This Week with the Wizards - Headlines for Week of May 22, 2006:
* Wizards vs. United: Round Two
* Coming Home: Week Eight Review
* Honoring America's Troops
* Wizards On The Air
* U.S. World Cup Send-Off Series Begins This Week
* Wizards Fans Giving Back
* Reserves Back In Action
* This Week's Training Schedule
Wizards vs. United: Round Two
The Kansas City Wizards return home this weekend to Arrowhead Stadium for a
rematch against D.C. United with first-place in the Eastern Conference on
the line. Currently sitting in second place in the East, the Wizards
(4-3-1, 13 pts.) will be looking to turn the table on United (4-1-3, 15
pts.) who claimed an exciting 2-1 victory over Kansas City two weeks ago at
RFK Stadium to move into the top spot in the conference. The Wizards are
unbeaten in three contests at home this season and will be looking to make
it four this Saturday, May 27th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
D.C. is second in the league with 15 goals on the season, averaging nearly
two per game through the first eight games of the year. On the flip side,
Kansas City has only given up 9 goals through its first eight games, setting
the stage for what could be another great battle for first place in the
East. In their first meeting in week seven, the two sides played an
exhilarating match that featured 14 combined shots on goal. D.C.'s Alecko
Eskandarian scored the game's only goal in the run of play, a strike that
earned Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors, and both sides each successfully
converted penalty kick opportunities.
Coming Home: Week Eight Review
Arrowhead Stadium will be a welcome site for the Wizards this Saturday after
last weekend's 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake. Playing what was their fourth
road contest in a five-week span, the Wizards just didn't have enough left
in them in the second half and they allowed to late goals, missing their
chance to move back into first place in the East. Ryan Pore scored his
first goal of the season for Kansas City in the first half, calming slotting
a shot after he broke through on a Davy Arnaud pass to give the Wizards a
1-0 lead. It was a lead that they held until less than 15 minutes remained
in the match. Salt Lake proved to be the better team in the second half,
registering three shots on goal in the final 45 minutes while holding the
Wizards to zero. RSL's persistence paid of when Mehdi Ballouchy finished
off a pass from former Wizard Chris Klein to tie the game at 1-1 in the 78th
minute. Salt Lake sealed the game less than three minutes later when Jeff
Cunningham netted a shot from an almost improbable angle to give the home
side its second straight victory. It was the first time in the history of
the organization that RSL had beaten Kansas City.
Honoring America's Troops
With Memorial Day Weekend upon us so is the Kansas City Wizards' first-ever
Tickets for Troops game. This Saturday's match will be highlighted by a
silent auction before the game from 5:00-7:15 p.m. at the Information Booth
on Soccer Street. The auction will allow individuals to support the program
by bidding on memorabilia from the Wizards and other Major League Soccer
teams. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Tickets For Troops
program. Items to be auctioned will include authentic Wizards jerseys of
each player on Kansas City's roster. The Tickets for Troops program, which
will run throughout the season, was created to allow active duty service
members and their families the opportunity to enjoy a Kansas City Wizards
match at no cost to the service member or their families. The Wizards
implemented the program as a way to express the Kansas City community's
gratitude and appreciation to the active service men and women and their
supportive families for the contributions and sacrifices they have made for
our country. Multiple tickets for this weekend's match have already been
distributed through the American Red Cross and a number of local military
agencies helping to bring awareness to the program. For more information on
Tickets for Troops and to make a charitable donation please contact the
Wizards' Mark Naster at 816-920-4795.
Wizards On The Air
Be sure to catch the Wizards on the air this week, beginning with forward
Davy Arnaud's appearance on the DA Show on 610 AM, this Tuesday, May 23rd at
approximately 7:30 a.m. Fans can also listen to 810 WHB's "The Program" on
Wednesday, May 24th between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to catch another Wizards
player on the radio.
U.S. Kicks Off Send-Off Series This Week
Wizards World Cup team members Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Johnson, and Josh Wolff
departed training camp at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, NC this past
Sunday to embark on the United States' Send-Off Series. The Red, White &
Blue kicks off its stateside tour with a match against Morocco at the
Coliseum in Nashville this Tuesday, May 23rd. Kickoff for the first of
three send-off games is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT and will air live on
ESPN. After the Morocco match the U.S. squad will travel to Cleveland where
it will face Venezuela this Friday, May 26th at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Airing on ESPN2, kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT. The U.S. plays its final
game of the series before heading to Germany at Rentschler Field in
Hartford, CT against Latvia this Sunday, May 28th at 6:00 p.m. CT. The
U.S./Latvia match is being carried live on ESPN2. Conrad, Wolff, Johnson
and their U.S. teammates will be given three days off following the Latvia
game before reconvening in Newark, NJ to depart for Germany on June 1st.
Wizards Fans Giving Back
It is time for fans to start digging through their closets and rummaging
through their garages and basements looking for old soccer equipment. Next
week's home game vs. Red Bull New York will mark the Wizards' annual U.S.
Soccer Foundation Passback Night. U.S. Soccer Foundation's Passback program
was created to help meet soccer uniform and equipment needs for all
communities, regardless of income, gender or location. The program achieves
this through the collection of new and used soccer equipment that the
foundation turns around and donates to parties in need. The is where the
fans come in, at the June 3rd game vs. the Red Bulls the Wizards will have
bins set up at each stadium entry gate where they can drop off their
equipment donation as they enter Arrowhead for the match. The more the fans
donate the more good the U.S. Soccer Foundation is able to do, not only in
the United States, but around the World. For more information on the
Passback program visit www.usssocerfoundation.org
.
Reserves Back In Action
The Wizards' reserve squad will face D.C.'s reserves for the second time in
three weeks this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at the Arrowhead Stadium Practice
Facility. 1-1-0 on the season after a pair of road games, the reserves are
going up a United side that defeated them 4-1 in week seven when it scored
two late goals against a lineup that featured three guest players. The
reserve team opened its 2006 campaign with a 3-1 win at FC Dallas. With
Sunday's game being played at the practice facility it will be open to the
public free of charge. Fan seating is available on the grass hill that
surrounds the two sides of the field next to Parking Lot F.
