Kansas City Wizards Weekly Update: March 15, 2010
March 15, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
* Wizards Play Intra-Squad Game, Take on UMKC Tomorrow
* "Supporters Showdown" Against A.C. St. Louis This Weekend
* Josh Wolff To Appear On Fox Football Fone-In Tonight
* Smith and Kostrov Sign, Rocastle Agrees To Terms
* Open Tryout Draws over 100
* Victorine Returns to Wizards
* Registration Now Open for Indoor Cash Cup
* Wizards Youth Camps Now On Sale
* 15 days of March Giveaways Continue
* 2010 Season Ticket Packages Now on Sale
WIZARDS PLAY INTRA-SQUAD GAME, TAKE ON UMKC TOMORROW:
The Kansas City Wizards played their first intra-squad scrimmage of the preseason on Thursday, with the team in white prevailing over the blue team by a score of 5-2 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Physicality hallmarked the scrimmage, with strong tackles on both sides raising the tempo of play. However, Manager Peter Vermes remained happy with the attitude of both sides.
"[Physical play] is a great thing. Competitiveness breeds better play amongst all the players, so it always has to be there," Vermes said. "The guys definitely had a good competitive spirit throughout the whole game for both teams, so that was great."
Chance Myers got the white team off to a hot start just over 10 minutes into the game, finishing off a feed from Michael Harrington to put his team up 1-0. Harrington would play provider again just a few minutes afterwards, this time setting up Josh Wolff to make it 2-0. Myers scored his second goal of the night just after halftime, with Ryan Smith making the score 4-0 not long afterwards.
The blue team got on the board with a vicious strike from Kei Kamara halfway through the second half, but gave up another goal just a few minutes later. Myers earned the chance after being brought down in the penalty area and Wolff buried the resulting penalty kick.
Rookie Forward Teal Bunbury gave the blue team a bit of a consolation prize at the end, as his shot deflected off defender Matt Besler and bounced past a stranded Jimmy Nielsen to close the scoring.
The Wizards' next preseason test will come tomorrow against the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Kangaroos at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
"SUPPORTERS SHOWDOWN" AGAINST A.C. ST. LOUIS THIS WEEKEND:
This weekend will feature the Wizards' first game in the club's new competition, with fellow Midwestern club A.C. St. Louis of the USSF Division II set to be the inaugural opponent. Dubbed the "Supporters Showdown," the contest will consist of a game between the Kansas City Wizards and A.C. St. Louis first teams, followed by a match between supporters of both clubs.
The games will be played back-to-back on Saturday, March 20th at the Wizards' Swope Park training facility, with the Wizards and A.C. St. Louis playing first at 2 p.m. Immediately afterwards, the supporters teams will play each other on an adjacent field. The winner of the competition will be determined by combining the scores of the two games, with a trophy awarded to the captain of the winning team's supporters.
Admission to the games will be free for season ticket holders and $5 for the general public. Wizards fans interested in participating in the supporters' game should contact Sam Pierron at (913) 387-3413 or at spierron@kcwizards.com for more information. Only Wizards season ticket holders will be eligible to participate in the Wizards team for the supporters' match.
JOSH WOLFF TO APPEAR ON FOX FOOTBALL FONE-IN TONIGHT:
Wizards forward Josh Wolff will join hosts Nick Webster and Eric Wynalda on tonight's edition of popular Fox Soccer Channel program Fox Football Fone-In.
The show, which covers a wide range of soccer topics both foreign and domestic, will air live tonight starting at 7 p.m. CDT. Those that wish to call in and ask Wolff, Wynalda, or Webster a question may do so by calling 888-FOX-FANS (888-369-3267).
SMITH AND KOSTROV SIGN, ROCASTLE AGREES TO TERMS
The Kansas City Wizards announced today the signing of midfielders Ryan Smith and Igor Kostrov to Major League Soccer contracts, along with an agreement to terms with English midfielder Craig Rocastle. Per team and League policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The three players will compete for spots across the Wizards' midfield, with Smith's natural position on the left flank, Kostrov on the right and Rocastle in the center.
