KANSAS CITY WIZARDS v D.C. UNITED
ARROWHEAD STADIUM, Kansas City, Mo.
12 noon CT (MetroSports; CSN-DC)
July 4, 2007 (WEEK 14) / MLS Game #86
A vital clash in the Eastern Conference is ahead on high noon on the Fourth of July as the Kansas City Wizards and D.C. United face off for the second time this season. The teams are separated by just a point in the conference, the Wizards tied with New York in second while United are in fourth - and the winner in the match could well be in first place by the time the weekend rolls around. United comes in with one loss since the end of April, while the Wizards are in the throes of a four-game winless streak. The teams have already met once this season, with the Wizards capturing a 4-2 victory in the nation's capital in the second week of the season.
REFEREE: Michael Kennedy. SAR (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; JAR (opposite): Greg Barkey; 4th: Jozef Batko
MLS Career: 88 games; FC/gm: 32.6; Y/gm: 4.1; R: 16; pens: 34
Games involving Wizards: P22 W7 L9 T6; FC/gm: 31.3; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 0; pens: 11
Games involving D.C. United: P15 W5 L7 T3; FC/gm: 36.5; Y/gm: 4.7; R: 5; pens: 6
INJURY REPORT: KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: DF Matt Groenwald (blood clots); MF Ryan McMahen (torn ACL); QUESTIONABLE: DF Aaron Hohlbein (hamstring strain); MF Sasha Victorine (ankle sprain/fibular head contusion); PROBABLE: DF Jose Burciaga (hamstring strain) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: FW Jamil Walker (Achilles rupture); QUESTIONABLE: DF Bryan Namoff (hamstring strain); FW Guy-Roland Kpene (hamstring)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: KC: Davy Arnaud; Jose Burciaga Jr. ... DC: Ben Olsen
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: KC: Nick Garcia, Kerry Zavagnin ... DC: Christian Gomez, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: KC: Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Johnson (USA; Copa America) ... DC: Jaime Moreno (Bolivia; Copa America); Bobby Boswell, Ben Olsen (USA; Copa America); Bryan Arguez (USA; FIFA U-20 World Cup)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (32 meetings): Wizards 12 wins (0 shootout), 54 goals ... United 14 wins (1 shootout), 50 goals ... Draws 6
AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM (15 meetings): Wizards 8 wins (0 shootout), 32 goals ... United 5 wins (1 shootout), 22 goals ... Draws 2
• This is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season, the first of two at Arrowhead Stadium. They conclude the season series at the Harry S Truman Sports Complex on Oct. 5.
• A year ago, D.C. United swept the season series, winning all four meetings between the clubs, two at RFK Stadium and two at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the fourth time United had swept the season series in the all-time matchup between the teams - the previous occasions coming when the clubs met just twice (1998, 1999, 2001). In 1996, Kansas City won all three meetings in the league's inaugural campaign.
• Kansas City last won the season series in 2003, winning one match with the other two played to draws. The teams split the season set in 2004 and 2005, though United won 3-2 in MLS Cup 2004.
• When the Wizards won on their trip to the nation's capital on July 9, 2005, it was their first victory at RFK Stadium since Aug. 4, 1996 - a span of 11 meetings in Washington without a victory. They have now won two of their last four trips to D.C.
• Coaches record: Curt Onalfo v DC: P1 W1 L0 D0 ... Tom Soehn vs. KC: P1 W0 L1 D0
LAST MEETING:
5/13: DC 2, KC 4 (Emilio 11; Gomez 34 - Harrington 3; Victorine 8; Johnson 45; Sealy 54)
• The Kansas City Wizards opened their 2007 season with a rousing start, going to RFK Stadium and coming away with a 4-2 victory against D.C. United on April 14.
• The Wizards had a two-goal lead after just eight minutes in a wild opening half that saw five goals scored. A long ball was flicked on into the left corner and rookie Michael Harrington ran onto it. After Facundo Erpen fell on the wet turf, Harrington rounded the fallen United defender and hammered a low drive inside the near post to give Kansas City a lead after just three minutes. It was the earliest goal in league history scored by a player making his MLS debut.
