MLS Sporting Kansas City

Wolff Scores in 96th Minute to Complete Dramatic Comeback in Wizards 4-3 Win Over Houston

Published on September 23, 2010 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


The Kansas City Wizards secured one of the most dramatic victories in team history on Wednesday in a 4-3 win over the Houston Dynamo at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Second-half substitute Josh Wolff won the game with a goal six minutes deep in stoppage time as the Wizards scored three unanswered goals in the game's final 30 minutes to come from two goals down to win.

The Wizards fell behind in the 13th minute on Houston's first shot on goal of the game. Dynamo defender Mike Chabala and midfielder Brad Davis combined on a give-and-go near midfield, allowing Chabala to serve a cross into striker Cam Weaver, who connected on a sliding, left-footed shot from seven yards out for Houston's early 1-0 lead.

The Dynamo doubled their advantage in the 34th minute as Houston striker Dominic Oduro got behind the Wizards defense, running onto a header flicked on by Weaver. The Ghanaian speedster calmly powered a shot past Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen for his third goal of the season.

Kansas City immediately responded with a goal of their own less than one minute later, as the team's leading scorer came to the rescue. Kei Kamara found himself alone on goal after midfielder Craig Rocastle had attracted three Houston players before slipping a pass to Kamara inside the penalty area. The Sierra Leone National Team member continued his recent scoring streak with his 10th goal of the season, extending his career high, on a blast into the back of the net. Kamara has been on the scoresheet in his last four MLS matches, recording three goals and four assists, and is now tied for fifth in MLS in goals scored in 2010.

Playmaker Ryan Smith, a top attacking talent who came up through Arsenal's youth system, earned his eighth assist of the season on the play, moving him into a tie for sixth on the league's assist chart.

The momentum quickly shifted once again two minutes later as Houston's Adrian Serioux capitalized on an opportunistic finish. Davis sent a long free kick toward the back post that deflected off Wizards defender Shavar Thomas and into a goalmouth scramble where Serioux was positioned to redirect it in.

Down two goals at the half, the Wizards had a tall task to comeback having never won in 2010 when trailing at the break, nor when conceding the game's first goal. Both those hurdles were overcome in a surreal second half that keeps Kansas City's late-season surge alive.

The Wizards came out with a determination to press forward, inserting midfielder Jack Jewsbury and striker Teal Bunbury into the match at the break. The moves nearly paid off in the 51st minute. as Jewsbury aimed a header past Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad, but Bobby Boswell cleared the shot of the line and then denied striker Teal Bunbury's close range follow-up attempt.

Jewsbury was active again in the 59th minute with an acrobatic scissors kick that Onstad did well to dive to his right and hold.

But one minute later, an Onstad miscue gave Kansas City just the lifeline it needed. Losing his footing on a goal kick, the ball came straight to Bunbury 40 yards out and with a free path to goal. The 2009 Hermann Trophy winner took a long first touch and raced away from the Houston backline before aiming his shot between Onstad's legs to bring Kansas City back within one. Bunbury scored in his second straight match and now has four goals in his rookie campaign.

With a result back within reach, Kansas City pressed forward for the equalizer and reaped its reward in the 71st minute. Wizards outside back Michael Harrington crossed into the penalty area for Smith, who sent a first-time volley towards goal. The well-timed shot deflected off Serioux and inside the post to tie the match at 3-3, and breathe life back into Kansas City's playoff push.

Given the momentum, Kansas City was intent on finding a fourth and came close in the 76th minute. Wizards captain Davy Arnaud hit the outside of the post with a half volley following a free kick from Smith. It was the second time Kansas City had been denied by the woodwork, as Kamara had slammed a shot of the crossbar midway through the first half.

The crossbar again denied the Wizards in the 85th minute as Arnaud sent a corner that Kamara headed down and past Onstad. Wolff and Dynamo defender Danny Cruz each battled for the loose ball in the goalmouth and the shot was pushed onto the top of the crossbar and narrowly out of play.

The near misses set the stage for the dramatic ending in the final seconds of the sixth minute of stoppage time. Harrington placed another pinpoint cross into the box where Wolff was unmarked at the penalty spot and powered a perfectly placed header inside the far post to send the Wizards home crowd into an ecstatic celebration.

The goal was the latest the Wizards have ever scored in regulation, besting Scott Sealy's game-winning goal in the 94th minute of a 2007 victory over Columbus.

Wolff, who had just entered the match in the 85th minute and is the Wizards second all-time leading goal scorer, scored his second of the season and the 75th regular season goal of his MLS career. The game-winner is the 21st of his career and moves him into a tie with Carlos Ruiz and Dwayne De Rosario for eighth place on the all-time MLS game-winning goals chart.

