First place.

That's right.

One of the most forlorn franchises in league history can vault itself to the top of the MLS Western Conference standings for the first time ever - if only for a few days - if it can reprise the season-ending victory that satisfyingly kept their bitter rivals out of the playoffs last season.

"It's something big for this club," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said, "and we feel they're a team we can beat."

The teams have been rivals ever since RSL won its first game against the Rapids three years ago, and the simmering animosity boiled over when Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni notoriously taunted RSL fans and engaged a screaming match with owner Dave Checketts after a Rapids victory in 2006.

A member of the Rapids before being traded to RSL last summer, Beckerman believes the rivalry has calmed down somewhat since then - if only because RSL is loaded with so many new players (though one of them, defender Nat Borchers, played for the Rapids for three seasons until 2005). But that has hardly dampened his own desire to prove a point to the coach who traded him for midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy, who has played only nine minutes in one game for the Rapids this season.

"It's definitely in my mind that I used to play there," Beckerman said. "So now I'd like to . . . get a win over that coach every time."

While 2-3-2 RSL is hoping to snap its three-game road losing streak (they've allowed eight goals in that stretch), the Rapids are tied with FC Dallas for the Western Conference lead with nine points from a 3-4-0 record. They're a more potent team than last season after trading for 2006 Most Valuable Player Chrisitan Gomez during the offseason, but still haven't seen a superstar scorer emerge.

Coach Jason Kreis acknowledged that RSL should find "extra motivation" in taking aim at first place while meeting the Rapids, from whom they claimed the annual Rocky Mountain Cup for the first time last season. Tonight's game is the first of three meetings between the teams that will determine the cup winner this season.

"To our way of thinking, it's a chance for us to kind of make a statement to everybody about where we're at right now," Kreis said.

Kreis will be back on the sideline for RSL after serving a one-game suspension last weekend for criticizing the referees, though midfielder Nathan Sturgis and defender Ian Joy remain out with injuries. Neither is expected back until RSL plays at FC Dallas on May 24.

"It's not so much about the rivalry," defender Tony Beltran said. "It's about the standings for us," even though a victorious RSL side could be eclipsed in the standings when FC Dallas and the Los Angeles Galaxy play on Sunday. "It's a very big game."

mcl@sltrib.com

Where: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.

Kickoff: Today, 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 700 AM, 1600 AM

Records: RSL 2-3-2, Colorado 3-4-0

Series: Colorado leads, 6-4-2

Last meeting: RSL 1, Colorado 0 (Oct. 20, 2007)