Wizards Tie for 2nd in East After 1-1 Draw at Galaxy
May 31, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
May 30, 2009) - The Kansas City Wizards earned a valuable road point Saturday, moving into a tie for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference in the process. The Wizards tied the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1 in an up-and-down match at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Davy Arnaud scored his 4th goal of the season in the 84th minute for Kansas City. The Wizards now have three players with four or more tallies on the year: Josh Wolff (6), Claudio Lopez (4) and Davy Arnaud (4).
Los Angeles generated the first quality opportunity of the game, when striker Alan Gordon found himself behind the defense 25 yards from goal in the 22nd minute. Gordon carried the ball into the penalty area and fired on goal, but Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman came quickly off his line to block the breakaway opportunity.
The Wizards nearly scored just before halftime in the 45th minute through a brilliant passing sequence. Striker Claudio Lopez chipped a ball diagonally over the defense for left back Matt Besler pushing into the play. Besler fired a cross on the first touch to Davy Arnaud making a near-post run. Arnaud hit a shot on his first touch, but the hard-hit ball struck LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts squarely in the chest and deflected clear.
In the 59th minute, LA defender Gregg Berhalter was shown a straight red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity. Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad played a quick free kick from the defensive third of the field, putting Claudio Lopez in behind the Galaxy defense. Lopez was free to goal, but Berhalter pulled on Lopez's shorts to keep the Argentine forward from getting to the ball in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Ricketts. Berhalter was immediately shown a red card, leaving Galaxy with ten men for the remainder of the match.
In the 82nd minute, Hartman made an outstanding save to keep the score tied at 0-0. Former Wizards midfielder Chris Klein received a ball on the right flank, cutting back onto his left foot and dribbling toward the center of the field. Klein then fired a left-footed rocket from 20 yards out, but Hartman extended fully to palm the ball wide with his left hand.
The Wizards scored just two minutes later to take a 1-0 lead. Roger Espinoza hustled to the end line to keep the ball in play in the 84th minute, sending his first touch to Herculez Gomez streaking toward the back post. Gomez dove to head the ball centrally for Davy Arnaud, who redirected the ball into the open net from the top of the six yard area for his 4th goal of the season and the 36th of his career. The goal moved Arnaud into a tie with Josh Wolff for 3rd on Kansas City's all-time goals list with 36 strikes in Wizards colors.
Los Angeles equalized three minutes later through Edson Buddle. United States international Landon Donovan started the play in the 87th minute, slipping Buddle through with a nifty pass between two defenders. Buddle carried into the penalty area, hitting a left-footed shot off the inside of the near post to level the score 1-1. Donovan will now join the U.S. National Team for upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras.
The Wizards return home next Saturday for a showdown against the 2008 MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. CT at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kansas City is at home the next two Saturdays in MLS play. After the two-game MLS home stand, the Wizards begin play in SuperLiga 2009, the competition that brings the USA-Mexico soccer rivalry to the club level.
Kansas City kicks off the 3rd edition of SuperLiga against FC Atlas of Mexico's first division Sunday, June 21 at 3:30 p.m. CT at Hermann Stadium on the campus of St. Louis University. Tickets for the match start at $20 and are now available at all MetroTix locations. Charge by phone (314) 534-1111 or purchase online at www.metrotix.com. Additional information is also available by calling the Kansas City Wizards toll free at 1-877-828-7222. The Wizards then travel to play the New England Revolution Wednesday, June 24 at Gillette Stadium in SuperLiga play before hosting Mexican team Santos Laguna Sunday, June 28 at 5:30 p.m. CT at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City.
Notables:
- Kansas City is now 4-4-4, 16 pts in a tie for 2nd place in the East with D.C. United and Toronto FC.
- The Wizards are 16-21-8 all-time against the Los Angeles Galaxy, including a 4-13-6 record away from home.
- Kansas City is now 4-0-2 this season when scoring the first goal.
- Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman now holds the all-time MLS record for the most consecutive minutes played.
- He has not missed a minute in the last 94 MLS matches, a stretch of 8460 straight minutes.
- Hartman's 94 straight starts give him 2nd place on the League's consecutive games played and games started lists.
- Hartman was already 2nd on both lists for a streak of 93 straight games he set from 2002-2005 while with the Galaxy.
- Hartman made two saves on the night, extending his MLS-record total to 1172.
- Thirteen of Kansas City's 15 goals on the campaign have come after halftime.
- Seven of Kansas City's 15 goals have come after the 75th minute.
- Davy Arnaud scored his 4th goal of the season Saturday.
- Kansas City now has three players with four or more goals: Josh Wolff (6), Claudio Lopez (4) and Davy Arnaud (4).
- The Wizards are the only team to have three players score four or more goals on the season.
- Wolff, Arnaud and Lopez have accounted for 14 of the Wizards 16 goals.
- Arnaud's goal was his 36th career strike, all of which have come in a Kansas City uniform.
- He is now tied with Wolff for 3rd on Kansas City's all-time goals list.
- The pair trail former teammate and current LA Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein by just three goals for 2nd place behind Preki.
- Herculez Gomez registered his 3rd assist on Arnaud's goal.
- With the assist, Gomez tied his career high for a season originally set in 2006 while he played with Los Angeles.
- He now has 13 career assists.
- Roger Espinoza recorded his 2nd assist of the season.
- He now has five assists for his career.
- Espinoza reports Monday for National Team camp with Honduras for upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against the United States (June 6 in Chicago) and El Salvador.
- There have now been five red cards in games involving the Wizards this season.
- The Wizards are 2-0-2 in games involving red cards.
- Kansas City played without leading scorer Josh Wolff and midfielder Santiago Hirsig due to red card suspensions.
- Kansas City was also without goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, defender Chance Myers and striker Adam Cristman due to injury.
- Budweiser sponsored a watch party for Saturday night's match at Fox and Hound in Overland Park.
Major League Soccer Stories from May 31, 2009
- Real Salt Lake Schedule June 1-7 - Real Salt Lake
- Chicago Drops First Game Of The Season - Chicago Fire FC
- Real Salt Lake Comeback Falls Short In 2-1 Loss At San Jose - Real Salt Lake
- Earthquakes Get a 2-1 Victory Against Real Salt Lake - San Jose Earthquakes
- Sounders Kick to 1-1 Draw Against Columbus - Seattle Sounders FC
- Wizards Tie for 2nd in East After 1-1 Draw at Galaxy - Sporting Kansas City
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