The Kansas City Wizards earned an ideal result with a 2-0 home triumph over D.C. United in the first match of the 2008 season for both sides. This Saturday, when the Colorado Rapids come to town, perhaps a bigger challenge awaits.
The Rapids dismantled the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 in their season opener last weekend. But the Wizards are showing the mindset with which they are facing Colorado's arrival, taking the most pride from their own opener in keeping United's substantial attacking force off the scoreboard.
"We got the shutout, which I was happy about. My goal going into games these days is to get shutouts," said Michael Harrington, now a left back after playing much of his rookie season last year at left midfield.
There were still harrowing moments for the Wizards defense, including a Franco Niell goal waved offside. K.C. head coach Curt Onalfo was mostly pleased, but knows his charges must constantly improve.
"It was almost a perfect game defensively for [Michael] except for one or two plays ...," said Onalfo. "Our backline moved pretty well except for on a couple occasions, so we need to make sure we clean that up."
Harrington emphasized communication when asked what the backline did well, but agreed one particular aspect needs some focus.
"Talking to each other and letting guys know when they have someone coming on their back makes it easier on everybody. You have eyes on the back of your head when you're talking," he said. "[We could improve on] reading everything quicker, a couple times they slipped behind us. ... As the season goes on, we're going to get more comfortable with each other."
Kansas City is fully aware of what the Rapids bring. Winning 4-0 against anyone "certainly makes a statement" said Onalfo.
"They have some very good attacking players. [Christian] Gomez leads that; he's one of the best attacking players in the league. They have [Colin] Clark who plays on the left ... he's a very, very good player. [Midfielder Terry] Cooke is a very good crosser of the ball on the right side, and Jose [Burciaga] does a good job of pushing forward at the left back spot and provides good service into the box," Onalfo said. "They're a well-balanced, very, very good team, and we have a hard game facing us Saturday for sure."
Harrington will match up against Cooke, who earned MLS Player of the Week honors with a goal and two assists against the Galaxy. For the 22-year-old, the key to shutting down Cooke's pinpoint serves into the box is looking ahead.
"It's anticipating when they're trying to get him the ball so I can be close to him when he receives the ball so he doesn't have time to do much," Harrington said.
Of course, another way to neutralize an opponent's strong attack is to keep the ball to yourself and attack as much as possible, something the Wizards didn't do as much as they would've liked against D.C.
"We did what we had to do to win the game. I would have liked to create more chances in the first half," Onalfo said.
With the improving health of the Wizards, better play is more likely. Playmaker Carlos Marinelli's left groin is doing well and team captain Jimmy Conrad is not listed on the injury report after he had been troubled by a hamstring. In addition, the Wizards' two first-round MLS SuperDraft picks could be available as they recover from turf toe and a broken foot respectively.
"[Top pick] Chance [Myers] is recovering. I wouldn't say he's 100 percent, but he's doing much better. He'll likely be able to play," Onalfo said. "[Second pick] Roger [Espinoza] has trained all week and looks pretty good; he could be available."
What doesn't need improvement in the Wizards camp is the team mentality, a plus that can help overcome any other aspects that don't come together as quickly as desired.
"I'm really excited about the team this year. We have a much better team than we had last year just because of team chemistry ...," said Harrington. "Everybody is fighting for each other and working for each other and that helps tremendously when you are going out every week trying to get results."
A positive result Saturday against the high-flying Rapids will show that the Wizards are right on track for success.
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
