Put yourself in Rauwshan McKenzie's cleats for a moment. Not sure what that means?
Picture this, then: Your team just emerged from one of the toughest scheduling stretches any team in Major League Soccer will face this season. And, after a mini three-day break, your club is back to MLS action after a two-week plus "vacation" while playing in other competitions.
With a 5-5-4 record and 19 points, your team sits fourth in a tightly bunched Eastern Conference and leads the Eastern half in goals allowed this season. The team captain has left for national team duties, and your coach has called on you to step up.
Oh, and it won't only be the first start of your young MLS career on Saturday against the best team in the league, it will be the first MLS game of your career.
That scenario is what Kansas City Wizards defender Rauwshan McKenzie is living as his team is set to face the Houston Dynamo at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
It sounds like an awful lot, and it's safe to say nobody would be surprised if some butterflies found their way into the mix before the game begins, but McKenzie said he is ready.
"I think it just shows that Coach [Curt Onalfo] has a lot of confidence in me to put me on the field to start the game, especially against a team like Houston," McKenzie said. "They are high up in the Western Conference, so I'm really excited."
Finding game experience has been a slow go for McKenzie, who is in his second year with Kansas City since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft out of Michigan State.
It wasn't always an easy wait.
"I didn't play too much last year," McKenzie said. "It was a lot of learning. It could be frustrating at times, but Coach has always told me that my time would come, and it has come now. So, I just have to try to make myself as prepared as possible to go out and perform at my highest potential."
The Wizards will need McKenzie's and the rest of its defense's best against Houston because goals will be at a premium.
While Kansas City's 10 goals allowed leads the Eastern Conference, Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad leads the league or is tied for the lead in several statistical categories, including shutouts (seven), goals against average (0.67) and goals allowed (10).
Not surprisingly, Houston, with its glossy 8-3-4 record, leads all of MLS with a plus-10 goal differential as well.
For Kansas City, Saturday's contest is going to be one of those all-hands-on-deck affairs, especially its back line, which suddenly is one of the youngest groups in the league.
With McKenzie manning one of the back middle positions, rookie Matt Besler is projected to again fill the left back role. Third-year player Aaron Hohlbein is expected to start at the other center back position, while the right back spot should belong to Lance Watson, who is the old man in the group, playing in his fourth season.
McKenzie said he knows what he needs to do in order to contribute.
"For me, it would just be winning my individual battles," McKenzie said. "Whoever is up top for Houston -- just being better than them and saying I was able to shut them down."
If Kansas City is able to lock down Houston's attack, then the onus falls on the Wizards offense, which has struggled at times to find the net.
Midfielder Davy Arnaud's playmaking creativity will be missed until he returns from the U.S. national team. Arnaud's absence doesn't mean the Wizards' offensive cupboard is bare. Josh Wolff, Claudio Lopez, Jack Jewsbury and a host of others are all more than capable of breaking out in a game.
Converting opportunities is something Kansas City has done better some times than others this season. Against Houston, the need to convert will be even greater.
Curtis Kitchen is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
