantage.

The goal is the first time the Wizards have scored on a corner kick since Onalfo took the reins more before last season.

"It's something that was one of our goals at the beginning of this season, just to be more dangerous on these kinds of things," Conrad told American Soccer Daily. "Carlos served a great ball in, and I think we are making good, firm runs."

The Rapids wasted no time chipping away at the advantage as the match began to open up. Only three minutes after Conrad's second tally, Burciaga gave Wizards fans a reminder of why he was voted MLS Best XI in 2006.

After a scrum outside the box, the ball kicked out to Clark, who slipped an unmarked Burciaga through on goal. His low blast beat Kevin Hartman to the near post and pulled Colorado to within one with 33 minutes to play.

"I just wanted to get it on target and make Kevin make a save," Burciaga told reporters. "Luckily, I hit it low enough and hard enough that it went in."

The Rapids immediately began pushing forward looking for an equalizer, and Gomez narrowly missed with another shot from distance. The equalizer eventually came in the 68th minute when DiRaimondo pounced on a loose ball after Kansas City failed to clear a Colorado corner.

It marked the first career goal for the midfielder after shining with the Rapids' reserve team last season - but it wouldn't be enough to earn the point.

Onalfo took a calculated risk with just under 10 minutes to play when he removed defender Tyson Wahl in favor of the attack minded Eloy Columbano. His entry created a sense of urgency for the Wizards and fellow substitute Scott Sealy sent the Kansas City fans into a fervor when he stabbed home after corralling Jack Jewsbury's low, driven cross.

"My job today was to come off the bench and provide energy," Sealy told ASD. "We were tied 2-2 and my job was to find a goal. Tonight, I was able to do that."

The victory leaves Kansas City atop MLS with the New England Revolution coming to CAB this Wednesday. Colorado will have a week off before traveling to Foxboro to face the Revolution.

ASD's Three Stars
#1 Jimmy Conrad
#2 Scott Sealy
#3 Carlos Marinelli

Scoring

KC - Jimmy Conrad 1 (Carlos Marinelli) 52'
KC - Jimmy Conrad 2 (Carlos Marinelli) 54'
COL - Jose Burciaga Jr. 1 (Colin Clark) 57'
COL - John DiRaimondo 1 (Omar Cummings) 68'
KC - Scott Sealy 1 (Jack Jewsbury) 87'

Line-ups
KC - Kevin Hartman; Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad, Tyson Wahl, Michael Harrington, Jack Jewsbury, Carlos Marinelli, Kerry Zavagnin, Ryan Pore (Kurt Morsink 46'), Claudio Lopez, Ivan Trujillo (Scott Sealy 71')

COL - Bouna Coundoul; Kosuke Kimura, Facundo Erpen, Stephen Keel, Jose Burciaga Jr., Terry Cooke, John DiRaimondo, Christian Gomez, Nick LaBrocca (Herculez Gomez 64'), Colin Clark (Pablo Mastroeni 64'), Omar Cummings