KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Wizards Reserves (4-3-3, 15 pts.) stretched their winning streak to four games with a hard fought, 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire Reserves (5-3-3, 18 pts.) at the Arrowhead Training Field Sunday morning. Antti Sumiala scored both goals for Kansas City in his first match in a Wizards uniform. Chad Barrett scored the Fire's only goal.
Sumiala put his stamp on the game early, coming up with the first opportunity of the match for either side in the 15th minute. After Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury stole a ball near midfield and connected with Jermaine Hue at the top of the box, Sumiala ran onto a through ball and forced Fire goalkeeper Clint Baumstark off his line to make a sliding save some ten yards from goal.
The Fire would have a chance in the 26th minute when Chad Barrett slipped behind the Wizards defense and unloaded a diagonal shot from inside the box, but Wizards goalkeeper William Hesmer came up big and made a diving save to his left.
Sumiala, the Wizards newly acquired Finnish striker, would get the Wizards on the board in the 31st minute thanks in part to the poaching work of Alex Zotinca. Zotinca stepped forward at midfield to intercept a Fire pass, then fed a dipping ball into the box from the right flank. Jack Jewsbury got a foot on the ball to settle it to the ground and Sumiala ran on and one-touched a shot low to the right post, under the glove of an outstretched Baumstark.
The Finnish International doubled the Wizards lead four minutes later when strike-partner Scott Sealy sacrificed himself and slid in to win a 50-50 ball, touching it ahead to Sumiala. Sumiala move into the box, drawing Baumstark off his line before rifling a left-footed shot low and inside the left post from just inside the top of the box.
Chicago's best chance of the first half came in stoppage time when Will Johnson lined up a corner kick from the left side, that Chad Barrett got a head on, only to see his effort rise just over the crossbar.
The pace quickened in the second half as the Fire looked desperate to cut the lead in half, while the Wizards searched for a third goal to put the game out of reach. In the 52nd minute, the Fire nearly got their wish as forward Andy Herron avoided Wizards defender Brian Robert's offside trap and broke loose down the left flank. Herron ran onto a long ball in full stride and tried sending a curling right-footed shot around William Hesmer, but the Wizards net-minder played the ball with perfection and easily grabbed it in mid-flight.
Chad Barrett would draw the Fire reserves within a goal in the 62nd minute. Fire midfielder Will John, from Overland Park, Kansas, sent a ball through the Wizards back line to an overlapping Chad Barrett on the left. Barrett picked his spot and teed up a hard-liner that found it's way past Hesmer and rattled the right side netting to make the score 2-1.
The final 25 minutes saw physical play from both sides and the Fire relentlessly pushing forward into the Wizards defensive-third of the field. But the Kansas City defense was up to the task and repeatedly turned away the opposition. The Wizards effectively killed off the final minutes and walked away with their four consecutive Reserve League victory.
Scoring Summary:
KC- Antti Sumiala (Jack Jewsbury, Alex Zotinca) 31'
KC- Antti Sumiala (Scott Sealy) 35'
CHI- Chad Barrett (Will John) 62'
Chicago Fire Reserves (4-4-2): Clint Baumstark-GK; Tony Sanneh (Kenneth Robinson-46'), Jared Montz, Jack Stewart, Will John; Jesse Marsch, Chad Barrett, John Thorrington (Omar MacFarlane-77'), Will Johnson; Lubos Reiter (Andy Rosenband-63'), Andy Herron (Hemir Niebles-57')
Kansas City Reserves (4-4-2): William Hesmer-GK; Alex Zotinca, Brian Roberts, Dustin Branan, Ryan Raybould; Jermaine Hue (Jay Alberts-82'), Diego Gutierrez, Jack Jewsbury (Doug Lascody-57'), John Minagawa-Webster, Antti Sumiala (Daniel Dobson-79'), Scott Sealy (Pat McGinnis-74')
Misconduct Summary:
CHI- Jared Montz (Unsporting Behavior) 46'
CHI- John Thorrington (Persistent Infringement) 56'
KC- Alex Zotinca (Delaying a Restart) 64'
Attendance: 100
Weather: Sunny, 79 degrees
Referee: Ivan Veselic
Assistant Referees: Shar Dilmaghani, Phil Thies
4th Official: Robert Walters
