KANSAS CITY WIZARDS vs. COLORADO RAPIDS
COMMUNITYAMERICA BALLPARK, Kansas City, Kan.
April 5, 2008 | 4 p.m. CT (MetroSports; Altitude)
WEEK # 2 | GAME # 11
A pair of clubs that posted impressive victories to open the season come together at CommunityAmerica Ballpark when the Kansas City Wizards play host to the Colorado Rapids. The homestanding Wizards knocked off last year's Supporters' Shield winners, D.C. United, 2-0 in the first game in their new home. The Rapids rolled to a 4-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy before a record crowd at their home in Commerce City. The kickoff was moved forward two hours to allow fans to see the University of Kansas in the NCAA basketball Final Four.
REFEREE: Kevin Stott. SAR (bench): George Gansner; JAR (opposite): Steven Taylor; 4th: Jasen Anno
MLS Career: 144 games; FC/gm: 26.8; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 38; pens: 32
Games involving Wizards: P21 W10 L9 T2; FC/gm: 24.0; Y/gm: 2.5; R: 4; pens: 9
Games involving Rapids: P22 W6 L12 T4; FC/gm: 27.0; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 8; pens: 5
INJURY REPORT: KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: MF Davy Arnaud (knee surgery), DF Matt Marquess (hamstring strain), MF Ryan McMahen (ankle sprain), MF Lance Watson (foot fracture); QUESTIONABLE: MF Sasha Victorine (ankle sprain); PROBABLE: MF Chance Myers (foot strain), FW Scott Sealy (groin strain) ... COLORADO RAPIDS - OUT: FW Conor Casey (L knee), DF Ugo Ihemelu (R hip), DF Mike Petke (R foot); GK Justin Hughes (L groin); PROBABLE: MF Mehdi Ballouchy (L hamstring), FW Jovan Kirovski (R hamstring); MF Nico Colaluca (L groin)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: COL: Ciaran O'Brien (through April 12)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (41 meetings): Wizards 18 wins (1 shootout), 74 goals ... Rapids 15 wins (3 shootout), 56 goals ... Ties 8
IN KANSAS CITY (20 meetings): Wizards 14 wins (0 shootout), 48 goals ... Rapids 3 wins (1 shootout), 21 goals ... Ties 3
• This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this year, the only one set for Kansas City in the Rapids' first trip to CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Wizards will make their lone trip to Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Aug. 16.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/19: COL 1, KC 1 (Kirovski 45 - Arnaud 58)
7/22: KC 2, COL 2 (Johnson 24, 43 - Kirovski 42; Erpen 77)
• The teams split their season series a season ago, each match ending in a draw, one at each ground. Each team's last victory in the series came in 2006, as they also split the season series, each winning at home.
• The Wizards haven't lost to Colorado in Kansas City since 2002, a span of eight games. Seven of those have come in the regular season - six victories (all in a row entering this matches), with an additional game in the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2003 (a 2-0 Wizards victory).
• The Rapids haven't lost to Kansas City in the last five meetings in Colorado, with two of those victories. The last Wizards win in the Mile High City came June 9, 2004.
• Coaches record: Curt Onalfo v COL: P2 W0 L0 D2 ... Fernando Clavijo vs. KC: P10 W3 L5 D2
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards made their bow at CommunityAmerica Ballpark a memorable one, getting a pair of second-half goals on their way to a 2-0 victory against D.C. United in the season opener. Kansas City is tied with Columbus and New England atop the Eastern Conference with three points after Week 1, the trio of teams all coming away with victories to begin the new campaign.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards were beginning a new era in front of a sellout crowd at their new home, featuring an all-South American strike force of Claudio Lopez, Ivan Trujillo and Carlos Marinelli, taking on the Supporters' Shield winners from the past two seasons in D.C. United.
• After a tame opening 45 minutes, the Wizards broke through just after the restart. A Michael Harrington cross from the left was knocked back into the center first-time by Jack Jewsbury, and Trujillo came sliding in ahead of the United defender to redirect the ball past Zach Wells.
