On the game.

Not much to say. Pretty boring and we made a mediocre (at best) team look pretty good and we were incapable of scoring. Enough said, the highlights are down below.

On the lineup.

I had seen some sparks the previous weekend vs. Chicago, but Vermes went back to the team that Onalfo shoved down our throat week in and week out with little or no results; the big changes Michael Harrington going back to his natural position in the back and McKenzie taking Holhbein’s spot next to Jimmy Conrad. The Harrington move was way over due but the McKenzie switch was almost a disaster since he seemed to have been bitten by the often seen Hirsing bug which makes players give away the ball on the KC side of the field to aid the opposition when it comes to goal scoring; luckily his case was mild and San Jose missed on every chance he gave them.

In the midfield the return of Lopez to the left and Hirsig to the middle gave little positives to KC. I know a lot of people “LOVE” Hirsig and his “touch” but honestly I cannot see it as anything more than mediocre and risky and at least when he played on the wing (which was his natural position in Argentina according to my research of Argentinean newspapers) he moved up and down the field. In the middle he neither fills me with confidence nor does he push the team forward much. Lopez kept moving up on the left and would join the attackers which was OK but he did miss easy early goal that was a sitter and painful to watch during this run with no goals. Jewsbury, one of my favorite players had another off game; one of many in a season that has not been his best, while Herculez Gomez had some nice runs early but disappeared after the 20th minute in each half.

Upfront the drought continues, and it is becoming clear that Josh Wolff needs to see the bench and Davy Arnaud needs a strong man up top with him; 2 lightweight forwards do not have the push to be serious threats game in and game out; hopefully a Zoltan-Arnaud combo might be in the works, at least until he chops down someone else while tries to adjust to the whims and tempers of our refs in the MLS.

So the song that came to mind whilewatching the team play, with that lineup, was “Justify my Love” by Madonna, not because of Madonna (although the video is quite unique), but because I was trying to figure out why Vermes would use a lineup that Onalfo tried constantly with little results. Then it hit me. Vermes is not coaching this team with the intent of coming back as a coach, but on trying to stay as a technical director. If he wins with Onalfo’s “base team” and his “discoveries” (players he brought in) the blame of the season goes to Onalfo for not having been able to make it work; if he can’t it, shifts mainly falls back to Vermes for bringing in those players because neither Onalfo nor Vermes were able to win with them. So this lineup was Peter Vermes saying to the On Goal and the fans, “I’m trying to “Justify my (Job) Love” (either word works). I believe it goes something like this:

I’m open and ready
For you to justify my love (job)
To justify my love (job)
Wanting, to justify
Waiting, to justify my love (job)
Praying, to justify
To justify my love (job)
I’m open, to justify my love (job)

After thinking about the lineup in the pre-game show I turned to the game itself and whatever progress and effort I saw here at home a week ago slowly died since we again tried to rely on the long ball, abandoned passing for long stretches of the game and made silly mistakes in the back that could have (and should have) give San Jose easy goal. We ended up doing that at the end but it was only a matter of time. Stupid as it might seem I saw us taking a step back after what seemed to be step forward in our style of play. Staying with the 90s music theme I quote Paula Abdul on the progress of this team by saying:

I take-2 steps forward
I take-2 steps back

Yes it was so bad that these songs not only were in my brain during the game but stayed with me all through my lawn mowing on Sunday. I should have known after the first 30 minutes and gone online and to watch the video for Madonna’s song, at least for me, that would have been more entertaining.

Hopefully, if we do take another “step back” out of playoff contention, we ditch some of the old guys and play the kids to see what they got, at least then we’ll see some spirit in the team.

Player Ratings:

Kevin Hartman (5), Lance Watson (6), Jimmy Conrad (5), Rauwshan McKenzie (3) (Matt Besler (N/R)), Michael Harrington (5), Santiago Hirsig (4), Herculez Gomez(6), Jack Jewsbury (5), Claudio Lopez (5) (Adam Cristman (N/R)), Davy Arnaud(5), Josh Wolff (4)

Man of the Match:

Slim pickings, but once again reliable and mostly error free Lance Watson gets the nod. I still don’t think that is his position, and I hope that once the season is mathematically over we’ll get to see him as a right mid with a bit more freedom

Here are the highlights:

To make a long story short (since I’m traveling for work) the Wizards again seemed to dominate the run of play but with little or no impact when moving forward. The only real chances came from KC, mainly on plays from Harrington and Lopez but were controlled by Matt Reiss who was able to keep his injury plagued team from allowing a goal.