The team also announced that goalkeepers Louis Crayton and Boris Pardo have been trimmed from the team's preseason roster. A member of the Wizards since 2008, Pardo appeared in two games for the team, including an appearance in last year's U.S. Open Cup opening round game against the Minnesota Thunder. Pardo stopped two penalty kicks in the game en route to a Wizards shootout victory.
A Liberian international goalkeeper formerly of D.C. United and FC Basel of Switzerland, Crayton joined the Wizards as a trialist at the start of the 2010 preseason.
Kansas City Wizards Preseason Roster (As of 3/15/10)
No. Player Pos. Pronunciation Place of Birth Last Team
1 Jimmy Nielsen GK neel-sen Aalborg, Denmark Vejle
2 Michael Harrington DEF Greenville, NC
3 Korede Aiyegbusi DEF co-reh-dee eye-eh-BOO-see London, UK
4 Craig Rocastle MID London, UK Forest Green Rovers
5 Matt Besler DEF BEEZ-ler Overland Park, KS
6 Pablo Escobar DEF Valle del Cauca, Colombia Deportivo Cali
7 Chance Myers D/M Thousand Oaks, CA
8 Stéphane Auvray MID OH-vray Les Abymes, Guadeloupe Nimes Olympique
9 Teal Bunbury FWD Prior Lake, MN
10 Santiago Hirsig MID HEAR-sig Buenos Aires, Argentina San Lorenzo
11 Ryan Smith MID London, UK Crystal Palace
12 Jimmy Conrad DEF Temple City, CA San Jose Earthquakes
14 Jack Jewsbury MID Springfield, MO
15 Aaron Hohlbein DEF HOLE-bine Middleton, WI
16 Josh Wolff FWD Stone Mountain, GA 1860 Munich
17 Roger Espinoza MID Aurora, CO
18 Eric Kronberg GK Krawn-berg Santa Rosa, CA
20 Zoltan Hercegfalvi FWD Budapest, Hungary Honved
21 Igor Kostrov MID Moldova Maccabi Herzliya
22 Davy Arnaud MID ARE-no Nederland, TX
23 Kei Kamara FWD kye kah-MAHR-ah Lawndale, CA Houston Dynamo
25 Jonathan Leathers DEF Athens, GA
27 Birahim Diop MID Bee-ra-heeem Dee-op Thies, Senegal FDR United
28 Graham Zusi MID ZOO-see Longwood, FL
30 Michael Kraus FWD Kr-ow-se
33 Mauro Fuzetti MID Mah-row Houston, TX
OPEN TRYOUT DRAWS OVER 100
The Wizards' annual open tryouts took place over the weekend, with 150 players descending on the team's Swope Park Training Facility for the chance to get noticed by Wizards coaches.
Of the original 150 that took part on Saturday, 47 players were called back by Wizards coaches to take part in a second day of tryouts on Sunday morning. Wizards staff may call the best of that bunch back in the coming weeks for training with the Wizards first team.
VICTORINE RETURNS TO WIZARDS
As part of the Wizards' broadcast partnership with local TV station KCWE 29, the team announced that former Wizards midfielder Sasha Victorine will rejoin the club as a color commentator for its television broadcasts. Victorine will also work in the corporate sponsorships department in the Kansas City front office.
Victorine joined Kansas City in 2005, when he tied his career-high in goals (7). Victorine led the Wizards in assists in 2007, with seven. In 2008, Victorine joined Chivas USA, where he played the final two seasons of his career. Victorine retired after playing in 242 matches (213 starts) in MLS regular-season play. He scored 32 goals and registered 41 assists in 19,188 minutes. Victorine played in 23 post-season matches (22 starts), scoring four goals and adding two assists.
Victorine also appeared in three matches with the U.S. National Team, making his debut against Mexico in October of 2000 and scoring his first goal with the team against El Salvador on November 17, 2002. He was also on the roster of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, where he made three appearances including scoring the game-winning penalty kick against Japan after a 2-2 draw in regulation and sudden death overtime.
Victorine had a stellar collegiate career at UCLA, where he won the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year award in his senior year. Sasha and his wife Melissa have one child, a daughter named Halia.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR INDOOR CASH CUP
Indoor soccer teams from around the region can now register for the Kansas City Cash Cup, to take place at the Kansas City Soccer Dome from Friday, April 9th to Sunday, April 11th. The tournament winners will receive a cash prize, in addition to Wizards apparel for every member of the team. Games will be played in a 6v6 men's division and a 7v7 coed division.
