In the final regular-season act ever at Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Wizards managed to bring down the curtain in style.
Defender Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. scored a go-ahead goal on a penalty kick in the 74th minute and also contributed an assist as the Wizards held off Chivas USA 2-1 Saturday night to make the last regular-season memories at Arrowhead happy ones for the Wizards fans.
The Wizards, improving to 10-13-8, could conceivably have a playoff game at Arrowhead. They took a big step in that direction with Saturday's win. It came down to Burciaga breaking a 1-1 tie with his penalty kick to the right side just three minutes after Chivas USA had tied it with Claudio Suarez's penalty kick. Dave van den Bergh had given the home side the lead early in the second half.
Despite the loss, Chivas USA qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history, after finishing with an all-time league single season-low four victories last year. Chivas USA has 42 points; Real Salt Lake was left on 38 points after their tie at home against Houston, while the Los Angeles Galaxy were eliminated from the postseason for the first time ever.
With an opportunity to close out their regular-season tenure at Arrowhead with a bang and significantly enhance their playoff hopes, the Wizards had attacked aggressively through the first half and only the fine work of Chivas goalie Brad Guzan kept the game scoreless at the break.
Kansas City had an 8-4 edge in shots through the opening 45 minutes and a 3-2 lead in shots on goal. Both teams were charged with six fouls and the Wizards had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Guzan was particularly adept in stopping shots on goal by Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff. Arnaud had split defenders and was bearing down on the goal when Guzan burst out from the goal to break up that charge at the last instant. Later in the half, Guzan ranged far outside to stop Josh Wolff in stellar fashion as Wolff took aim with only the goalie to beat.
Wolff, the reigning MLS Player of the Week, had figured in all three Kansas City goals a week earlier in a 3-3 draw against Real Salt Lake. As it turned out, the Wizards wouldn't need any scoring from Wolff this time around, thanks to some nifty offensive work in the second half.
The Wizards broke on top in the 50th minute when van den Bergh scored on a header off a Burciaga cross. Then it was an exchange of penalty kicks in the three-minute span with Kansas City getting the last laugh.
Kansas City goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi came up with several key stops in the second half as the Wizards stayed unbeaten all-time against Chivas in four games.
For the Wizards, their chance at a playoff spot will all come down to the season finale against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. If the Wizards win or tie, they will claim fourth place and the final spot in the Eastern Conference. If the Red Bulls win, they will pass the Wizards for fourth and a date with D.C. United in the conference semifinals.
Robert Falkoff is a contributor for MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