With the win, Kansas City became the first team in MLS this season to overcome a two-goal deficit to win, and the seven goals matched the most goals scored between two teams in an MLS match in 2010. It also marked the second straight home game the Wizards have scored four goals, after beating New England 4-1 last month.

Kansas City moves into third place in the Eastern Conference standings, and now sits just three points out of the final playoff spot with one game in hand on Seattle. The Wizards improved to 6-1-3 in their last 10 MLS matches, and have six games remaining in the 2010 regular season.

Kansas City will now welcome perhaps the only hotter team in MLS at the moment, FC Dallas, who will put their 16-game unbeaten streak on the line at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 25 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Dallas is coming off an impressive comeback of their own on Wednesday, earning a 2-2 draw at home against New England after falling behind 2-0. The game will air live in high definition in both English and Spanish on KCWE Channel 29, accompanied by a live radio broadcast on La Gran D 1340 AM. Tickets can be purchased by visiting KCWizards.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.

Fast Facts:

* Kansas City is now 9-9-6 (33 points) on the season and sit in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference.

* With the win, the Wizards are now three points out of the final playoff position, held by Seattle, who has also played one additional game this season.

* Kansas City is 6-3-3 at home in 2010 and 121-68-37 all-time.

* The Wizards are 6-1-3 in their last nine MLS matches, and 7-1-3 in their last 11 overall when including the victory over Manchester United.

* Kansas City has outscored its opponents 17-8 over the last 10 MLS matches.

* Kansas City is 3-1-0 in midweek matches this season. The Wizards played their first weeknight home match since a 2-0 victory over Philadelphia on June 10.

* Kansas City won for the first time in 2010 when allowing the game's first goal and is now 1-9-2 on the year and 32-159-28 all-time when behind 1-0.

* The Wizards also won for the first time in 2010 when trailing at halftime and are now 1-4-2 and 14-101-25 all-time in that scenario.

* Kansas City beat Houston at home for the first time in the series and is now 1-3-1 in five home matches, and 2-5-3 all-time, against the Dynamo.

* The Wizards are unbeaten in their last five MLS matches, setting a new season high.

* The Wizards played their first home game in over a month, returning from a three-game road trip in which they went 2-0-1.

* The Wizards scored four goals for their second straight home match, matching their offensive output in their 4-1 win over New England on August 21.

* With the victory, Kansas City has earned 400 points at home in club history. Only four other MLS teams have reached the mark: LA (433), D.C. (418), Colorado (407), and Dallas (402).

* The comeback marked the seventh time Kansas City has overcome a two-goal deficit to win in team history and was the first time to accomplish the feat since May 26, 2007 against New England.

* Prior to the Wizards win, no team in MLS had overcome a two-goal deficit to win this season.

* The seven goals between Houston and Kansas City matches the highest scoring game of the 2010 MLS season, tying Houston's 4-3 win over Chicago on August 21st.

* Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen made two saves on the night and now has 71 on the season, moving him into third place on the MLS saves list this season.

* Nielsen has played every minute of every MLS game for Kansas City this season, one of only five players in the league to do so thus far in 2010.

* Dynamo defender Adrian Serioux's own goal was the first own goal Kansas City has received 24 games in 2010.

* Kansas City leads the league in shots on goal in MLS this season with 129 on the year.

* Kansas City has allowed the second fewest shots in MLS this season, having allowed opponents only 230 attempts, two more than the Colorado Rapids.

* Kansas City has the second highest shots on goal percentage (45.9%), second only to Philadelphia (47.2%) in 2010.

* Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad played the 200th regular season game of his Kansas City career on Wednesday, tying Chris Klein for fifth on the Wizards all-time regular season games played chart.

* Conrad also started his 199th regular season game for Kansas City, tying Preki for third on the Wizards all-time regular season games started list. Conrad played 90 minutes and passed Preki for third on the regular season minutes played chart as well.

* Conrad will be recognized for the milestone prior to Saturday's home game at 7:00 p.m. against FC Dallas at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

* Wizards captain Davy Arnaud started the 200th game of his MLS and Kansas City career, including postseason competition, on Wednesday.

* Wizards defender Michael Harrington has started every match for Kansas City this season, the only field player to have started all 23 games. Harrington has played 2,157 of a possible 2,160 minutes.

* Wizards striker Birahim Diop started his fifth straight match for Kansas City, after going eight years and 88 days between starts in MLS, the second longest amount of time between MLS starts in league history.

* Kansas City is 4-0-1 when Diop starts this season.