• Then five minutes later the Wizards doubled the lead. Scott Sealy chased down a ball on the left and sent in a low cross that Eddie Johnson corralled in the heart of the area. Instead of shooting, he pushed the ball to his right where Sasha Victorine came rushing in to send the ball crashing into the top of the goal.
• Yet United pulled back a goal within three minutes. Erpen sent a long ball forward to the K.C. penalty area, where Luciano Emilio was inexplicably left completely alone behind the Wizards defense. The Brazilian striker brought the ball under control and hooked a quick shot home.
• United drew level in the 34th minute. The Black-and-Red won a free kick well out from goal, and Christian Gomez sent a drive past the wall. But it skipped off the wet turf and Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman somehow saw it bound off his chest and into the goal to make the score 2-2.
• But just before the half, Kansas City again nosed in front, again thanks to a defensive lapse. A poor ball out of the back was deflected and picked off by Johnson, who out-raced the United defense into the penalty area before ripping a low drive past D.C. goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
• After the break, the Wizards put the game away. Again Johnson was the instigator, running onto a long ball from Victorine and sending a drive on goal. Perkins was able to parry the attempt, but Sealy came racing in to put the rebound home, sealing a victory for head coach Curt Onalfo in his first match in charge in the stadium he used to call home.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Troy Perkins - Facundo Erpen (Fred 46), Bobby Boswell, Bryan Namoff - Devon McTavish, Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Josh Gros - Christian Gomez - Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno. Subs Not Used: Kasali Yinka Casal, Stephen deRoux, Justin Moose, Jay Nolly, Jamil Walker, John Wilson
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine, Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington - Eddie Johnson (Kurt Morsink 88), Scott Sealy (Yura Movsisyan 78). Substitutes Not Used: Will John, Eric Kronberg, Ryan Raybould, Tyson Wahl, Lance Watson
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards saw their winless streak reach four matches, finally getting an early goal but seeing Toronto FC peg them back in a 1-1 draw at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday evening. The Wizards are now tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with 21 points from 13 matches, level with the New York Red Bulls, a point behind the New England Revolution.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards and Toronto FC were meeting for the third time on the season, both trying to reverse recent trends. The Wizards had lost their last two matches and were shut out for the first time on the season in their previous game, while TFC were still looking for a first road victory ever, after starting their current six-game road swing with a loss in New England the week before.
• For the first time in eight games, it was the Wizards who took the lead. From a quick counter, Carlos Marinelli latched onto a loose clearance and raced forward. He played the ball forward to Michael Harrington, and his shot from the right corner of the penalty area eluded the dive of TFC 'keeper Sam Reynolds inside the back stick.
• But in the first minute after the halftime break, TFC pulled level. Ronnie O'Brien worked himself free on the right and hooked in a cross for Danny Dichio, who had escaped his marker to head home for his fifth goal on the campaign.
• Toronto went down a man for the final quarter-hour when Andrew Boyens was sent off for a second bookable offense after a tackle on Sasha Victorine in midfield.
• But the story of the night was goalkeeper Reynolds, the league pool goalkeeper assigned to Toronto for "extreme hardship" who was making his professional debut on the night. He made six saves on a total of 25 Wizards shots, four of those saves coming after TFC went a man down, including a wonderfully acrobatic dive on a Scott Sealy blast and a parry on a point-blank header from substitute Ryan Pore.
• Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo made one change to the team that lost 1-0 to Houston Dynamo the Sunday before. With Jimmy Conrad called into the U.S. national team, Aaron Hohlbein took his place in central defense.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-3-1-2): Kevin Hartman - Jack Jewsbury (Ryan Pore 81), Nick Garcia, Aaron Hohlbein (Tyson Wahl 46), Jose Burciaga Jr. (Yura Movsisyan 46) - Sasha Victorine, Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington - Carlos Marinelli - Davy Arnaud, Scott Sealy. Substitutes Not Used: Will John, Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Ryan Raybould
• "Their goalkeeper came up very, very big, and they had a very fighting spirit," said Onalfo. "We knew they we're going to try and frustrate us the whole night, and they did a good job of that."
