K.C. will try to extend streak vs. FCD
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS v FC DALLAS
ARROWHEAD STADIUM, Kansas City, Mo.
7 p.m. CT (MetroSports; FSN-SW)
May 12, 2007 (WEEK 5) / MLS Game #36
A pair of long-time Midwestern rivals come together at Arrowhead Stadium, with both near the top of their respective conferences. The Kansas City Wizards are atop the Eastern Conference by a point after winning for the fourth time in five games last weekend, getting a dramatic last-minute goal to defeat the Columbus Crew. FC Dallas haven't played a league match in nearly two weeks but are still just a point off the lead in the Western Conference, level with Houston Dynamo behind the Colorado Rapids.
REFEREE: Mark Geiger. SAR (bench): Craig Lowry; JAR (opposite): Frank Anderson; 4th: Hilario Grajeda
MLS Career: 22 games; FC/gm: 31.2; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 3; pens: 10
Games involving Wizards: P4 W3 L1 T0; FC/gm: 26.3; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 0; pens: 0
Games involving FC Dallas: P4 W1 L1 T2; FC/gm: 35.8; Y/gm: 4.8; R: 2; pens: 1
INJURY REPORT: KANSAS CITY WIZARDS - OUT: DF Matt Groenwald (blood clots), MF Ryan McMahen (torn ACL); DF Jimmy Conrad (mandibular fracture) ... FC DALLAS - OUT: DF Adrian Serioux (R knee); FW Roberto Mina (L knee); DF Michael Dello-Russo (R foot)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DAL: Carlos Ruiz
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: Clarence Goodson
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (36 meetings): Wizards 16 wins (2 shootout), 51 goals ... FC Dallas 14 wins (1 shootout), 56 goals ... Ties 6
AT KANSAS CITY (18 meetings): Wizards 9 wins (0 shootout), 26 goals ... Crew 5 wins (1 shootout), 25 goals ... Draws 4
• This is the first of two meetings between the Midwestern rivals this season, the only one set for Arrowhead Stadium. The lone encounter at Pizza Hut Park will come in the season finale, set for Oct. 20.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
4/23: DAL 2, KC 1 (Cooper 4; Pitchkolan 90 - Zotinca 90)
8/27: KC 1, DAL 0 (Sealy 62)
• A year ago, the teams split the season series, each winning on their home ground in one-goal games. It was the second consecutive season, since the Wizards moved to the Eastern Conference, that the teams have split their season series, playing to a pair of draws in 2005. The three seasons before that - when the teams met four times in each season - the Wizards won the season set each of those years.
• Dallas hasn't won in Kansas City since Sept. 18, 1999 (a shootout win), with the Wizards having won six of the 10 contests since at Arrowhead Stadium (with four draws). The last Dallas victory in regulation time came nearly a year to the day before that win, a 1-0 Burn victory on Sept. 19, 1998.
• Coaches record: Curt Onalfo vs. DAL: first game ... Steve Morrow v KC: first game
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
The Kansas City Wizards extended their winning streak to three games, getting a last-minute goal from Jose Burciaga Jr. for a dramatic 1-0 victory against the Columbus Crew on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. With the victory, the Wizards moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with 12 points from five matches, a point ahead of the New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls and two ahead of the Chicago Fire.
LAST MATCH
• The Wizards returned home after completing the back half of their home-and-home sweep of Toronto FC to run their winning streak to three games, while the Crew were also unbeaten on the season after getting their first victory of 2007 in their last match, a 1-0 win against D.C. United following three ties.
• Along the way, the Crew had posted three shutouts and played to scoreless draws in their first two games, and it looked as if that might again be the case in the 70th minute. Jimmy Conrad got onto the end of an corner and beat Crew 'keeper Andy Gruenebaum with his header, only for Ned Grabavoy to hook the ball away off the line.
• The Crew were nearly handed a gift of their own in the 84th minute when a Kevin Hartman clearance bounced off Columbus substitute and rolled nearly into the goal, but Jack Jewsbury retreated to the line to escort the ball safely away from danger.
• Then with just seconds left before the clock turned over 90 minutes, Burciaga picked up the ball well out from goal and set off on a slaloming run through the Crew defense, skipping to his left past a couple of defenders before hitting a bounding shot past Gruenebaum for the game-winner.
