Out of the Cup again, and into the Windy City.

By: Michael | April 19th, 2007

It Takes a Big Man to Admit He’s Wrong:
So I thought we could pull it out against RSL, but the game ended up being even messier than I had foreseen. Both teams saw shot after shot go off the bar, and it seems like more than one play was muddled by the slippery artificial surface, something Sasha Victorine, our only goalscorer in the 2-1 extra time loss, pointed out:

It’s really fast, that the biggest thing about it. I was telling the guys that when you hit long balls, once it bounces it’s gone. That’s basically the difference, if you don’t put it on the guy’s foot the ball is gone.

The bigger adjustment is when your trying to dribble you beat a guy, if you take a bad touch the ball just rolls away. It’s definitely an adjustment, but the good thing about it is the ball moves quickly, so you can play quick and it speeds the game up and makes the play faster.

So not only was the game an away USOC qualifier, it was in RSL’s high altitude stadium, on artificial turf, in the rain. Perhaps this led to a lot of what went wrong for the Wizards, forcing a 33% shooting accuracy (5 of 15 shots on goal). Regardless, I guess I was wrong. But so was everyone else.

CARLOS!
To be polite to RSL, I’ll include how this game marked rookie goalkeeper Chris Seitz’s first MLS game. All reports were he looked good, and Onalfo’s intent was to put a lot of pressure on the kid. After the game, our gracious coach commented the ‘keeper: “I thought he was very good today.”

More apropos to the Wizards, there was another debut that took place last night. In the 61st minute, the Marinelli era began. I cannot really put into words how pleased I am about the reports from Salt Lake City about his Wizards debut. The official summary of his work is probably the most succinct description:

Carlos Marinelli made his Wizards debut in the 61st minute, coming on for Kerry Zavagnin, and the Argentinean No. 10 made his presence felt almost immediately for Kansas City. After Hartman stone-walled a 28-yard rocket from Carey Talley in the 66th minute, Marinelli took control of the Wizards offense.

In the 68th minute it was Marinelli who pressured Jack Stewart, causing the Salt Lake defender to cough up the ball deep in the RSL end. The Wizards took control and strung a few quick passes together before the ball ended back at the feet of Marinelli, who beat his mark and unleashed a blast straight at Seitz.

To top it all off, he’s already garnered some Preki comparisons. Let’s hope they ring true!

The Three Plays that Made it Close:
1) Hartman made a fantastic save on an open Chris Klein one-timer (hey, remember him?). The difference between 1-0 and 2-0 was right there.

2) Marinelli’s entrance and strong play allowed our offense the keep up the second-half pressure and lulled RSL into trying to defend their 1-0 lead instead of going for another goal.

3) Victorine followed up on a blocked header by Will John for the late equalizer. He is now the Wizards’ leading scorer.

The Three Plays that Would have Won It:
1) The first RSL goal was off a PK awarded when Hartman came off his line and took out Freddy Adu. I’ve heard two difference stories, one in which Kevin looked like an awkward preteen and completely missed the ball and another in which it was a close call and the referee ended up deciding the 50/50 in favor of RSL. Regardless, without that goal, Victorine would have scored the game-winner.

2) Our best 1st half chance came when Eddie Johnson maneuvered around RSL GK Chris Seitz and appeared to have an open net… either he hesitated or the defender hustled like none other, but Danny Torres stripped EJo before he could finish the play. Torres was gracious enough to also point out he thought he was fouled on the play.

3) Scott Sealy played a nifty chip over Seitz, but the ball hit the crossbar.

The Final Word:
It was a good effort by a reserve-laden team and I think we can leave with our heads held high. While a win would have done a lot to keep the positive feelings going headed into Chicago, we should still be pleased with our performance thus far. To go out in the first game of the USOC and not have to worry about fatigue issues later on is far better than going out in the semis, especially in a year when our biggest goal is to make the playoffs.

While the extra 30 minutes of play won’t do any wonders for our fitness come the weekend, taking the game past full time really showed a lot of determination from the Wizards. As I’ve said before, had we been able to pull out a late equalizer just twice last year, we’d have been in the playoffs instead of RBNY, so the confidence gained from pushing one in late will help our season in the long run.

So… onward to Chicago, and back to the regularly scheduled season.