KANSAS CITY - All the positive energy building up around the Kansas City Wizards helped them surge to a 4-1 victory Saturday against the Colorado Rapids and kept the club undefeated at home under interim coach Brian Bliss.
The murky future surrounding the Wizards for nearly 21 months when they were put up for sale by investor/operator Lamar Hunt was cleared up on Aug. 31 when a new ownership group brought the club.
The players were also boosted by 12,337 fans, the third-largest attendance at Arrowhead Stadium this season. Only the home opener and the July 1 game that featured a big fireworks display exceeded Saturday's attendance.
Bliss wasn't ready attribute the three-goal victory to a new ownership bounce, but would not discount it, either.
"It very well could be. The guys have seen a little bit of love, so to speak, in the last 10 days," Bliss said. "They feel good about themselves because of the direction we are heading in. Maybe there was a little bit of extra fire in the guys' bellies tonight."
Wizards midfielder Sasha Victorine felt the support of the fans, in particular.
"I think everybody definitely feels the energy (the new ownership group is) bringing and it helps give a little bit of extra energy in that sense, especially toward the end of the season," Victorine said. "I think the energy you see is in the stands. The crowd sounded louder today than they I have heard them in a long time."
The Wizards, though, did their part by playing energetically in both halves. Until the Wizards pulled ahead late in the game, the Rapids were matching that energy.
Midfielder Davy Arnaud put the finishing touches on the Wizards victory with goals in the 56th and 77th minutes. Defender Jose Burciaga, Jr., delivered both balls to Arnaud, the first from a corner kick, the second from a 45-yard cross into the penalty area.
Scott Sealy got the Wizards started with a goal just more than 30 seconds into the game. But Colorado tied the game on Kyle Beckerman's goal in the 11th minute.
The Wizards did not let up after Sealy's early goal or appear knocked back on their heels after Beckerman's goal. Bliss said Beckerman's strike helped keep the Wizards focused.
"If you can say a goal against is a good thing," Bliss said. "It kept us grounded a little bit. Then the guys came out in the second half and kept it going and generated a few more opportunities and this time put them in."
Finishing was the difference. The Wizards have had games where they have had many scoring opportunities. Bliss said the game in New York on July 22, his first as interim coach, was one such game. The Wizards lost that game 1-0 to the Red Bulls.
Victorine said the four-goal outburst just made it easier to play.
"We had a lot of opportunities and we had the opportunity to score more goals than we did," Victorine said. "The guys who were in front of the goal and were able to finish made it a heck of a lot easier for everybody else.
The Wizards will have an extra week to savor the victory. They do not play again until Sept. 23, but it will be a crucial game against the New England Revolution, who stayed one point ahead of the Wizards in the Eastern Conference standings with a victory on Saturday.
"We came in at halftime and said, 'No one leaves anything out on the field. We have two weeks to recover,'" Victorine said. "The last thing we want to do is, for two weeks, be [upset] because we only got a point or we didn't get any points."
Burciaga said that while the Wizards have been underachieving this season, their success lately, especially at home, shows their capability.
"This is the time we all have to pick up our game a little and we all did as a team (against the Rapids)," Burciaga said. "This team is underachieving. With all the talent in this room, we're underachieving. We shouldn't be in the position we are in now.
"We've shown it tonight, not only tonight but against Columbus (on Aug. 12, a 4-0 victory). We've shown what kind of team we are the last couple of weeks and all the (attacking) threats we have on this field."
Robert Whitman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