• Wizards coach Curt Onalfo made one change to the team that defeated Toronto FC 1-0 the weekend before in Canada. Carlos Marinelli suffered a hamstring strain early in that game and was unavailable for the Columbus match, so Yura Movsisyan returned to the starting lineup to partner Eddie Johnson in attack as Davy Arnaud moved back to a wide midfield role.
• Here's Onalfo's team (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman -Jack Jewsbury, Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga Jr. - Davy Arnaud, Sasha Victorine (Ryan Pore 78), Kerry Zavagnin, Michael Harrington - Eddie Johnson, Yura Movsisyan (Scott Sealy 54). Substitutes Not Used: Aaron Hohlbein, Will John, Eric Kronberg, Kurt Morsink, Ryan Raybould
• "The first half we pressured the ball very well. I don't think they strung three passes together for a long time. The thing is when it's hot like this you can't do that for 90 minutes," Onalfo said. "I told our team to take their foot off the gas a little to start the second half. Defense is a collective effort. Jimmy Conrad is the best defender in the league, but he doesn't do it alone."
TEAM NEWS
• Along with dominating possession, the Wizards outshot Columbus 15-5, yet had nothing to show for it through the first 89 minutes. It seemed the Crew had the Wizards bound and tied, a tie that would have been their fourth in five games. But the situation was not unanticipated by Kansas City.
• "We knew exactly what they were going to bring," said Onalfo. "They're a very good team in terms of they defend well, they fight for each other, and they're physical. Their tactics were to get numbers behind the ball and frustrate us, and we didn't let it get to us. Our guys did a great job to get the three points."
• At the halftime break, Onalfo told his team it might take until the 90th minute to get the goal they would need. And that's exactly what happened.
• "I was trying to point out to [my players] that they were playing 4-v-1 at times in the back, and we need to push players on and try to be more dangerous, especially in the latter stage of the game when they're tired," Onalfo said. "I was telling [right back] Jack [Jewsbury] to push farther up the field which would push Pore as the third forward so we could advance the ball. We talked about it at halftime - this is going to take to a 90th minute to get a goal - and we did it."
• Picking up a clearance 36 yards from goal, Burciaga began centrally, went around one defender to the right, moved left with five defenders in front at the top of the box, beat two challengers, and launched a left-footed strike from just outside the area that beat Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum low to the left.
• "I don't think a lot of guys know dribbling is part of my game. It is something I can do. I knew that if I could get an opportunity to get a shot, I would get a goal," Burciaga said. "The Columbus defender started going to my right. I was never going to use my right foot, but that gave me enough space to get a shot away. I saw the 'keeper going to his right and that is when I shot it far post."
• And at the end of the weekend, the Wizards found themselves atop the Eastern Conference after failing to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs each of the last two seasons.
• "I think it shows a lot about your team defense and about your commitment to winning, but for us to get two of those (1-0 wins) in a row, I think it almost puts us a little bit ahead of where maybe we want to be. Because you really do have to pace the season out and you have to make sure that you're not peaking too soon," Hartman said. "We have to make sure that we keep our heads on our shoulders and not get too excited about the fact that we have 12 points right now. We need to make sure we are focusing on the grand scheme, and that is winning championships. We have to make sure we keep guys healthy and we have to develop good habits, and we I think we are doing that so far."
• Conrad will miss the Dallas match after suffering a hairline fracture in his jaw following a collision with Crew midfielder Ricardo Virtuoso last weekend. The injury is located near the spot where he suffered a fracture last August following an elbow from New England's Clint Dempsey, an injury that forced him to miss seven weeks after his jaw was wired shut. The injury will be re-evaluated next week.
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas return to action after nearly a two-week layoff, their last match a second successive 1-0 defeat at home, this time on April 29 to the New England Revolution. FCD is now tied for second place with Houston Dynamo with seven points from six matches, now a point behind the Western Conference-leading Colorado Rapids.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas were trying to complete their three-game homestand and round out a busy schedule with a third win on the year, while the Revolution were looking to win on their travels for the first time in three tries in playing their first game for more than a week.
• The game's lone goal came after just 13 minutes. Jeff Larentowicz headed a half-clearance to Steve Ralston, who curled in a ball to Taylor Twellman near the penalty spot. Twellman then hit a side-foot volley inside Shaka Hislop's left-hand post.