Luckily New England never really threatened the Wizards goal, since one goal probably would have been enough to win the game the way KC’s offense is playing nowadays. Although much more solid in the back, the KC midfield did little to create scoring chances, and the few that were created were wasted.

At this point I would like to see a change in the midfield for the LA game since more than likely Arnaud and Espinoza won’t be back, but it seems Onalfo in enamored with Michael Harrington in midfield instead of his more natural position in the back. Still, whatever he decides to do we need more playmakers in the middle to feed our forwards so they can play a bit further ahead instead of having to come back for balls in the midfield.

Now KC has 2 weeks before the next game against LA. It would seem we’ll still be shorthanded and won’t have Watson in the back. Hopefully our attack will somehow improve and we can at least start scoring again.

Here are the highlights:

By the time the game kicked off the Wizards knew that a tie would get them into the next round since New England had beat Atlas. One would expect a more ball controlling, possession style game from KC so as to force Santos to open up and look for the goal; in other words, control the tempo, avoid the mistakes and take advantage of the openings Santos was leaving. Well, I can say without a doubt that it didn’t happen that way. A punchless KC could not hold the ball, just had a few REAL chances to score and if the soccer gods were fair, would have ended the game with 5 or 6 goals against them. A Hercules Gomez shot and a Jack Jewsbury header were the only real threat that the Santos goal faced, while poor Kevin Hartman was getting peppered with shots clanging off his goal posts (twice), multiple saves and close calls; all in all not a very inspiring half of football for the Wizards.

The backbreaker for KC was losing Jimmy Conrad to an injury right before the half and putting pressure on an inexperienced Rauwshan Mckenzie to try and hold back the Santos attack that Conrad himself struggled to do while in the game. As the half ended I was hoping that KC was going to strengthen the midfield so as to control the game a bit more, keeping in mind the score was tied and all KC needed was a tie. Regardless of what Coach Onalfo wanted to do, it was clear that his defense had weakened and the constant loss of possession was going to put the line under more pressure.

The change that took place was for a midfielder, but not someone that holds the midfield but for an attacking mid. Onalfo pulled out Lance Watson from the right back position, mover Jewsbury there and then plugged in Davy Arnaud as an attacking mid. That might have brought a bit more offense, but it left the middle of the field wide open for Santos to move the ball; and move it they did, missing at least 3 scoring opportunities. Neither Arnaud nor a lackluster Santiago Hirsig could control the onslaught and soon enough in the 61st minute Santos opened the scoring through the 4 lane wide gap that was the Wizards defense.

In response to that 3 minutes later Onalfo brought in Michael Harrington into the midfield for Aaron Hohlbein, KC’s most experienced defender on the field at that time (Jewsbury is a mid); the though of what was to come made me cringe since now KC was in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 (wherever you want to put Arnaud) against a team they could not stop with 4 defenders let alone 3. Add to that the fact that last week’s performance proves that Harrington is in a slump and needs a long time on the bench to either resort things in his head or wait for Lance Watson to give him back his spot at right back since he continues to struggle as a midfielder.

Santos’ answer to this change, another goal, this time from a counter after Roger Espinoza did not get a foul call where Santos brought the ball quickly and allowed Mares to cross a nice floater towards Matias Vuoso who just physically abused Matt Besler going over him and leaving Hartman with no chance; 2-0. Down by two KC now pulled Hercules Gomez and brought in Michael Kraus to try and salvage something, but little came of it, and it wasn’t until Arnaud was fouled on a run towards goal that Claudio Lopez to buried the free kick to bring KC closer.

The Wizards continued to pressure trying to find an equalizer but missed on 2 clear chances: first Espinoza was able to get a shot off that hit the post and then in stoppage time a nice cross by Harrington sprung Hirsig free but alone vs. the Santos keeper he got off a very weak shot. Off this last play Santos counterattacked again and scored their 3rd and final goal. A bad loss that sees the Wizards Superliga run come to an end.

