A pair of important milestones was achieved by D.C. United players in last weekend's World Cup qualifying match against Grenada. Midfielder Earnie Stewart became only the eighth player in USMNT history to make 100 appearances for the full national team, while Bobby Convey made the start to earn his first cap in a World Cup Qualifier on Sunday.
Stewart, a 14-year veteran of the USMNT, earned his first cap in 1990 against Portugal. He would later become one of only five players to appear in three World Cup finals, wearing the captain's armband against Portugal in the USA's 3-2 upset win to open group play in Korea/Japan 2002.
After coming on in the 63rd minute of the second-leg match in St. George's, Grenada on Sunday, Stewart sent DaMarcus Beasley in spectacularly for the decisive goal in the Red, White and Blue's 3-2 victory over the Spice Boys. Stewart also continued his appearance lead for the USMNT in World Cup qualifying matches. He has now appeared in 28 qualifiers, the most of any player in USMNT history.
Convey started the match, after missing his first match of 2004 in the opening leg. He played 88 strong minutes before being substituted for Greg Vanney with the aggregate match well out of reach.
Homecoming
United travels north to take on the A-League's Rochester Raging Rhinos in a friendly match on Wednesday. The match is a homecoming for midfielder Dema Kovalenko, who graduated from Greece Arcadia High School in 1996. Fans can follow all of the action on the newly-redesigned dcunited.com. The match is scheduled for a 7:35 p.m. ET kick-off.
Hot commodities
With the increased attendance at United's home matches, the club has experienced a huge boom in merchandise sales. Throughout 2004, retail outlet and in-stadium sales have doubled over each previous month. Total sales through May have already surpassed the club's total sales for 2003.
Still on trial
Nana Kuffour continues to train with D.C. United as a trialist. Tim Lawson, Alejandro Curbelo and Roland Aguilera are no longer training with the club.
John Roushkolb is a contributor to DCUnited.com.