• Then in the 61st minute, just seconds after United had a goal ruled out for offside, Lopez doubled the Wizards' advantage. A long ball from Ryan Pore in midfield found the Argentinean World Cup star running in behind the United defense. As Wells came off his line, Lopez flicked the ball high over the goalkeeper and into the net.
• Hit with a rash of injuries, Curt Onalfo gave Jonathan Leathers his professional debut on the right of the back four and Ryan Pore in midfield, while the South American strike force of Trujillo and Lopez were teamed together in their MLS debuts.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-3-1-2): Kevin Hartman - Jonathan Leathers, Tyson Wahl, Jimmy Conrad, Michael Harrington - Jack Jewsbury, Kerry Zavagnin, Ryan Pore - Carlos Marinelli (Kurt Morsink 74) - Ivan Trujillo (Scott Sealy 69), Claudio Lopez (Eloy Colombano 89). Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Michael Kraus, Eric Kronberg, Amir Lowery
• "We started slow. Quite frankly, I expected that," Onalfo said. "D.C. United had the advantage of playing two very competitive games prior to us, and they were the sharper team for the first 20 minutes or so. Credit to our guys 'cause they just kind of gritted it out and found a rhythm."
TEAM NEWS
• Before the United match, Curt Onalfo was forced into some lineup decisions. No. 1 overall SuperDraft pick Chance Myers, expected to start in the midfield, suffered a foot injury and was unavailable for the contest. Sasha Victorine was also out injured, while Davy Arnaud is still out with a knee injury. Jack Jewsbury, who was expected to start at right back, moved forward into the midfield.
• "We have five injuries right now," Onalfo said. "But every team deals with that. Good teams deal with it. We feel good about our depth."
• Leathers was a second-round pick out of Furman Univ., the 25th overall selection in this year's SuperDraft. "I found out yesterday that I would get to start. It was very exciting, and I was really nervous about the game as well," he said. "It took me about 10 minutes to settle down, but all the guys around me gave me confidence and told me that I was doing fine."
• It didn't take long, though, for the Wizards chief offseason acquisitions - Lopez and Trujillo - to make their mark, each scoring on their debut in the U.S. top flight.
• "Carlos (Marinelli), Lopez and Trujillo ... you could see them start to interact and get in a rhythm with their teammates as the game went on, especially in the second half," Onalfo said. "Lopez is an absolute dream to have on the team. He's a great teammate, a great pro."
• And the Wizards are still learning to play with their new additions. "Coach has been getting on me in training about not looking up and not finding Claudio in space. Lucky enough tonight I was able to find him, and he put it away," said Ryan Pore about the second goal. "We started the second half outstanding after we talked about playing a little bit quicker and seeing things earlier and just kind of going at them a little bit more," Onalfo said.
• For Hartman, it was his all-time MLS leading 68th shutout and 128th win. "It was great that the four in the back did their job. Michael Harrington came up with some goal-saving tackles. Jimmy and Tyson [Wahl] really organized us and gave us a calm feeling in the back," he said "We didn't panic, and Jonathan Leathers did a great job filling in for Chance [Myers] last minute."
• The game was played in a terrific atmosphere before a sellout crowd at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. "It's wonderful," said Robb Heineman, Wizards team president and chief executive officer of OnGoal LLC, the club's ownership group. "Obviously, the number is smaller than what we would've liked for our first sellout, but I think this is going to be an exciting environment for our fans and for the team to play in."
• Added Kerry Zavagnin: "We were certainly excited going into the game, and the crowd made a huge difference for us. The atmosphere was more fun for the fans than in years past here in Kansas City. This intimate environment is great for us. We felt the fans presence throughout the match, and they no doubt played a part in our performance."
COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids opened their 2008 season in eye-opening fashion, dismantling the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 in front of a record crowd at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids sit all alone atop the Western Conference with three points heading into the week, the only team in the division to come away with a victory on First Kick 2008.
LAST MATCH
• A record crowd came to the second season opener in stadium history, for David Beckham's first-ever visit with the Galaxy to face the Rapids.
