Kamara Suspended by Sierra Leone FA

Sierra Leone will continue their quest to qualify for the African Cup of Nations next week, but they will do so without the Wizards leading scorer, Kei Kamara. Word out of Sierra Leone is that Kamara has been suspended by the Sierra Leone FA for the game on the 10th of October against South Africa. While the linked article does not give a reason for Kamara's suspension, one would think it would have to do with statements he's made in the past on his Twitter account, specifically after the draw against Egypt where he laid into the FA a bit about setting the team up for failure. This sucks for Kamara and his international career, but is good for the Wizards heading into a stretch where they need to win games to qualify for the playoffs and having Kamara around will certainly help.

I hope to find an article that is written about the interview Kamara mentions here, because I bet he's referring to the same incident.

Father vs Son

Last week against Houston, Teal Bunbury scored his 4th league goal of the season and of his MLS career, tying his father, Alex Bunbury for the number of goals he scored in his 1 and a half years as a Wizards player. So I thought I'd take a quick minute to compare the two's goal scoring thanks to a conversation Thad and I had on this week's podcast. All four of Alex's goals came in his first season with the Wizards, 1999. His first game was June 26th, a 3-0 loss to DC. He would score in his second game, a 1-1 (3-2) shoot out win over Tampa Bay. Overall, it took Alex 836 minutes to get his 4 goals, a span of 10 games, 9 of which he started.

Teal also made his first appearance as a substitute, also against DC United, but this game was a 4-0 win on opening day this year. It took Teal 12 league games before he scored his first goal, the only goal in the Wizards 1-0 win over Columbus. It took Teal 21 games, 9 starts to reach the 4 goal mark in league play, a total of 1,006 minutes to hit the mark.

At this point, Teal has only played 2 less games for the Wizards in league play than his father did for the Wizards. But while Teal is 22 games played compared to his dad's 24, Alex still holds a big lead in starts over his son. While Teal has started 9 games this season, Alex started 20 games for the Wizards during his time in KC. Alex also has 757 more minutes in his Wizards career than Teal has with all those extra starts that Alex had by this point of his Wizards career. Alex finished his Wizards career with 1,838 league minutes played. Granted it's not a completely fair comparison because Alex was an established pro when he came to KC while Teal is a 20 year old rookie.

The thing that Teal has going for him over his father is that the Wizards are 4-0 when Teal has scored this season. While the 1999 Wizards were 2-2 (1-2-1 if you count shootout wins as draws) when Alex scored.

It's certainly a given at this point that Teal will pass his father when it comes to league goals for Kansas City, hopefully he does it over the course of the next few games while helping KC into the playoffs.

Former Wizards Update

It's time for another update on the former Wizards around the world. Lots of updates coming to this with 4 MLS teams playing tonight in games in the league and CONCACAF Champion's League. It looks like former Wizard, Carlos Marinelli has a new club as well, as it looks like he's finally signed with Györi ETO of the Hungarian league, where he's been on trial for a while now. Here's the rest of your former Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Did not dress in DC's 3-1 loss to Houston.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 3-2 loss to San Jose. Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 1-1 draw with RSL in the CONCACAF Champion's League.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Loaned to AC St. Louis (see below)
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 1-0 win over Chicago. Play Marathon tonight.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Out with injury.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-2 draw with New England. Play Municipal tonight.
Chris Klein - LA - Did not dress in LA's 2-0 loss to New York.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 1-1 draw with RSL. Play Philadelphia tonight.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 1-1 draw with Colorado. Did not dress in RSL's 1-1 draw with Toronto in the CCL.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 3-1 loss to Houston.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in San Jose's 3-2 win over Toronto. Play Chicago tonight.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 73 minuets in San Jose's 3-2 win over Toronto. Play Chicago tonight.
Carey Talley - New York - Started and played 40 minutes in New York's 2-0 win over LA.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 1-0 win over Chicago. Play Marathon tonight.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 3-0 loss to Philadelphia.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Started and played 60 minutes, recording two assists in Portland's 3-1 win over Baltimore.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 3-1 win over Tampa Bay.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Started and played 90 minutes in St. Louis' 4-2 loss to Austin.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Started and played 90 minutes in Baltimore's 3-1 loss to Portland.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes in Miami's 1-0 win over Rochester.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 1-0 loss to Miami.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Came off the bench and played 16 minutes in Carolina's 2-1 win over Puerto Rico.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 3-1 win over Baltimore.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Started and played 56 minutes in Miami's 1-0 win over Rochester.
Lance Watson - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 4-2 win over St. Louis.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Started and played 68 minutes in Aurora's 2-2 draw with Jorge Wilstermann.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Ferrocarrils' 1-0 loss to Independiente.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes, scoring a goal in Pachuca's 3-1 win over Estudiantes Tecos.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Suspended for Quilmes 1-1 draw with River Plate.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Started for Harbour View and recorded an assist in Harbour View's 1-1 draw with Waterhouse
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes, scoring a goal in Vinogradar's 4-1 win over Imotski.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Came off the bench and played 35 minutes in Fulham's 0-0 draw with Everton.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Did not play in Waterford's 3-0 win over Limerick.
Carlos Marinelli - Györi ETO - Hungary - Did not play in Györi's 1-0 loss to Zalaegerszegi TE.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes in Randers' 2-2 draw with Esbjerg.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Weiss' 1-0 loss to Dynamo Dresden.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not play in Quindio's 2-1 win over Boyaca Chico.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not play in Wellington's 2-1 win over North Queensland.

New Byline to Back Post

Due to scheduling conflicts and work it's been a while since there's been a new From the Byline to the Back Post. Sunday Thad and I got together for a new episode. We discussed the major topics that have gone on since our last podcast, specifically the scheduling for 2011, and roster additions. We also discussed the 3 games this past week against Chivas, Houston, and Dallas. We also discussed the updated potential of the Wizards making the playoffs. Enjoy on either iTunes or Posterous.

Wizards Playoff Chances

There is one-sixth of the season left for the Wizards, they have 5 games left starting this Saturday against the New York Red Bulls. And the final 5 games will decide whether the Wizards make the playoffs or not. The Wizards are probably the best placed team still outside the playoffs with a chance to get in.

Toronto FC is only 2 points behind the Wizards and 7 points behind 8th place Colorado having played 1 more game than both of those teams. Their upcoming league game this weekend against Seattle could certainly end their playoff hopes. Toronto basically needs to win this game to keep their chances alive. They lose that game, they're done. Toronto basically needs to get 8 points from their final 4 games to just have a chance, and that's assuming Colorado picks up 0 points and KC doesn't pick up 5 points in their final 5 games. So while Toronto isn't officially done they need a lot of help to get into the playoffs.

The team furthest from the Wizards right now is San Jose who is currently 6 points ahead of KC, but has played 1 less game. Of the three teams ahead of the Wizards they seem the least likely to catch due to that extra game. They have games at home against Chicago, Houston, and Chivas all of which they should be able to pick enough points on to keep the Wizards at bay. And they also travel and play DC. San Jose looks to be safe at this point even though they're only 6 points ahead of KC. Still the Wizards KC game to end the season could be very big, at least on the KC side.

The team most fans were looking at to possibly catch for the playoffs is Seattle, mainly because the Wizards have played 1 less game than the Sounders. While that is true, Seattle's remaining schedule is probably the easiest of the teams. Their four remaining games are against teams currently outside the playoffs, Toronto, @KC, Chivas, and @Houston. And while they do still have CONCACAF Champion's League games, and the US Open Cup final against Columbus to clog their schedule, the games that they have left should give them enough points to stay ahead of the Wizards.

At this point, the team most likely for the Wizards to catch would be the Colorado Rapids. Colorado has one of the tougher remaining schedules with games against Dallas, LA, and Real Salt Lake. Unfortunately for Wizards fans they also have home games against Philadelphia and DC. The Philadelphia game on Wednesday and DC game on Saturday could certainly hurt the Wizards chances since Colorado is currently 5 points clear. Six points would give the Rapids 44 points, if they reach that, the Wizards need to get 10-12 points out of their remaining 15, which will certainly be hard for KC.

As for the Wizards, their schedule is a rough one, they travel to New York this week, then have a busy stretch starting with playing at home against Seattle on the 9th, in Chicago on Tuesday the 12th, and then in New England on the 16th. That stretch is going to be rough on KC and they may well need to get 9 points out of those 3 games at that point to keep in the race. If Colorado wins on Wednesday night, the Wizards more or less know they're going to have to get 10-12 points to make the playoffs before they even take the field on Saturday against New York.

Personally I think that KC is going to need to get 12 points from their final 5 games to make the playoffs. Good news for the Wizards is that they hold the season series on Colorado that could play a role if the two teams tie on points. So where are those 12 points coming from? I don't see KC getting 3 points this weekend in New York, so basically the Wizards are going to need to run the table in their final 4 games to make the playoffs. The hopes are definitely not high at this point, and I'm glad I didn't put a week's pay check on us making the playoffs. It's just hard to see us pulling it off.

September Player of the Month

September was a pretty good month for the Wizards as they worked to make their way back into the playoff race. The Wizards went 2-1-1 in the month of September scoring 8 goals while conceding 7. KC had 5 different goal scorers in the month, here are some more of the stats from this month.

Kei Kamara - 2 goals 2 assists
Ryan Smith - 2 goals
Teal Bunbury - 2 goals
Josh Wolff - 1 goal 1 assist
Davy Arnaud - 1 goal
Michael Harrington - 3 assists
Craig Rocastle - 1 assist

This month for me the award came down to 3 players, Kamara, Smith, and Harrington. Kamara scored in two of the Wizards game this month, and was part of goals in three of those games. Smith scored his second and third of goals of the season in September and continues to give the Wizards dangerous free kicks, including the one that set up Arnaud's goal this month. Finally Harrington, who continues to have a great season, Harrington has been solid shutting down the Wizards right size and is able to contribute quite a bit offensively as well, picking up 3 assists in September.

This month's winner is.


These pictures never get old, but Harrington has been great this season and he's had another solid month in September. He certainly deserves at least a look from the US national team in January at least for Camp Cupcake.

Comets Sign First Two Players

Today the Missouri Comets announced the signings of their first two players, goalkeeper Danny Waltman and forward Worteh Sampson. Waltman played at the University of Washington before hoping around a few other indoor teams around the US, including the Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, and Rockford Rampage. Waltman was MVP of the XSL in the 2008-2009 season with Detroit. He certainly gives the Comets a good start in the back it would seem, a good way to start building the team. Below is a highlight video of Waltman.

Sampson is a forward that has also played with the Ignition after he got out of college. The Liberian Sampson is 6'3" a good target striker size and could certainly give the Comets an advantage. Sampson has most recently been playing with the Charlotte Eagles of USL-2.

Wizards on MTV

I couldn't care less about this, but since I'm committed to covering the Wizards as much as possible I'm touching on it. Those of you that remember the Chivas USA game earlier this year and the "streakers" that ran on the field at half time, you can relive that today if you want to. The season premier of the MTV show The Buried Life is tonight at 9:30 Central Time on MTV. I won't be watching it, it was disgraceful and embarrassing for both the Wizards and their security, and have no interest in watching some people that are famous just for being famous. It's particularly embarrassing that the Wizards knew that MTV was there, but 1) wouldn't let security stop them before hand and 2) didn't expect something like this from MTV. One would think that if MTV was coming you'd want to know what show it was for and for what reason. I don't really classify it as streaking either considering they were wearing a nude thong. As I said, I won't be watching, but for those of you that want to see it, enjoy.

Sunday After Stats

After a lot of stats on Wednesday not a whole lot of stats from last night's game. But congrats to Jimmy Conrad on making his 200th start for KC in league play in his career, only the third player (after Nick Garcia and Kerry Zavagnin) to hit that mark.

Josh Wolff's assist on Ryan Smith's goal was his 25th assist in league play for the Wizards. He's the 6th player to reach 25 assists in league play for KC.

Jimmy Conrad made his 201st appearance in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 5th place on that list.

Conrad also made his 200th league start for KC, breaking his tie with Preki for 3rd place on that list. He's the third player in Wizards history to hit the 200 start mark in league play.

Michael Harrington made his 111th league appearance for KC, tying him with Sean Bowers for 17th place on that list.

Poor Start Dooms Wizards

For the second time in 4 days the Wizards made a poor start to the game. Unlike Wednesday's 4-3 win over Houston, the Wizards were unable to recover against the more talented FC Dallas team. Only 4 minutes into the game KC found themselves trailing a goal as Dallas passed around KC like they were traffic cones. Marvin Chavez played the ball to David Ferreira who chipped the ball into the box as Chavez continued his run. Chavez easily beat Jimmy Nielsen to the near post giving Dallas the early 1-0 lead. I had said pre-game that the Wizards couldn't afford to have a half like they did against Houston. Unfortunately in only the 12th minute KC found themselves once again down two goals. Milton Rodriguez made it 2-0 when Atiba Harris flicked on a Jackson Goncalves pass. On the play Jimmy Conrad committed to Harris and when he didn't beat him to the ball the ball got through to Rodriguez, who took a touch and then beat Nielsen to the far post. Those were Dallas' only two shots on goal in the first half. Dallas started to sit back holding onto their 2-0 lead. As an effect of that KC held more possession and created some chances. Unfortunately with the chances they did create they didn't really threaten Dario Sala in the Dallas net. All their good chances were right at the Dallas keeper.

KC made 1 change after only half an hour bringing in Wednesday's hero Josh Wolff for Stephane Auvray in what appeared to be a tactically move as Auvray had not been having a good half. But the goals don't really fall on Auvray as much as the complete lack of speed from our center backs. Conrad and Shavar Thomas have been protected a bit during this good run of form thanks to Auvray's good play. But with Auvray's form taking a bit of a dip lately KC's defensive liabilities are more apparent.

For the second game in a row, Birahim Diop was subbed out at half time for Teal Bunbury. I'd harp more on the fact that Diop continues to get starts when he's uneffective, but no one offensively was really effective last night. Still it's time to drop this love affair with starting Diop, and maybe now with the Wizards not being "unbeaten" when Diop starts will change that.

In the second half, KC continued to control possession and were creating a few more dangerous chances compared to the first half. Some of the Wizards best chances ended up not even being on goal. Thomas put a header just wide of the post early in the second half. Shortly after Thomas' chance, Bunbury forced a good save from Sala on a shot from outside the box that Sala didn't see until late. Shortly after KC got themselves on the board after Ryan Smith played the ball to Kei Kamara who picked out Wolff. Wolff's first touch was heavy but took the ball back into the path of Smith who one timed his shot on goal. The shot took a deflection that took it past Sala and cut the lead in half.

KC continued to press the game, Conrad put a ball just wide of the post off a Davy Arnaud corner kick. Later Kamara also put a header just wide of the other post. In the 82nd minute, Dallas put the game away as Ferreira found Jeff Cunningham down the left wing. Calls of Cunningham being offside were misplaced as he was held on by Thomas. From a sharp angle Cunningham beat Nielsen and restored the 2 goal lead. Soon after Eric Alexander could have made it 4-1, but Nielsen came up with a good foot save.

The loss seemed to be a return to form from May and June when KC would hold possession but wouldn't really create many dangerous chances. the result for the Wizards and the other results around the league leave the Wizards playoff hopes just hanging on. The Wizards are 5 points out of a playoff spot, behind Colorado who currently holds the 8th spot.

Wizards Man of the Match - Kei Kamara - Kamara was all over the place last night although not really successful. Kamara continues to put up an MVP performance for the Wizards this season.

Player Ratings Nielsen 4, Harrington 5, Conrad 4, Thomas 3, Espinoza 5, Auvray 4, Rocastle 5, Arnaud 5, Kamara 5, Diop 3, Smith 5. Subs Wolff 5, Bunbury 4, Jewsbury 4.

Finishing the Busy Week

The Wizards finish up their 3 games in 7 days stretch tomorrow at Community America Ballpark when they take on FC Dallas, who is probably the only team in the league that's actually hotter than the Wizards right now. The Wizards have only lost one of their last 10 league games, but Dallas is unbeaten in their last 16 games after their 2-2 draw with New England on Wednesday night. Dallas is 8-0-8 during their run and have only lost 2 league games all season. Dallas though will be without two of their leading players for this game though, Kevin Hartman is still nursing his MCL injury from his run in with Thierry Henry last week, while Brek Shea will serve the second of a two game suspension for his red card and subsequent reaction after he received it in the same game. Still Dallas has plenty of talent on their team and will be hard for the Wizards to over come.

KC continues to get results and the in the game on Wednesday the Wizards finally showed that they can come from behind and get wins in their dramatic 4-3 win over the Dynamo. But this weekend, the Wizards can ill-afford a half like they had in the first half against the Dynamo. Dallas won't be so quickly to let KC back into the game. With the way that the team played in the second half I think we may have finally seen the end of the Birahim Diop experiment at forward. Even though the Wizards are unbeaten when he scores. Teal Bunbury offers much of the same skill set but also plays the forward position more like a true forward. The biggest question is probably whether Stephane Auvray is back in the starting lineup, or whether Jack Jewsbury steps into his place in the midfield.

Nielsen
Harrington - Conrad - Thomas - Espinoza
Arnaud - Rocastle - Jewsbury
Kamara - Bunbury - Smith

Key Match Up - Craig Rocastle vs David Ferreira - Ferreira has been one of the key players of Dallas' run, he plays just behind the Dallas striker, whether that's Jeff Cunningham or Milton Rodriguez. Shutting him down is where the Wizards need to start in their effort to end the Dallas unbeaten run.

PREDICTION - This is probably the match of the weekend. Even though the big name match up is tonight between LA and New York, form wise this is likely the best match up of the weekend. Dallas struggled at home against New England while KC did the same against Houston. It's going to be a rough game for both teams with their current busy schedule, but a win is basically a must for KC. Getting all 3 at home is the biggest thing the Wizards can control in their run to try to get to the playoffs. But avoiding a first half like against Houston is a must.

KC - 1 (Bunbury)
FCD - 0

A Look at Next Year (Rebranding, Schedule, and Stadium)

Next year is going to be a big year for the Wizards with all that appears set to happen next year mainly dealing with the new stadium. There are three big things that circle around the stadium, the stadium itself, the potential rebranding, and the 2011 schedule. First, the stadium itself. It continues to go up at a rapid pace, and today the Wizards made live a second webcam, this one inside the stadium. The second webcam is in the southwest corner of the stadium and rotates from left to right panning the inside of the stadium. For those that are directionally challenged, it's the corner of the stadium closest to the intersection of State Ave and Prairie Crossing. Certainly gives a nice new perspective of the stadium.

With the new stadium, comes the continued questions and rumors of rebranding. They certainly haven't gone anywhere over the past few weeks, in fact they've only grown. During our blogger podcast the other week we discussed it at great length and all the little signs that one would think would point to rebranding. From the scarf color for season ticket holders this year, to the light blue/dark blue trusses that are going up at the team's stadium that were posted on the KC Soccer Stadium page on Facebook, there are plenty of rumors of the potential color change out there. The renaming rumors haven't gone away either, the Sporting KC rumors are still making the rounds although no trademark registration has been found at this time. The latest "hint" dropped by the team came in the season ticket holder renewal packet, where the supporters' section was no long called "The Cauldron" but instead, the "Member's Stand". Now that's not a huge hint, because while the name Cauldron is tied in with the idea of a wizard, it also has other meanings for instance, a "cauldron of noise". Although it is definitely a bit odd that the team has not labeled the section the Cauldron.

Finally the other thing about the new stadium comes down to next season's schedule. Obviously the Wizards and OnGoal are going to want to maximize the number of games the team plays in the new stadium. And with the rise in ticket prices are not going to want to have people paying as much as they are to sit and watch a few games at CAB. And that means one of two things, either the Wizards do what Philadelphia did this year, play a few games at the city's local NFL team's stadium, or spend the first 3 months of the season on the road like the LA Galaxy in 2003. Neither option is very enticing, but personally I'd rather play a game or two at Arrowhead instead of spending the first 3 months on the road. I figure one of these two is a forgone conclusion, as I'm sure the Wizards have petitioned the league for a back heavy home schedule next year. The Wizards could find themselves in a very big hole by the time they do finally open their stadium in June either way, but the idea of being on the road continually for the first 3 months is not appealing. Unlike the 2003 Galaxy who got into the playoffs still, there are 8 more teams in the league than there were then, getting 4 points in the first 3 months of the season isn't going to cut it no matter how good the team's record ends up being at the new stadium. You run the risk or tarnishing the official opening of the new stadium because the team is rooted at the bottom of the table because of the early schedule.

Former Wizards Update

Another week of former Wizards update, a day later due to last night's Wizards game. Along with the Wizards, former Wizards Abe Thompson and Yura Movsisyan both had big games as combined they scored 5 goals between the two of them in their games yesterday. Matt Taylor also came back on the scene, scoring 2 goals for his new club in the German third division. The other big news from this past week's update was the injury suffered by former goalkeeper, Kevin Hartman who was enjoying a great year with Dallas before being injured from Thierry Henry's celebration in Dallas' 2-2 draw with New York. Here's the rest of your former Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Ryan Caugherty
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Did not dress in DC's 2-1 loss to LA.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Dressed but did not play in Toronoto's 2-1 win over Houston. Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 0-0 draw with Cruz Azul.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Loaned to AC St. Louis (see below)
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 4-0 win over Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 3-2 loss to Monterrey.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 45 minutes before leaving injured in Dallas' 2-2 draw with New York. Did not dress in Dallas' 2-2 draw with New England due to injury.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 4-0 loss to Seattle. Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 1-0 win over Santos in the CCL.
Chris Klein - LA - Did not dress in LA's 2-1 win over DC.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 3-0 win over New England.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 1-0 winn over Chicago. Dressed but did not play in RSL's 3-2 win over Arabe Unido.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 89 minutes in DC's 2-1 loss to LA.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not have a league game this week.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not have a league game this week.
Carey Talley - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-2 draw with Dallas.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 4-0 win over Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 3-2 loss to Monterrey.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas 2-0 loss to KC.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Started and played 81 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Vancouver's 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Came off the bench and played 16 minutes, scoring a goal in St. Louis' 2-1 win over Austin. Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in St. Louis' 4-2 loss to Miami.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Started and played 90 minutes for Baltimore in their 4-2 loss to Carolina.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes in Miami's 2-1 win over Rochester. Started and played 90 minutes in Miami's 4-2 win over St. Louis.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Dressed but did not play in Rochester's 2-1 loss to Miami.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Suspended for Carolina's 4-2 win over Baltimore.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Started and played 82 minutes, getting a goal and an assist in Miami's 2-1 win over Rochester. Started and played 62 minutes, scoring a hattrick in Miami's 4-2 win over St. Louis.
Lance Watson - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 1-1 draw with Tampa. Started and played 61 minutes in Austin's 2-1 loss to St. Louis.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Started and played 70 minutes in Aurora's 1-0 win over Blooming.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferro Carril's 3-1 loss to Bella Vista.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 loss to San Luis.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 75 minutes before getting red carded in Quilmes' 2-2 draw with Argentinos Juniors.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Lost to Arnett Gardens 1-0. Lost to Portmore United 2-1.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Beat Vukovar 4-1.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw with Blackburn. Came off the bench andn played 33 minutes in Fulham's 2-0 loss to Stoke City.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in United's 6-1 win over Mervue United.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes in Randers' 3-2 loss to AAB. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Randers' 5-1 win over Nordvest.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Weiss' 3-0 win over Carl Zeiss Jena. Started and played 90 minutes in Weiss's 3-0 loss to Heidenheim.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not play in Quindio's 4-2 loss to Once Caldas.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not dress in Wellington's 2-1 loss to Melbourne.

Thursday After Stats

Told you there were a lot of big milestones coming up, lots of stats from Wednesday night's game.

In the 89th minute, Michael Harrington hit the 10,000 minute mark in all competitions for the Wizards.

Harrington's assist was his 10th in league play all time, moving him into sole possession of 20th place on that list, passing Ryan Tinsley. It was his 11th in all competitions, tying him with Igor Simutenkov and Frank Klopas for 20th on that list.

In the 78th minute, Harrington moved past Sean Bowers and into 15th place on the list of most minutes in all competitions.

Kei Kamara's goal was his 25th in league play in his MLS career, and 30th in all competitions.

Kamara's goal was also his 11th as a Wizards player in league playing, tying him with Francisco Gomez and Paul Wright for 20th place on that list.

Kamara's 10 goals in the 14th time a player in a single season has hit double digit goals for the Wizards in league play. It's the 20th time that's happened in all competitions for KC.

Josh Wolff's goal was his 75th in league play in his MLS career, hit that mark. His goal was also his 85th in all competitions in his MLS career, he's the 15th player to hit that mark.

Wolff's goal was also his 45th in all competitions for KC.

Teal Bunbury's goal was his 4th league goal, tying him with his dad for league goals in MLS.

In the 75th minute, Jimmy Conrad moved past Preki and into 3rd place for the most league minutes played for KC, Conrad finished the game with 17,834 minutes played.

Conrad also made his 200th league appearance for KC, tying him with Chris Klein for 5th place on that list.

It was also Conrad's 199th start for KC in league play, moving him into a tie with Preki for 3rd place on that list.

In the 87th minute, