Friday, April 18, 2008

The Long Road Begins

The Wizards begin their 6 game road trip Sunday in Chicago, where they'll take on the Fire at Toyota Park. Chicago has not been a very friendly place for the Wizards to play the previous 10 season Chicago has had a team. In those 10 years, the Wizards have earned a grand total of 4 points in the Windy City, all coming in 2005. Overall, the Wizards are 1-13-1 against the Fire in Chicago, easily the worst record of any team when playing a specific team away. Chicago is so unfriendly that the Wizards even lost to the Chicago Sockers of the PDL in the US Open Cup in 2000 there.

So can the Wizards turn it around this year in Chicago? Unforunately, I have my doubts. Carlos Marinelli is out, and Davy Arnaud's return has been detoured after a hamstring strain has sidelined him again. So we'll likely see a similar lineup to what we saw after Marinelli was subbed out against Houston last Saturday.
Hartman
Myers - Conrad - Wahl - Harrington
Zavagnin
Jewsbury - Morsink - Espinoza
Lopez - Sealy

I'm hoping Ivan Trujillo gets the start, but I have this feeling that Onalfo is going to stick with Sealy.

PREDICTION - It's the Wizards in Chicago, points are very hard to come by up there for the boys in blue. I want them to break their losing streak there and start a new streak, but Chicago is playing well, Blanco has been the best DP signing in the league so far and even Chad Barrett is playing well. I hope I'm wrong, but it's hard seeing the Wizards get a point out of this one.

KC - 0
Chi - 2 (Blanco, Barrett)

1 comment:

Reepicheep said...

I wish you were wrong on this, I hope you are....but I think you're right.

How long is Marinelli out? That's bad.Marinelli's health is scarily important for the Wizards offensive success this year.