Player Ratings: Kevin Hartman(6), Lance Watson (5), Jimmy Conrad (4), Aaron Hohlbein (5) , Matt Besler (4), Herculez Gomez (5) , Santiago Hirsig (3), Jack Jewsbury (5), Roger Espinoza (5), Josh Wolff (34), Claudio Lopez (6); Subs: Davy Arnaud (4), Rauwshan McKenzie (3), Michael Harrington (3) Michael Kraus (1)

Players of the Game: Claudio Lopez & Kevin Hartman: Most of KC’s attacks came from of through Lopez’s feet; he sometimes makes shooting/passing decisions that make me scratch my head but he’ll make up for it a play later with a nice pass or a good play. In Hartman’s case, the man saved KC from finishing the game 5 or 6 goals down; enough said.

Commentary: A few weeks ago I had commented that KC seemed to play the same system regardless of the situation or the team and although there have been arguments to the contrary, this game in my mind proved this. I understand the idea of trying to win a game, but when a tie is all you need I believe that more possession oriented game plan should be used in search of the win. Instead KC, when not able to cross midfield passing the ball then went ahead and started launching long passes which most of the time gave Santos back possession of the ball. I think that when the offense is suffering as it really did for these Superliga games (2 goals: 1 own goal and 1 free kick) possession becomes the key and KC did not possess the ball.

I also don’t understand the insistence in playing Michael Harrington at midfielder. First of all he’s a natural defender, and secondly he is in a horrible slump where he’ll make one good cross (the one Hirsig missed) out of 5 or will get flustered and give away the ball too easily (like he did a couple of times at the end of the game). The Michael Kraus sub also makes me scratch my head since he only provides effort to the attack but little physical presence (he’s done next to nothing after that goal in Colorado); I know Thompson is also in a slump but he does open spaces as a big body.

All in all the Superliga was a super embarrassment. We tied a preseason Atlas team; tied an injury ravage New England team (with an own goal); and lost against a preseason Santos team in a game that if things in soccer were always fair would have ended 7-3. Now KC is going to US Cup play and back to MLS play with holes in the defense and midfield and in a position that if things go badly could see them fall out of contention very quickly.

I know I don’t make the lineup but I would love to see Jewsbury as a central defender on Saturday against Houston; yes we will miss the push forward, but he knows how to defend and can help organize a very young defense; that is if he isn’t too tired from playing every single Superliga game.

On the Referee: Typical CONCACAF mediocre refs. He hurt both teams, but the linesman on the bench side was horrible on his offside call. With a $ 1 million purse one would hope that at least for the international matched the could get better refs.

Here are the highlights:

Yesterday’s KC and NE game had the tough task of following the US National Team’s historic victory vs. Spain. Although I’m sure none of us expected the same level of soccer, we were treated to 2 teams that must have been suffering from their exhausting Sunday matches. While NE tried to exploit the speed of their forwards Mansally and Dube, KC lived and died by trying to control the ball and limit the time their opponent had the ball in their possession. The result was one team excessively using the long ball while the other team passed the football easily up to midfield and then did not know what to do with it. Although there were a few plays that brought danger to both goalkeepers, the truth is that most of the game was played in midfield with no real threat.

After the red card it seemed that NE had more space on the field and their runs down the wings got a bit more dangerous until they finally opened the scoring in a play in the box where KC failed to clear the ball and where Rauwshan McKenzie lost his man Dube, who slotted the ball by Kevin Hartman.
At halftime Claudio Lopez came in for a very ineffective Michael Harrington in an effort to get more offense by moving the team to a 4-3-3. This allowed for KC to put pressure on the NE that seems to have decided to pull back and play only one man forward trying to hold the lead. Even with a man up KC could breakthrough the NE defensive effort, so Curt Onalfo went ahead and brought in Hercules Gomez for Abe Thompson to open the play down the wings and try and find the equalizer by forcing crosses into the box. Finally, in the 85th minute a Gomez cross looking for Wolff found the outstretched leg of Darrius Barnes who put the ball in his own goal for the KC tie. A few minutes later Matt Reis saved the Revolution by pushing wide a nice Josh Wollf header. The game ended 1-1

Commentary: A boring game, where KC once again could not take advantage of their extra man by falling behind and then struggling to finally tie the game. In their last game against NE the Wizards were able to buck the trend of not being able to take advantage of being a man up. In this game they again struggled, even to the point of conceding a goal. Something needs to change either tactically or from a personnel point of view so that they can take advantage of these situations. They don’t seem to play good soccer when they have the man advantage..