• The goal moved Twellman atop the MLS goalscoring list with four on the season, and it was his 79th career goal, tying him with Preki for the seventh-most goals in MLS history. For Ralston, it was the 110th assist of his MLS career, now just four behind all-time leader Carlos Valderrama.
• It was also the Revolution's first victory at Pizza Hut Park in their last four trips -- two losses in MLS Cup Finals surrounding a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas in their only visit to Frisco last year.
• FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow made one change to the team that lost 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls four days earlier. With Alex Yi forced early from that game with a calf strain, Bobby Rhine came back into the team at right back as Drew Moor again moved inside to central defense.
• Here's Morrow's team (4-3-1-2): Shaka Hislop - Bobby Rhine (Abe Thompson 79), Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Chris Gbandi - Dax McCarty, Aaron Pitchkolan (Dominic Oduro 46), Juan Toja - Ramon Nunez - Kenny Cooper, Carlos Ruiz (Arturo Alvarez 63). Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Michael Dello-Russo, Blake Wagner, Anthony Wallace
• "It's the same as the other day (Thursday), another 1-0 defeat at home and we're disappointed," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said after the loss. "I think we dominated the game for 90 minutes. We tired badly in the second half and just completely ran out of steam. At a time when we need to push the game in the final 30 minutes, we just didn't have the legs to do it. I think we definitely suffered from playing two games in three or four days and just didn't have the energy to push it at the end."
TEAM NEWS
• After six games in April - more than any other team in MLS, including two weeks where they played on Thursday then the following Sunday, FC Dallas comes into the Kansas City match after a 13-day layoff.
• "It's been a tough schedule for us with six games in three weeks," Morrow said. "We've suffered a lot of injuries in that short space of time as well. From that regard, it's welcomed to have a little bit of time to get that recovery. We'd rather it was next Saturday and more of a regular schedule. But this will give us time to get some bodies back fit and to recharge our batteries a little bit."
• Morrow is also hoping the attack can get jumpstarted over the break. While FCD has scored seven goals on the season, they have been shut out in three of their last four games. In addition, Carlos Ruiz and Kenny Cooper -- the club's top two scorers from a year ago - began the season with two goals in the opening two matches but have yet to be heard from again.
• "It's not a big concern," Morrow said. "I know those guys are going to get their fair share of goals. This happens with strikers. They go through a few bad spells. It's another thing we need to work on, the combinations between those two guys and get them playing a bit closer. We can work on it in training and figure a way to create more chances for them."
• It was different a year ago, as the pair combined for 13 goals in the first 12 games. But while Cooper was hot from his first game in an FC Dallas uniform, scoring in three of the first four, it did take Ruiz six games to hit for his first goal of the season, before going on a seven-game scoring streak.
• "I remember last year when the same thing happened and then I started scoring," Ruiz said. "We need to play better and after that, the goals will come. I know that the forwards need to score but if the team doesn't play very well, it's hard for us to score."
• Said Cooper: "I'm not frustrated. Scoring goals and getting assists is part of my job as a forward and in the last two games, I haven't done either of those things. I have a lot of confidence in my ability and my teammates. I think we'll bounce back from it in these next few games."
• Goalkeeper Dario Sala is also ready to return from suspension, and is expected to get the nod between the posts on Saturday evening. In Sala's absence, Shaka Hislop, a veteran of the English Premier League, allowed a total of six goals in nine games and failed to keep a single clean sheet.
• "I told the defenders that we have to be tougher," Sala said. "We can't let the other forwards be able to play comfortably with the ball. If they feel that they can dribble and think with the ball, then we have problems. We have to work so hard this week so that we can get the job done in Kansas City. Our goal is to keep a clean sheet. They have a good team and have gotten off to a good start."
• Morrow will also have Argentinean midfielder Pablo Ricchetti after he rejoined the team following the completion of his visa paperwork. The 30-year-old agreed to a contract on April 5 and has been with the team for weeks, but had to wait until his work permit was finalized.
• "I don't want to heap too much pressure on him early on because he's not 100 percent fit yet and we need to try and get him to that level as quickly as we can," Morrow said. "He seems to be over his injury, which is positive as well. It's just a matter of working his fitness, getting his touch and speed of play going."
