This Week with the Wizards - Headlines for Week of June 21
Kansas City wraps up road trip with Western Conference battle against San Jose June 26
The Kansas City Wizards will play their fifth consecutive road game this weekend when they visit Spartan Stadium to take on the San Jose Earthquakes in an important Western Conference battle. The Wizards and Quakes will square off at 9 p.m. CT on Saturday. The match will be broadcast live on HDNet.
Saturday's match marks the first of four meeting's between the two sides this season. The Quakes (4-3-4, 16 points) sit in third place in the Western Conference while the Wizards (6-4-3, 21 points) are tied atop the Western Conference standings with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Quakes feature the second highest scoring offense in MLS with 20 goals scored in 11 games. They are led by an unusual source in Brian Ching, whose 15 points (7g, 1a) have him positioned atop the MLS scoring charts. San Jose will welcome back midfielder Landon Donovan who missed the last two games while with U.S. national team for World Cup Qualifying against Grenada. The Wizards will welcome back Josh Wolff and Kerry Zavagnin who were also with the U.S. national team in Grenada
Brian Ching has been a pleasant surprise for the defending MLS Cup Champion Earthquakes this season. Ching has scored four goals in the Quakes last four games. He and Dwayne De Rosario have made a nice tandem up top, allowing Landon Donovan to move into the midfield and take on more of a creative role for San Jose.
Kansas City has quietly become the top team in MLS after going unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1) all of which have come on the road. The Wizards are tied with the Galaxy with 21 points, but own the tie-breaker in head-to-head play. With eight goals in their last four games, Kansas City has also moved into fourth place in MLS in scoring with 17 goals in 13 games. The Wizards defense have also allowed just 12 goals in 13 games (0.92 GAA), the second best goals against average in the League.
Coach's Bar & Grill to host watch party for Saturday's match at 9 p.m. CT
The Kansas City Wizards and Coach's Bar & Grill will host a watch party on Saturday for the Wizards match against the San Jose Earthquakes. The game will be broadcast live on HDNet beginning at 9 p.m. CT.
The Wizards watch party will take place at Coach's Bar & Grill in South Kansas City, located at 414 W. 103rd St., just off 103rd and Wornall. Remember to wear blue and cheer on your Wizards as they take on the Earthquakes. For directions, call Coach's Bar & Grill at 816-941-2286 or log on to www.coach-s.com.
Wolff Scores in U.S. national team's 3-2 win over Grenada
Wizards forward Josh Wolff and midfielder Kerry Zavagnin were not with the team in New England during their 3-1 win over the Revolution. Instead, the duo were in St. George's, Grenada with the U.S. national team for a World Cup qualifying match against Grenada. Wolff started and played the first 63 minutes and scored the United States' second goal in their 3-2 victory, his 7th career goal with the national team. Zavagnin came on in the 80th minute as a defensive substitute to preserve the lead and helped the U.S. advance into the semifinal round of qualifying.
The U.S. will compete in Group A along with Jamaica, El Salvador and Panama in the semifinal round of Qualifying that will run from August 18 through November 17, 2004. The top two teams from Group A will advance to the Final Round of Qualifying from CONCACAF that will take place in 2005.
Mark your calendars for July 3 and July 10!
Mark your calendars for the first two weekends in July as the Wizards host two of the biggest matches of the season! On Saturday, July 3 the Wizards will "Celebrate America" as they host the Dallas Burn at 7:30 p.m. CT. Immediately following that match, the sky's over Arrowhead will be filled with Kansas City's biggest and best Independence Day weekend fireworks display set to music.
On Saturday, July 10, fifteen year old soccer phenom Freddy Adu will make his first-ever appearance at Arrowhead Stadium when the Wizards host D.C. United. The match will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CT. As the youngest player to play American professional sports in over a century, Adu has drawn media attention from across the globe and has been responsible for an increase in attendance in each MLS city he has played. Of the six road games D.C. United has played this season, they have drawn an average attendance of 25,442.
Tickets for both matches are available through Ticketmaster by calling 816-931-3330 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. The Wizards are also offering a special "Freddy Four Pack" for the July 10 match. Fans can purchase four field level reserved seats for just $60. Additional tickets can be purchased for $15 each. Log on to www.kcwizards.com and click on the Freddy Adu banner to purchase the "Freddy Four Pack" online.
Fan voting underway for 2004 MLS All-Star Game
MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that the ninth annual Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game will feature All-Stars from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference facing off at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, July 31 at 1 p.m. CT, in a live national television broadcast on ABC Sports. In conjunction with the East vs. West contest at RFK Stadium, Major League Soccer will present a MLS reunion match featuring players who competed in the 1994 World Cup in the 10th anniversary of the historic tournament.
The Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on July 31st will bring together the top stars of the sport in America as MLS' two conferences go head-to-head for the first time since 2001. Online fan balloting is currently underway via the League's official web site, www.MLSnet.com and will close on July 5. All-Star starters will be unveiled on July 6 and All-Star reserves named three days later. The 11 Wizards players on the MLS All-Star ballot include goalkeeper Tony Meola, defenders Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Shavar Thomas and Alex Zotinca, midfielders Diego Gutierrez, Chris Klein, Preki and Kerry Zavagnin and forwards Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff.
This week with the Wizards
Kansas City Wizards defender Alex Zotinca will be a special guest along with FOX 4 Meteorologist Don Harman at the New York Life's 3rd Annual Summer Bash on Thursday, June 24. Zotinca will make an appearance at the event at 1 p.m. to approximately 1:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. New York Life is located at 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway in the American Academy of Family Physicians building. The festivities will take place outside on the south side of the building. For more information please call 913-906-4000.
Dynamo at MDA Summer Camp
Wizards mascot Dynamo the Dragon will be at the Muscular Dystrophy Summer Camp for youth with neuromuscular diseases on Tuesday, June 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The camp is located in Perry, Kan. at Camp Chihowa. MDA camp is a magical place offering a wide range of activities specially designed for young people who have limited mobility. Dynamo along with 55-65 local youngsters will put on a parade for family members and MDA representatives. For more information call 785-597-5703.
Wizards summer soccer camps in full fffect
This week the Kansas City Wizards are in the midst of hosting Avila Residential Soccer Camp. The week-long camp kicked off with registration on Sunday with a special guest appearance and autograph session by Wizards defender Taylor Graham. The camp under the direction of Huw Williams officially kicked off on Monday morning. Wizards assistant coaches Tim Mulqueen and Brian Bliss along with Wizards players Diego Walsh, Bo Oshoniyi, William Hesmer, Khari Stephenson, Francisco Gomez, Jose Burciaga and Nick Garcia will be conducting afternoon training sessions on the Avila campus throughout the week. The Kansas City Wizards will host a number of soccer camps at Arrowhead Stadium, Tiffany Springs, Leawood and William Jewell College. For more information on how players can sign up for future camps please call 816-920-9300.
Wizards ACE injury/absence report
M - Preki - out - fractured fibula/dislocated ankle (L)
F - Igor Simutenkov - out - torn achilles tendon (L)