Hopefully we can see another mixture of starters and reserves for the next game, especially in the back line and in midfield so that Curt Onalfo can look for replacements for the 3 players (Conrad, Arnaud and Espinoza) the team will lose for the Gold Cup.

Player Ratings:
Kevin Hartman (6), Jonathan Leathers (5), Aaron Hohlbein (5)(Michael Kraus (N/A)), Rauwshan McKenzie (6), Matt Besler (5); Jack Jewsbury (5), Santiago Hirsig (5) (Kurt Morsink (N/A)), Davy Arnaud (5), Michael Harrington (3) (Claudio Lopez (5)); Josh Wolff (6), Abe Thompson (3) (Herculez Gomez (6))

On a side note: I will reiterate that the game was painfully boring most of the time, it was even more painful to listen to the New England commentators complain about the Videira red card. At one point I was waiting for them to start playing a violin to go with their crying. Look, Videira jumped and swung his arm up in an effort tot hit the ball with his head; unless you have never watched soccer you know that FIFA has been cracking down on those plays where elbows fly on headers since the 2006 WC because they consider it a “use of excessive force that can result in the injury of a player”. These “journalists” must have decided to ignore the cut under Holhbein’s eye that came from the elbow and that had to be bandaged. Come on, I know you guys need to be homers but to keep going on this topic for the rest of the game was a bit excessive. For your next Superliga game make sure your producers have a nice cheese to go with your whine.

On another side note: This was the Wizards press release after yesterday’s game: Kansas City Wizards Remain Undefeated in SuperLiga with Comeback Draw Wednesday at New England Revolution. I’m not even going to comment on it.

Here are the highlights:

The Game:
Columbus was missing 2 of their best players in Alejandro Moreno and Frankie Hejduk while KC was missing part time started Roger Espinoza. The lack of leadership mattered little to the Crew since Guillermo Barros picked up the slack for his missing teammates and ran a Crew attack that when moving forward caused serious pains for the KC defense. It was in one of these long kicks down the middle that Aaron Holhbein, Jimmy Conrad and Kevin Hartman converged. Although Hartman called for the ball it was too late and they all collided right in front of the penalty spot in a typical baseball follies play. This collision gave Mr. Barros, who was close by, an open shot on goal and an easy 1-0 lead.

KC tried to react but nothing came of it. Their midfield was uninspired (again!) and they did little to disturb the Crew’s keeper. With this really bad back and forth long passing the half came mercifully to an end (there was so little soccer that neither team had a corner kick in the first half). Yes, that bad.

I expected to see some changes in KC since they could do little to muster an attack but no subs came. KC continued to pressure the Crew defense, but Columbus just sat back and with the one goal lead just counterattacked the Wizards. And counter attack they did; Columbus put pressure on the KC defense and started getting corners and free kicks off these long runs on the wings, where both Matt Besler and Lance Watson were over matched. It was on one of these free kicks (on an Ekpo run) that Chad Marshall earned a straight red card for giving Holhbein a knee in the groin while jostling for position. It was the 51st minute, and KC again, for the second straight game, was a man up.

Down to 10 men the Crew now really bunkered down and just left Barros up top harassing the KC defenders, and of course the harassment paid off. The Crew got a throw in on the left side of the KC defense that was headed out to the edge of the box to Matt Besler who decided to chest it and then clear it but had the ball stolen from him and his late clearance kick missed the ball and took down a Crew player in the box. A penalty was called, which Barros calmly put in for a 2-0 advantage. After that KC just kept sending floaters into the box off crosses and corners which were easily cleared. They also tried long distance shots that were either off the mark or stopped by the ocean of Crew defenders stuck in the box. With the exception of a nice save by the C-bus keeper off a Jewsbury shot and a Wolff try from outside the box that hit the crossbar, the Wizards were timid and punchless.