* Kansas City is 4-0-0 when striker Teal Bunbury scores.

* Kansas City is 6-1-2 when striker Kei Kamara scores in 2010.

* Kamara surpassed the 7,000 minute mark in his MLS career on Wednesday.

* The Wizards surpassed 44,000 minutes played in MLS action in team history, including postseason competition. Kansas City has played 44,059 minutes in Major League Soccer.

* Wizards defender Aaron Hohlbein, on loan to USSF D-2 Miami FC, started in Miami FC's 4-2 home win over AC St. Louis on Wednesday night. Miami FC will remain at home to welcome Rochester on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Quotes:

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES

On the game and the comeback

"When we were 2-0 down, honestly I felt that we were going to have the ability to get back in. When we went 2-1 on them, I felt very good. When we went down 3-1, I was thinking we have a long road to go up here. We came in at halftime, and the main thing we preached, which we have been doing all season long, is we want to make sure we forget about what happened, and we move forward because there is nothing we can do about it.

On the second-half effort

"I thought that the guys came out and right away got after it. With Jack's header, you know it didn't go in, they cleared it off the line. Then Kei's header, we just were punishing them, right around the goal. The great thing is they just kept plugging away, and then Josh's header at the end was a huge impact play to secure another three points for us."

On picking up three more points

"I look at as every game we play, there are a lot of points out there, and we have to get each one of them. At half, I said right now we have zero points a,nd at the start of the game we had one. We gave up one, we had to get back to tie. As soon as we tied it, they were going to be struggling. The guys just kept going and going and going. That's something we've been preaching all season. That says the most about our mentality and our composure."

On the team's momentum of late

"Points are points, so that is one aspect. The way you play in your performance is another. I think tonight was really about being able to respond in a negative situation. Now that you know that you have that in your foundation, and if you get down in a game you can come back."

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS STRIKER JOSH WOLFF

On his game-winning goal

"There were a lot of bodies in the box. When the ball went out wide, I just tried to get in front of some guys, and Mikey put a great ball in. I did well with it. Heading is not my best attribute, but it was a good one."

On the massive celebration after his goal

"I think it was indicative of what we put into the game. We had a lousy first half, and I'm sure that the guys got chewed on a little bit at halftime, but I think we answered the call. I don't think anyone deserved it more. We deserved to win. It was a big three points for us."

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER DAVY ARNAUD

On the game and the season so far

"Even when we were going through the rough patch earlier in the season, we knew we were a good team. When we weren't scoring goals, we knew we were capable of scoring goals. Tonight was a big game for us. When you get results like this, it feels like something's meant to be for you. Credit to everybody. We dug deep."

On the feeling after Wolff's goal in stoppage time

"You can't describe that feeling. That's the reason why you play this game. That's the reason why you work so hard. That was really, really special. For our fans, I think that's going to be a game that people talk about for a long time. I know as players, that's a game that we'll remember."

HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR

On what went right in the first half

"Individually we were playing well. The two forwards were linking well. Cam was winning a lot of balls in the air, and Dominic was running off of it; we were holding the ball well and breaking. In the second half, they just started launching the ball, and we just couldn't apply pressure and hold the ball up when we needed to."

On playing a team that is in the playoff hunt

"It's a game. The first game of the season is the same as the 25th game of the season and there are points on the line. We knew they were desperate. We still had an outside chance. I know we don't now. We also have something to play for. We knew in the second half they were going to start throwing balls in the box, and we didn't handle it as well as we could have."

On Wizards that impressed him

"[Ryan] Smith is a good player. He runs pretty diagonally quickly; he is a danger guy. We kept him pretty quiet in the first half. We kept everyone quiet in the first half but just could not sustain the level of play that we wanted to in the second half, and they got their quick players on the ball a little more."

HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD CAM WEAVER

On the game

"We came out strong; we played well together in the first half, for most of the first half. We just got our chances and took them. We didn't continue that in the second half, and that is disappointing because in the end, all that effort was for nothing."

On having a good game individually in a loss

"Well it's not one person having a good game, it's the whole team. You can't point out individuals I don't think when you lose. It's a collective effort. It's just disappointing."

PLEASE NOTE: Kansas City Wizards training on Thursday will begin at 11 a.m. CT at Swope Park Training Facility.

The Kansas City Wizards next match is Saturday, September 25th at 7:00 p.m. CT against FC Dallas at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Tickets can be purchased by visiting KCWizards.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL. The Wizards are also now accepting initial payments for season tickets for the 2011 season, highlighted by the debut of Chivas Guadalajara star and Mexico international Omar Bravo, and the opening of Kansas City's state-of-the-art soccer stadium next summer.

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