Ruiz on way out

ABIG DAY IN Philadelphia sports grew even bigger.

Union manager Peter Nowak announced that Carlos Ruiz would be leaving the club pending "an offer still in works." Nowak wouldn't divulge if the move would happen via trade, loan or cash, but the announcement comes just weeks before the close of the MLS' summer transfer window. Ruiz bypassed reporters when asked to elaborate on Nowak's bombshell, but a Union spokesperson later said Ruiz "will not be making an official announcement until there is a resolution."

It appears Ruiz is the fuel behind this as Nowak's obvious disdain for the decision was felt in his quotes. He also said he's saddened that despite Ruiz' team-leading six goals that fans have been unable to latch onto "Fish" due to his penchant for taking the occasional dive.

"We accepted an offer from the club, Carlos is not going to be with us any longer. We are finalizing now, but I mean it's going to take a couple of weeks," Nowak said. "We will make a formal announcement, but for now this is the situation. It was a privilege to work with Carlos, and it was difficult to come to this decision. He is going to be difficult to replace.

"There were a lot of fans here in the stands that were pretty biased towards Carlos from the start, I don't why, they have made bad comments about him being a diver, not working hard enough and it was really getting tired from all of us, that's why we accepted the offer."

Players seemed surprised at the news that Ruiz would be leaving. Ruiz was in the suites during last night's 2-1 loss to Colorado at PPL Park, a loss Nowak claimed might not have occurred if he had his "proven goalscorer" there to finish chances.

"I always believe that the fans in the stands are the guys that are standing behind us," Nowak said. "It's unfortunate that some fans were writing that Carlos was a diver and that he never really got the support here."

If this deal goes through via trade the Union stand to free up a wealth of cap space given Ruiz makes $306,671 of the club's salary cap of just over $2 million.

Against the defending champions last night, an ugly match from the Union actually found the fans having more fight than the club.

As the first half closed, a brawl broke out in Section 134 of the club's supporters section, that resulted in punches being thrown and a large man taking Chester police and security tumbling down four rows of seats.

Chester police said nine people were arrested, two face criminal charges while the other seven will be cited for disorderly conduct. One officer described it as a melee amongst "wannabe hooligans."

Colorado capitalized on a pair of opportunities to escape with its first win on the road since June 11. Union midfielder Roger Torres ignited the crowd of 18,770 deep into stoppage time, scoring his second goal of the season with a low drive past Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens. Torres, the Union's customary second-half spark proved Nowak right yet again, but too little, too late.

It was a frustrating night for the Union (8-5-7, 31 points) as countless chances resulted in a nothing. The first-half stat sheet had the Union with four shots, but the chances either sailed high, wide or even on frame of Matt Pickens' area.

In the second half, chances continued and a stinger defensive effort made of a Union wave of counters, but only Torres could score.

The Union sets out for a trip to Chicago on Wednesday night. Nowak will return to the city he made an MLS Cup champion as a player in 1998 in the Fire (9 p.m., Comcast SportsNet).