TEAM NEWS
• The 25 shots taken by the Wizards on the night were just two away from the club record, set on two occasions: July 18, 1996 at Tampa Bay, and Aug. 23, 1998 vs. Miami.
• "It was a performance where we created a number of scoring chances. Sometimes I thought we were trying a little too hard. It was one of those days where we kept plugging away and playing away," Onalfo said.
• After scoring 10 goals in a three-game gauntlet against New England (twice) and New York, the Wizards have now scored just two goals in their last three games - including getting just one each against the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference.
• "I think it is just about being sharp in front of the goal. It just didn't go our way in front of the net," Onalfo said. "We had some guys who were just killing the ball. Maybe we need to place the ball in the corner and sometimes lay it off. You can't fault the guys effort. At least we were creating chances. I would be worried if we weren't getting any."
• In some ways, Yura Movsisyan was the representation of the Wizards' night. After coming on as a halftime substitute, Movsisyan had seven shots at goal. Only one found the target, but that was stopped by TFC goalkeeper Sam Reynolds, who made six saves in his professional debut.
• "The team played very good," Movsisyan said. "We just have to put it in the back of the net. If we do it's a 10-0 game, that's how many chances we had."
• In addition to the absences to international duty of Eddie Johnson - who missed his fourth consecutive game - and Jimmy Conrad - out for his first at Copa America - Onalfo also had to deal with two halftime changes to injury when Aaron Hohlbein and Jose Burciaga Jr. went off. Tyson Wahl filled Hohlbein's place - who was in the lineup to replace Conrad. Onalfo moved Harrington back to left back, Davy Arnaud to a wide midfield role and brought on Movsisyan in attack.
• "I feel like we are moving in the right direction," Onalfo said. "We played tonight without two of the best players in Major League Soccer: Eddie Johnson and Jimmy Conrad. The No. 1 goal scorer wasn't on the field. The best defender wasn't on the field. Having said that, how many chances did we create? We just need to be sharper, smarter in front of the goal."
• After three consecutive shutouts April 25-May 5, the Wizards haven't kept a clean sheet since. But that May 5 win was also the last time before the Harrington goal that Kansas City had scored first in a game.
• "We have been playing good soccer, but the results just haven't been going our way. We need to stay focused in order to keep this from becoming a bad stretch. I hope we didn't think that this was going to be easy. We are 6-4-3, which is by no means the worst record in the league. We are playing great soccer, but unfortunately we haven't put the ball in the back of the net as much as we needed," goalkeeper Kevin Hartman said. "We have to take a long-term view of this team and not get bogged down on tonight. At the end of the day we got a point and we will have a chance to get three on Wednesday in front of our home fans."
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United rebounded from their first loss since April in fine style, rolling to a 4-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids on MLS Primetime Thursday at RFK Stadium. United still sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 20 points from 12 matches, two ahead of the Columbus Crew and just two points behind the first-place New England Revolution in the tightly bunched division.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United had seen their seven-game unbeaten run come to an end the weekend before, while the Rapids were looking to avoid going 0-for-June, their last win coming on May 26.
• In a place where they hadn't won since 1999, the Rapids got off to a terrific start. A wonderful crossfield ball from Colin Clark found Terry Cooke on the right, and he whipped in a short cross that Jacob Peterson snapped home from a header in the 19th minute.
• But United pulled level in the 34th minute on an odd play. On the ground, with the ball bobbling around him, Rapids defender Greg Vanney reached out and appeared to grab it. Referee Alex Prus allowed play to continue, and after Nicholas Addlery fired wide, he whistled for the penalty kick. Christian Gomez stepped up and converted from the spot for his fourth goal on the season.
• United broke the game open after the break. In the 71st minute, Fred served in a corner from the left and Addlery stuck his head in front of defender Brandon Prideaux to nod home his first career MLS goal.
