Chris Klein's goal in the 52nd minute opened the gates for a Kansas City Wizards 4-0 thrashing of the Dallas Burn that sent Kansas City into the semifinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the second time in their history. Klein's goal started a burst over the final 40 minutes that saw Davy Arnaud, Justin Detter and Alex Zotinca all score goals, the Wizards once again hammering their regional rivals.
Play was erratic in the first 45 minutes as both teams struggled to link together successive passes. Long balls became the norm as the half wore on, creating some compelling one-on-one opportunities for each side.
The Wizards found joy attacking the Burn's right flank through fullback Nick Garcia and midfielder Chris Klein, and in the 11th minute, forward Davy Arnaud ran onto a cross and struck it viciously off the outside of Scott Garlick's near post.
Dallas frontrunner Eddie Johnson was Arnaud's counterpart as he struck first-time from a cross only six yards in front of Wizards 'keeper Tony Meola. But the veteran K.C. shot-stopper made the easy save as Johnson did not contact well.
The first frame ended with Dallas having a 5-3 advantage in shots, yet the match seemed destined to be a tight one. However, Klein unlocked the contest in the 52nd minute as he cut in from the right 21 yards out and unleashed a left-footed streamroller that beat Garlick to his near post. Klein's ambition made him provider soon after as he sent a driven ball into Detter who fought off his two markers to pound a first-time header that Garlick could only parry, only to see Arnaud pounce on the rebound to put the Wizards up two in the 57th minute.
Fighting to get back in the match, Dallas's newly-inserted Ramon Nunez created space to the right of Meola's box and lined a shot off the near post in the 72nd minute. The Burn would rue the missed chance as the Wizards put the match away in the ensuing series. Arnaud beat Salyer near the right corner and smartly fed across the box for an unmarked Detter, and the rookie forward calmly slotted the ball into the left corner for his first professional goal. The Burn never fully faded from the match continuing to combine for some dangerous forays but ultimately unable to find the open man or open side of the K.C. goal.
The Wizards would leave no doubt as to who the opportunistic ones were as Alex Zotinca received a service from Matt Taylor and rifled an 18-yard shot that hit the top of Garlick's net to cap the scoring for the Wizards. It was the third time in the past two seasons the Wizards have defeated the Burn by four goals on home turf, winning by 5-1 scorelines in league play both this season and last.
Scoring Summary:
KC -- Chris Klein 1 (unassisted) 52
KC -- Davy Arnaud 1 (unassisted) 57
KC -- Justin Detter 1 (Davy Arnaud ) 73
KC -- Alex Zotinca 1 (Matt Taylor ) 88
Dallas Burn -- Scott Garlick; Cory Gibbs, Steve Jolley, Ronnie O'Brien, Eddie Johnson (Toni Nhleko 65), Oscar Pareja (Ramon Nunez 65), Eric Quill, Matt Behncke, Simo Valakari (Brad Davis 74), Bobby Rhine, Philip Salyer (Clarence Goodson 80)
TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 16; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Kansas City Wizards -- Tony Meola; Nick Garcia, Shavar Thomas, Kerry Zavagnin, Jose Burciaga Jr., Diego Gutierrez, Jimmy Conrad, Jack Jewsbury (Francisco Gomez 46), Chris Klein, Davy Arnaud (Alex Zotinca 85), Justin Detter (Matt Taylor 76)
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDES: 8; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 7
Misconduct Summary:
DAL -- Philip Salyer (caution; Reckless Foul) 23
DAL -- Cory Gibbs (caution; Reckless Foul) 66
KC -- Alex Zotinca (caution; Delaying a Restart) 88
Referee: Terry Vaughn
Referee's Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry; Emiliano Monje
4th Official: Shane Butler
Time of Game: 90:00
Weather: Partly Cloudy -and- 78 degrees
Attendance: 2,143