• Featuring a lineup full of inexperienced hands, the Rapids got off to a dream start through a couple of veterans. Christian Gomez, the two-time Best XI honoree acquired from D.C. United over the offseason, ripped a second-chance freekick that crashed off the goalpost. But Terry Cooke came racing in and hammered home the rebound with a full volley for the 10th-minute opener.
• After the break, the game exploded. The Rapids doubled the lead in the 59th minute when Omar Cummings was ruled to have been tripped up in the box by Galaxy defender Abel Xavier, and Gomez converted the penalty to double the lead.
• Cooke created the third Colorado goal seven minutes later after a winding run through the Galaxy midfield, pushing a soft pass behind the Galaxy defenders. Cummings ran onto the ball, easily rounded the 'keeper and slotted his shot into the vacant net.
• The rout was complete 10 minutes from the end when Colin Clark slipped past Xavier on the left of the area, carried the ball toward the near post and poked it past goalkeeper Steve Cronin from close range. Each team finished the game a man down after Xavier and Rapids rookie Ciaran O'Brien were shown red cards in the dying minutes of the game.
• Faced with a string of injuries, Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo ran out a team filled with inexperienced players, including Kosuke Kimura, John DiRaimondo, Nick LaBrocca and Stephen Keel.
• Here's Clavijo's team (4-4-1-1): Bouna Coundoul - Kosuke Kimura, Facundo Erpen, Stephen Keel, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Terry Cooke, John DiRaimondo (Pablo Mastroeni 81), Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark - Christian Gomez (Ciaran O'Brien 71) - Omar Cummings (Herculez Gomez 68). Substitutes Not Used: Rafael Gomes, Kelly Gray, Justin Hughes, Jacob Peterson
• "The first 15 minutes, I thought we played outstanding, but then we lost possession, we didn't keep the ball well, we allowed them to have some momentum, but we still managed to give them almost no chances," Clavijo said.
TEAM NEWS
• Clavijo's lineup included a number of players who have been the organization for the last couple of years - but really have made a bigger contribution to the reserve team, winners of back-to-back MLS Reserve Division championships. It included Omar Cummings in attack (11 games, no starts in 2007), DiRaimondo (making his first-team MLS debut) and LaBrocca (two appearances in 2007) in midfield, and Kimura (four games in '07) and Keel (four career games) in defense.
• When you look at the team, there are seven players that I would consider rookies in that lineup, and that's something to make you proud. It's pushing some of the veteran players really hard to get into the lineup, " Clavijo said.
• For Clavijo, that "rookie" group also included Colin Clark, who scored two goals in 16 games last year, his second year in the league (23 career appearances) and Ciaran O'Brien, the club's first-round draft pick this year, who came on as a 71st-minute substitute.
• "I thought the young guys performed really well. I thought we did really well; throughout the game we possessed the ball and we broke out of the back extremely well. We never really allowed them to get any rhythm to the game. Playing against a good team and great players, I thought my young guys did extremely well," Clavijo said.
• Clavijo said Clark was not going to start. He and Terry Cooke on the flanks ended up having a massive influence on the match. "(Clark) was not going to start tonight, but in the last two days he really showed me he wanted to," Clavijo said. "I asked him if he was ready, and his answer was very clear."
• Colorado exploded for four goals in one game after scoring just 29 goals in 30 games last season. The Rapids did not score four goals in a game once last year, the last four-goal outing coming nearly three years ago.
• "You want to always start the season with a strong vibe. Today, beating them 4-0, it boost up the team's energy," said goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. "But hey, we have to worry about next week again because this one is gone. The past is the past, and now we have to work on getting better because before, other teams didn't know much about us, but after we beat L.A., we open up the league's eyes."
• While four different players scored and the youth movement played such a key role in the win, it was another offseason addition - Christian Gomez - who provided the glue to hold the team together.
• "You can see what Christian can do," Clavijo said. "No question about it. I don't think we have seen anything yet. We know the qualities of Christian Gomez going forward, and we've tried to surround him with quality players. It worked perfectly tonight."