Tournament registration guarantees each team at least three games, with possible advancement to semi-final and final games. Each team will also receive 12 tickets to the Wizards' home game against the Colorado Rapids at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on April 10th.
For more information about the tournament, including registration, hotel information and game rules, contact tournament director Brian Budzinski at (816) 215-9456 or email at brian@soccerdome.com. All teams must register by Friday, April 2nd.
WIZARDS YOUTH CAMPS NOW ON SALE:
Registration to any of the Kansas City Wizards' youth camps is now open, with nine different camps taking place at various locations around the Kansas City metro area this summer.
All camps will be managed and directed by full time Wizards employees, and include appearances by Wizards coaching staff and/or players along with a game ticket and many other benefits. The Wizards offer a variety of camps, consisting of Elite Camps for boys only, Fantasy Camps for the experienced male & female players at the team's Swope Training Center and a handful of other camps in the Overland Park area.
For more information or to register for a Kansas City Wizards youth camp, visit www.kcwizards.com/camps, or contact Betsy Pollard at (913) 387-3883 or bpollard@kcwizards.com.
15 DAYS OF MARCH GIVEAWAYS CONTINUE:
As a way to say thank you to Wizards fans for 15 years of support, the Wizards are giving away one prize per day on the 15 days leading up to their season opener on March 27th at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. A personalized replica Wizards jersey, an appearance by Dynamo the Dragon and an autographed Wizards soccer ball have already been given out, with more great prizes on the way. To be eligible for a prize, you must either have purchased Wizards season tickets, Wizards single game tickets, Wizards group tickets, or registered to win on www.kcwizards.com. The daily winner will be listed on the website at 5:00 p.m. each day.
Prizes are as follows:
March 15th - Watch the Wizards pre-season game on March 20th at Swope Park from the Wizards bench
March 16th - A U.S. National Team Jersey
March 17th - A tour of Weston Brewing Company, the brewer of Drop Kick Ale
March 18th - 4 Field Side Reserved tickets to the Wizards home opener
March 19th - Dinner for 4 at Dave & Buster's
March 20th - A round of golf at the National for 4
March 21st - A tour of the Swope Park training facility by a member of the Wizards coaching staff
March 22nd - One night's stay at the Hyatt Crown Center
March 23rd - Authentic Wizards home jersey
March 24th - One luxury suite night for a 2010 Wizards home game
March 25th - Post game meet and greet with a Wizards player
March 26th - Get interviewed on the Wizards pregame prior to a 2010 Wizards broadcast
March 27th - 4 VIP passes to World Cup viewing parties
2010 SEASON-TICKET PACKAGES NOW ON SALE:
The Kansas City Wizards are now accepting renewals from current season ticket holders and new season ticket purchases for the 2010 Major League Soccer season. The Wizards will begin the 2010 campaign with a home match on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. CT against D.C. United at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kansas City, a charter member of Major League Soccer, will play its 15th season in 2010.
Fans who renew their season tickets or purchase new season-ticket packages will retain an early priority number that will determine seat locations in Kansas City's new stadium. To renew season tickets or purchase new season tickets, call the Wizards locally at 913-387-3400, toll-free at 1-888-4KC-GOAL or visit www.kcwizards.com.
Prices for the 2010 Kansas City Wizards season at CommunityAmerica Ballpark will remain unchanged, with the exception of some premium seating sections. Season tickets start at just $180 for an 18-game schedule that includes 15 regular-season MLS contests and three "Special Game" tickets. The Wizards will offer FREE parking for all matches at CommunityAmerica Ballpark again in 2010.
2010 Season Ticket Prices
Seating Category Full-Season Rate Per-Game Rate Gate Price
Field Side Reserved $1,800 $100 $120
Terrace Table (4 Seats) $3,600 $50 $60
Stadium Reserved $396 $22 $25
Bleacher Reserved $324 $18 $20
Cauldron $252 $14 $20
Grass Berm/General Admission $180 $10 $15
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