• Then after a weather delay of nearly half an hour, the Black-and-Red killed off the game with two goals in six minutes. Fred claimed one for himself, playing a 1-2 off the left touchline with Addlery before sliding a rolling shot under Colorado 'keeper Bouna Coundoul from inside the area (82).
• Then Luciano Emilio finished off the match in the 87th minute, running onto a perfectly weighted pass from Gomez and slotting it past Coundoul from the left of the area for his seventh goal on the campaign and fifth in the last four games.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made five changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Real Salt Lake the Saturday before. With Bryan Namoff injured and Bobby Boswell away on national team duty, Devon McTavish and Clyde Simms came into the back four. Justin Moose came in for Ben Olsen, also with the U.S. national team for Copa America, while Guy-Roland Kpene started up top in place of Rod Dyachenko. Troy Perkins returned between the posts, coming in for Jay Nolly.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Devon McTavish, Clyde Simms,Facundo Erpen, Joshua Gros - Justin Moose, Brian Carroll, Fred (Marc Burch 86) - Christian Gomez (Rod Dyachenko 90) - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Nicholas Addlery 12). Substitutes Not Used: Stephen deRoux, Jeff Carroll, Dominc Mediate, Jay Nolly
• "Anytime you play new guys, regardless of them understanding the system, it takes a while to have the comfort level to play positive balls and I thought we were very conservative early," said Soehn. "Especially the new guys in the lineup, they were playing backwards or sideways instead of taking a chance."
TEAM NEWS
• The Gomez penalty helped set the stage for a wild closing 45 minutes that saw three United goals wrapped about the lightning storm.
• "I think it's getting the first half out of your system, especially for some of the guys who haven't played a lot. They go 100 miles an hour and are afraid to make mistakes. I told them not to worry about making mistakes because we have guys to cover for them," Soehn said. "I saw as their comfort level was there and their confidence level grew that we started to possess the ball a little better. We did a good job of that."
• Changes abounded in the first half. While Devon McTavish started at right back and Clyde Simms in central defense, the two switched places about midway through the opening 45 minutes. "I thought Devon did really well and was a help in the middle," Soehn said. "He continues to grow and again, I talk about his versatility. I thought it was a move that made us better in the back."
• Then, Guy-Roland Kpene was forced off after just 12 minutes when he suffered a hamstring injury. Nicholas Addlery came on and was involved in three United's four goals - scoring one, assisting on one, and the ball was at his feet when Greg Vanney handled to set up Gomez's penalty.
• "I give him a lot of credit because he came into a difficult situation and he worked his keister off. He won some balls pretty deep where he could have laid off and brought some more guys into the play, but in the end he made some really good plays," Soehn said. "He scored a big goal and set up [another] one ... [His size] was helpful - you saw him mixing it up with some of their backs and their backs were having a real tough time with it."
• Another bright spot for the Black-and-Red was Fred's promising display on the left flank. He has struggled at times in his transition to a wing role after the central position he enjoyed with his previous club, Melbourne Victory.
• "He has made a lot of strides," said the D.C. boss. "He is definitely energetic going forward. He's got great ideas. He's getting in [behind the defense] - we don't always reward him with that. As we now stretch the flank and he understands how to play the flank position, he's pretty valuable to us. We understand him better and he understands us better."
• On the other flank was Justin Moose, starting in place of Ben Olsen. "I told Justin he is a kid who does a lot of things in training, taking people on, and he seems afraid to do it in the game. I told him that he needs to do the things he does every day of the week, taking people on and beating people, because he is good at it. It's more or less a confidence thing," said Soehn.
• Following the game, D.C. United and the Rapids executed a trade for starting defenders, Colorado receiving Facundo Erpen and D.C. getting Greg Vanney. Vanney is in his ninth MLS season, having moved to Colorado from FC Dallas in the offseason. He played with the Los Angeles Galaxy from 1996-2001, before moving to Ligue 1 in France, where he played with Bastia. The U.S. international (37 caps) returned to MLS and Dallas in 2005.