The game thankfully came to and end since it was the Crew, during this time of pressure by KC, that could have padded the score even more had Hartman not saved the team again on a couple of breakaways.

Player Ratings:

Kevin Hartman (6), Lance Watson (4) (Michael Harrington (4)), Jimmy Conrad (5), Aaron Hohlbein (5) (Graham Zusi (3)), Matt Besler (3), Jack Jewsbury(5), Davy Arnaud (4) , Santiago Hirsig (4), Herculez Gomez (3)(Abe Thompson (5)), Josh Wolff (4), Claudio Lopez (4).

My Tally: (+3)
Starting lineup: Got it to a “T”
Score: I said 2-1 KC; it was 2-0 Crew
Subs: I said (Harrington, Thompson, Zusi); Got them all
Hartman: I said he’d have a busy game; Got that one right

Man of the Match: Hartman. Regadless of the mistake with his defenders he still kept the game close. Plus no one else deserves it.

The Ref:

Toledo was good. Some calls could have gone either way but nothing noticeable. The red: kudos to Toledo, it took me watching the replay twice to see the Marshall dirty knee. The penalty, although I’ve seen it called both ways, was by the book; there was contact by Besler; anyway, KC was not going to score anyway on Saturday, plus Besler should have cleared right away. The ref did his job.

My thoughts:

There needs to be some urgent changes in the KC lineup (and higher?). I’ll take some time during the week to give my overall opinion on Onalfo and the players, but right know, and since the win at Salt Lake, the team has looked flat, uninspired and leaderless. Yes, Jimmy Conrad is the Captain, but there are no leaders after that. Fan favorites Arnaud and Jewsbury are not at their best (especially Arnaud) and the team is in a winless streak that it needs to pull up from before it’s too late.

Here are some of the highlights, judge for yourselves.

It was a scoreless first half that had me nodding off watching Preki tactically beat Curt Onalfo, Chivas having the bulk of the scarce scoring chances and Kevin Hartman earning his Man of the Match title once again. And then things started to pick up. KC took the offensive in the second half, with Roger Espinoza pushing forward, delivering better passes to Claudio Lopez, and Jack Jewsbury starting to take control of the midfield. It was during one of these attacks that Espinoza was taken down with a karate-like kick from a Chivas player (who got no card, by the way), and the subsequent free kick was buried beautifully by Lopez in the top left corner, leaving Thorton with no chance.

Just 8 minutes later a free kick by Chivas that was not cleared by the KC defense ended at the feet of the now always opportunistic Eduardo Lillingston who outmuscled Lance Watson and slotted the ball on the left side of Hartman (it seems to me that Watson has been involved in most opponents goals this year by being outplayed or outmuscled; hint, hint Mr. Onalfo). So I’m thinking, wow, 2 goals in 8 minutes, the game was heating up! Nope, whatever heat it was picking up was quickly smothered by Mr. Ass and his band of myopic moron linesmen.

Four minutes after the Chivas goal, a nice through pass was sent towards Josh Wolff who may or may not have been clipped by Chivas defender, Eduardo Trujillo (personally, I think Wolff needs to man up and not go down that easy at times, a la Landycakes, but that’s just me). Wolff took exception to that and after pleasantries were exchanged between players, Wolff “headbutted” Trujillo slightly, and Trujillo pushed him back. Now look, I’m all for ejecting players for violent behavior, but considering that Trujillo, an excellent showman (a la Mr. Blanco in Chicago), would have fallen, rolled on the ground and needed CPR to be revived had that “headbutt” been at all hard, and considering the fact that he proceeded to shove Wolff back, this was nothing that serious. It should have been a “yellow for both, next time I see you not playing nice you are done for the game” type of situation. But NO! Mr. Ass, with his band of Merry Morons assistants, after talking things over for what seemed forever, decided a red for Wolff and a yellow for Trujillo and one more to a KC player for “dissent”. Well, there went any chance of this game getting any better.

