AAAAAAAAH! Or: I’ve Finally Recovered Enough to Write a Postgame Summary.

By: Michael | April 15th, 2007

The Good Stuff:
So we won. Four to two… I have to admit the Wizards certainly surpassed what I thought was the lofty expectation of a draw. I can’t possibly think of a better scenario for a win:

- Harrington not only opened the scoring, setting the record for the quickest goal to begin an MLS career… 3 minutes! From then on he dominated the left. Two rhetorical questions on this: 1) How could anyone have foreseen THIS smooth of a transition to MLS? 2) Do you think Burciaga might have enjoyed someone besides the fullback being a key scoring threat on the left?

- Sasha Victorine scored soon afterwards for the quick opening double I was afraid DC would put on us. The 8′ second goal was the fastest opening double in the club’s 12 years of existence.

- Eddie Johnson has now doubled his assist total from last season and is one off his total number of goals. 2006 season: 2G, 1A; Last night: 1G, 2A. His goal was the game’s most crucial (followed by Harrington’s tone-setter), an injury time tally that broke his scoreless streak, showed KC’s new ability to re-open a lead, something we lacked last year, and drastically changed the tone of halftime. How different is giving up two and being tied versus having a 3-2 lead? An absolutely huge goal.

- Sealy topped it off with a late goal (as I predicted) at 54′.

- While Hohlbein was shaky, he wasn’t the gaping hole many people said he would be. As the game progressed, he became a more and more apt replacement for Garcia; I am semi-encouraged about his ability to fill in for Conrad during Jimmy’s USMNT stints this year.

The starting lineup, as expected, was the same as the Seattle Sounders friendly, a 4-1-3-2 that will probably morph into a 4-1-2-1-2 once Marinelli joins up. I imagine Carlos will play more forward than Victorine did last night, although Curt Onalfo disagrees – do you think he could possibly be in a better position to make that call than I?

Now the things I am still nervous about as a longtime Wizards fan:

- Hartman looked a wee shaky, especially on that free kick. Sure, he made contact, but he didn’t keep it out of the net. Last year, blowing an early 2-0 lead like that would have spelt certain defeat. When the adrenaline of a season opener wears off, will we be able to pull it out if the mistakes are repeated? That said, I have every faith that Hartman will come through in a big way this year by comparison to Oshoniyi – especially after he shuts out the Galaxy (Take that, Laurie)!

- We were out-shot, out-cornered, and often out-possessed throughout. While our counter-attacks were extremely effective, I was a bit frustrated by the frequency at which we allowed DC to open up the attack in the first place.

- It rained. Not necessarily a huge deal, but rain has been long-known as a great equalizer in sports. Perhaps one can argue that playing away would counteract this, but I think that our possessional style was less effected by the rain than United’s.

Perhaps the Game is Best Summed up by the Opposition:
Here’s what DCenters, a DC United blog, had to say about the Wizards’ victory:

Kansas City was faster, smarter, and better than United for most of the match. Yes, United created their chances, but they were punished for every mistake they made. There was a time when you could make mistakes in an MLS game and not be savaged. That time ended after 2004.

It’s a great week to love the Wizards!

A Quick Note on the new Odd Team Out Phenomenon:
With the addition of Toronto FC, MLS became a 13-club league, and given the prime nature of 13, a team is left out of each week’s action. I was initially annoyed by this, but now that I have had time to think about it, there are some good things about this. The bye weeks will allow teams to fine-tune their roster and take some time to recover from the bumps and scrapes received from previous weeks. Minor nagging injuries will subside. The level of play will be greater. Also, I enjoy the “game in hand” aspect of this system. Kansas City, for example, is one point back of RBNY for the Eastern Conference lead, but the fact that they have played one game fewer will give them a chance to take the lead if they win during RBNY’s bye week.

Score Update: Michael vs. FIFA ‘03
Given FIFA’s prediction of a 2-1 DC win and mine of a 1-1 tie, I’d say the prediction was a draw. FIFA had DC’s goal total, while I was closer to the actual win/loss result and picked a late goal by Sealy. After one game, I’m 0-0-1. As a side note, I started playing a season and found out that by selling Meola, Fabbro, and one other player (I can’t remember who now) to Liverpool, the Wizards were able to buy Steven Gerrard from the Reds in ‘03. Who in the front office was sleeping while this was a possibility!? Obviously this points to the ridiculous nature many American soccer games deal with transfers. The Soccer Manager series will probably never be paralleled in its realism in that regard.

Additionally, if anyone finds my FIFA ‘03 prediction method is a tad ridiculous for their tastes, I noticed fellow KC-blog “Magic on the Pitch” recently started a similar project, simulating all the games with the brand spanking new FIFA ‘07. Perhaps my idea is catching on! It would be interesting to see if my ‘03 or his ‘07 ends up being more accurate.

My Final Word:
What an absolutely wonderful start to the season(!!!), one that answered “yes” to four major questions:
1) Will the Wizards be able to actually finish out scoring opportunities?
2) Will Eddie Johnson be the EJo of old instead of the flat version of last year?
3) Will Hohlbein be able to compete in the MLS when a center-back slot needs covering?
4) Will Harrington be able to make the jump from UNC to the MLS, playing in the starting XI as a rookie?

The next four questions to be faced will be:
1) Will we continue this good form?
2) Will Marinelli be able to raise the level of offensive production even higher?
3) Will this be another season of the EJo fluke opener?
4) Will the boys be ready for RSL?

For those playing at home, here are the correct answers: Yes, Yes, No, and Are you kidding me? Bring ‘em on!