The Kansas City Wizards Reserves (5-3-3, 18 pts.) extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-0 shutout over the first place New England Revolution Reserves (5-3-4, 19 pts.) at the Arrowhead Training Field Sunday morning. An early own goal from the Revs and a Davy Arnaud strike just before the half were all the Wizards needed as their defense shut down the Revs attack for their third shutout of the season.
New England, who sat atop the Reserve League standings coming into today's match, came out of the gate quickly, looking to take control of the match early on. Revs forward Jamie Holmes had the first chance of the match for either side, latching on to a corner kick with a snap header from inside the six-yard box, but his try sailed just high of the crossbar.
The Wizards settled in and tried creating chances in front of the New England goal, but they were ultimately rewarded by a Revolution mishap in the 20th minute. As Kansas City pressured, Revolution defender Easton Wilson tried playing the ball back to his goalkeeper Doug Warren, only to watch the ball take a nasty bounce and skip over the foot of Warren and roll briskly along the turf and into the back of the net.
With the early lead, Kansas City continued to press forward and look for a second goal. In the 22nd minute, midfielder Jack Jewsbury narrowly missed on a shot from inside the box that floated just right of the target. One minute later, Davy Arnaud and Jay Alberts played a great combination forward, setting up Jermaine Hue to pick the ball out of the air on the left, but Hue's side-volley went just high.
Revolution forward Jamie Holmes, who had their first chance of the match, nearly evened the score when he created space for himself by turning around a Wizards defender in the box and letting go of a low-liner to the left corner of goal, but Wizards goalkeeper William Hesmer was there to see it wide of the post.
Kansas City doubled their lead in the 39th minute when midfielder Jack Jewsbury was fouled near the edge of the center circle in New England's end of the field. As a swarm of New England players ferociously argued with the referee about the spot of the foul, Jewsbury quickly rose up and took a quick restart, feeding the ball ahead to Davy Arnaud. Arnaud easily danced around his defender, who was also looking to get involved in the argument, and rifled a left-footed shot from just inside the box that found it's way inside the right post.
The second half saw more physical play from both sides and a more desperation from the Revs looking to cut into the Wizards lead. Jamie Holmes again had a header from inside the box in the 48th minute, but William Hesmer made a reaction save to maintain the Wizards advantage.
Hesmer came up big again in the 62nd minute when Revs defender Jeff Larentowicz's header off a corner kick seemed destined for goal, but Hesmer's quick reaction allowed him to track backward and make a diving save on the play to push the ball over the endline.
The Revolution's relentless attack continued in the dying minutes of the match, but Kansas City's staunch defense turned away the opposition and allowed the Wizards to kill the clock and walk off with their fifth straight win. They also finish the season unbeaten at home with a 5-0-1 record.
With the win, the Wizards move into a three-way tie for second place in the Reserve League standings, just one point behind the Revolution. Kansas City will have a chance to take over the lead with their final Reserve League match of the year at FC Dallas next Sunday, October 16th in Frisco, Texas.
Scoring Summary:
KC- Own Goal (Easton Wilson) 20'
KC- Davy Arnaud (Jack Jewsbury) 39'
New England Revolution Reserves (4-4-2): Doug Warren-GK; James Riley (Marcos Romaneiro-87') Jeff Larentowicz, Easton Wilson, Tony Lockhead; Ryan Latham, Connally Edozien, Luke Vercollone, Gilberto Flores; Jamie Holmes, Ricardo Phillips
Kansas City Reserves (4-4-2): William Hesmer-GK; Brian Roberts, Dustin Branan, Shavar Thomas; John Minagawa-Webster, Ryan Raybould, Jack Jewsbury, Jermaine Hue (Doug Lascody-76'), Jay Alberts; Davy Arnaud; Pat McGinnis (Drew Perkins-69')
Misconduct Summary:
KC- Jack Jewsbury (Caution) 44'
KC- Davy Arnaud (Caution) 63'
NE- James Riley (Caution) 63'
KC- Brian Roberts (Caution) 77'
Weather: Cloudy, breezy, 50 degrees
Referee: Brad Clem
Assistant Referees: Andrew Fletcher, Younesse Tarbouni
4th Official: Ivan Veselic