Let me be clear, up to that point in the game, Mr. Ass had shown 2 yellow cards, to Atiba Harris and Santiago Hirsig for not playing nice during a corner kick; because in Mr. Ass’ world, during corners, players are not allowed to jostle for position, and must hold hands and hug until the ball is in the air. Well, the game continued and it suddenly turned into a game where the free flowing of the ball back and forth was cut by the constant whistles of Mr. Ass, who now decided to be the enforcer instead of letting the boys play. Around the 83rd minute a nifty move by Sasha Victorine led to a trip by Santiago Hirsig and his ejection for a second yellow. I feel it could have been worth a yellow, but having seen the fouls up to that point that had not gotten cards, I’d have to say Mr. Ass screwed this one up also, especially considering that no one got a card for nearly decapitating Espinoza.

Well, at that point in the game, the Wizards were down to 9 players and in a purely defensive mode and Chivas was trying to take advantage of their numbers with no luck. And the end came with Mr. Ass leaving the field as some of us were singing his praises as he walked into the tunnel.

Player Rankings: Hartman 7, Watson 4, Conrad 5, Hohlbein 5, Besler 5, Arnaud 4, Hirsig 4, Jewsbury 5, Espinoza 5, Wolff 2, Lopez 6.
Subs Gomez 4, Harrington N/A, Kraus N/A

More Commentary:

On the Wizards: They got outcoached and were lucky to end the 1st half with a tie. It was not surprising that the same lineup that beat RSL last week was going to do little damage to a far superior Chivas team. It was not Wolff’s day, he missed 2 chances in the first half and should have been out of the game before his ejection and the ejection play, although harsh, was STUPID on his part. Josh, never give Mr. Ass a chance to show us his merciless power to change the game (and show us how much he sucks). Will the Davy Arnaud that started the season please come back, where are you? Chance Myers needs to get healthy now; Lance Watson has the heart but lacks the physical strength to handle MLS attackers and he has been involved (negatively) in half of the goals the team has given up since he has been starting; Michael Harrington anyone? Also, after all these games I finally saw Hirsig play a one-touch ball, it was with his head, but one-touch is one touch, right?

On the Ref: I don’t care how much the MLS grows game-wise, if the quality of refs keeps being inconsistent, the game will not advance. If you are a “quality player” whose last name isn’t Donovan or can act out the part like Mr. Blanco, you will get pounded week in and week out with little protection or calls. Yet MLS refs will have issues with players pushing and shoving in the area while doing nothing about serious tackles. Also if by any chance that day they do take care of that part of the game it will not be consistent or their level of rigorousness will be on and off at different times in the game, leaving players not knowing what ref will do. In other words their “strike zone” will be all over the place.

I like Don Garber, but to excuse HIS bad refs by saying that there are bad officiated games all over the world is STUPID. Let me tell you something Don, the “Blanco T-shirt Gate” that you have asked us to dismiss and forget would have probably cost an English or Spanish ref the rest of the season for the appearance of impropriety, but your “disciplinary” committee can’t do that because the ref involved sadly is near the top of a mediocre ref class; you bench him and we’ll be getting a lot more of Mr. Ass throughout the league; spreading joy and idiocy with his merry band of linesmen. I see how Laurie up in Seattle felt after the Tim Weyland debacle a few weeks back. Call me a bad loser (although we didn’t lose) but fans should get more from the refs; they are not part of the show, they should be there to help the show run smoother.

For the record I’d like to clarify that I know that Anno specifically describes a part of of the Ass. If you sound out the word itself you get the idea of what I’m talking about. Out of respect to the few who read this post I wanted to refrain from using the popular phrase but could not leave out my distaste for horrible officiating.

Here are the highlights:

• The Wizards shot themselves in the foot a number of times with sloppy turnovers, especially in the first half.
• The bungled clearing attempts cost them the first goal, as defense continues to be a bit inconsistent. Guevara’s goal was ugly and he may have been offside, but come on now. Terrible defense leads to goals
• Toronto really came out of the gates in the first 15 minutes with a real attacking mindset. Good job by KC to weather the storm.
• The fans in Toronto continue to impressive. The field may be astro turf, but with every game likely to sell out this year is great.
• Ivan Trujillo loved hugging the back post whenever Lopez fed in crosses. Crash near post. Also, not a great finish after a nice set up by Claudio in the 70th minute.
• Amado Guevara played like a monster. Great free kick in the 78th minute.

Hardly a disastrous loss, but more of a step back than anything else. Toronto played great and the Wizards were on their heels for a large part of the game. Onfalo tried to make the right moves, bringing on Scott Sealy and Carlos Marinelli, but they couldn’t crack the Toronto defense. It is still early, after all.

The progress of the defense will be important to monitor. This week saw a moment of blundering leading to the first goal. Conrad remains solid at the back, and Harrington’s speed kept runs from Wynne at bay. Chance Myers was a bit inconsistent, with some strong runs forward, although at times his final touch let him down. Bottom line is that the number of sloppy turnovers cost them.

Here are the highlights, courtesy of MLS.


Next Opponent:
Next stop is Columbus. Wizards look to get back against the Crew, who sit in first place with the best record in the MLS. They took down the Dynamo 1-0 last weekend.

Part Two: Midfield

Kerry Zavagnin: One of the rocks of the midfield, has played his entire MLS career with the Wizards. Usually taking on the defensive midfield role, he is usually called upon to help shut down the opposing team’s best player. Also chips in a few goals here and there, as he had three last season.

Kurt Morsink: A second year player out of James Madison (my alma mater), Morsink played regularly last season after joining the squad. He even cracked the starting lineup 10 times. I remember watching him in college and recognizing that while he was the best player out there, I had no idea he was MLS material. Shows what I know, right?

Ryan Pore: Another one of those versatile players. Saw time in the preseason at attacking midfield and forward, the positions where he sees the most playing time. Looking to build on last season where he started four games and played in 17.

Michael Harrington: A potential starter on the left side who can also fill in at defense. Brings in a great deal experience from last season where he saw action in 29 games. One of three players to start every preseason game up to this point, so expect to see him a lot this season, most likely on the left side of midfield.

Carlos Marinelli: Attacking midfielder in his second year. Has failed to live up to the great hype he saw as a child, as he once was labeled the ‘next Maradona’. Bounced around different clubs, going from Boca Juniors, to Middlesborough, Torino, and Racing Club just to name a few. Hopefully he has found a home here in KC and will continue to lead the attack out of midfield.

Roger Espinoza: The second pick in the 2008 draft out of Ohio State, Espinoza was injured during preseason and missed the team’s trip down to Argentina. He broke a metatarsel in his foot and was diagnosed to miss 3-4 weeks. That was made a few weeks ago, so he should be back and in playing shape as the season starts.

Lance Watson: A developmental player trying to increase his role with the team. Injured his foot during preseason and will miss 6 weeks, maybe more with a broken foot.

Ryan McMahen: Holding midfielder still trying to break through with the team. Yet to feature for the first team and only saw limited action in the preseason. Will end up getting most of his time with the reserves.

Sasha Victorine: Established veteran that sticks in the midfield. Played in 29 games the previous season and looks to make an impact upon return. Has yet to play in a preseason match due to injury and the birth of his child. His future is kind of up in the air right now, but I’d expect him to come back soon.

Davy Arnaud: Attacking midfielder who also spends time at forward. Appeared in 28 games last season, netting four goals. Is currently injured and will miss the beginning of the 2008 season. A key player who will be missed during the beginning of the season, but the new signings will ease the pain of his early loss. Expect him back by the end of April.

Amir Lowery: 24 year-old from Washington, DC trying to carve out a career in pro soccer. Has bounced around a bit, but is listed on the roster, and has appeared 10 times during the preseason. Chalk him up to the reserve squad, I would have to say. Also can fall back into a defensive role.

Bottom Line: The midfield features a blend of youth and experience. The foundation for the forwards will be found right here, as the likes of Marinelli and Zavagnin will work to create space and play the right passes to open things up in the front of the pitch. This is one outfit that has been hit by injuries already, as Espinoza, Watson, and Arnaud already face time out with injury. But there is no question that the midfield is deep enough to handle these setbacks.