Wizards vs. Crew Game Notes
June 9, 2006 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Shooting For Three
The Kansas City Wizards will be looking to get back in the win column this weekend when they travel to Columbus to take on the Crew, one week off ending their three-game losing streak with a 1-1 tie this past weekend against the New York Red Bulls.
After the first ten weeks of play Kansas City and Columbus are tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with 14 points and identical 4-4-2 records, a win this weekend would give the victor sole possession of the second place spot in the East. Both sides are up three points on fourth-place New England.
The Wizards are 2-0 this season against the Crew, having topped the team from Columbus 3-1 in Arrowhead on opening day, and 1-0 in Crew Stadium in week four, so one would think that Columbus is a team that with Kansas City needing a win it would want to see. But unlike at the start of the season, the Crew are currently riding high having gone unbeaten in four out of their last five games, including a 2-1 win last week at Western Conference-leading FC Dallas.
Should Kansas City win this weekend it would mark the first time since 2004 that it has won three games over any one team in a single season. In 2004 the Wizards went 3-1-0 against Colorado and Dallas, but they have never beaten Columbus three times in a season. Although three wins against one team in a season would be nice, the three points are what matters right now.
In addition to a win giving Kansas City a leg-up on second place in the East and a first-ever three-win season against the Crew, it would also even the all-time series. Entering the season 10-13-4 all-time vs. its Hunt Sports Group brethren, a Wizards win on Saturday would put the series at 13-13-4 heading into this year's series finale on August 12th at Arrowhead Stadium.
Sour Red Bull
The Wizards were left with a sour taste in their mouths last weekend when they tied the New York Red Bulls 1-1 in front of over 11,000 at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City outshot the Red Bulls 17-8, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal, in improving to 4-4-2 on the season. But after suffering through a three-game losing streak, a tie at home vs. RBNY just didn't seem to suffice.
New York struck first when Mark Lisi's free kick was eventually put away by Chris Henderson. Lisi sent a cross into the box and Steve Jolley got underneath it and headed it back across the frame and into the path of Henderson running onto the near post where he struck the ball after one bounce. Bo Oshoniyi got in front of the ball, batting it away as he fell across the line, but there was no question as to whether or not the ball crossed the line because Oshoniyi's foot unfortunately caught the ball in mid air as he was tumbling into the back of the net.
Kansas City equalized in the second half on a Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. penalty kick. The Wizards were awarded the PK after Scott Sealy was clipped from behind as he ran through the box attempting to catch up to a cross that was sent in from the right side.
Another One
One more week, one more goal, so is the case for the Wizards. Since opening the season with five goals in their first two games, they have scored exactly one goal in each of its last eight games. But if you look at the silver lining, not once after ten weeks of play this season has Kansas City been shutout, only two other teams in Major League Soccer can boast that this year, Western Conference-leading FC Dallas and Eastern Conference-leading D.C. United. The last time the Wizards opened the season without being shutout through the first ten games was in 2003 when they went 12 games before being held scoreless, this year's ten game-stretch is the second longest in team history. So the key for KC over the course of the last two months has been defense, and if last week's game against New York is any indication, the Wizards' D is returning to the form that allowed just four goals in its first five games. In fact, over the course of its last three games, Kansas City has only given up three shots on goal in each of those games.
Wearing Out The Spot
Odds are if a penalty kick has been taken in a MLS game this season it involved Kansas City. Of the 15 total penalty kicks that have been awarded through the first ten weeks of the season, seven have come in a game that the Wizards were playing, nearly 50 percent. Kansas City has been awarded four free kicks from the charity spot, and on the flipside they have had three called against them, both league highs. With the foul that was called against Jeff Parke on Scott Sealy in the box last week, New York moved into a tie with Kansas City for most penalty kicks awarded against. D.C. United is just one penalty kick shy of tying the Wizards for the lead in MLS in total PK's attempted. United's Jaime Moreno has successfully completed all three D.C. penalty kick opportunities they have been awarded. However, unlike D.C., each of the Wizards' four attempts this season have been taken by a different player. U.S. World Cup team members Josh Wolff and Eddie Johnson took Kansas City's first two attempts, both of which were saved, and Sasha Victorine and Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. have successfully put away the Wizards' last two PK's, respectively. Goalkeeper Bo Oshoniyi has stopped one of three penalty kicks that have been taken against him this season, he is just one of three goalkeepers in the league to have done so this year.
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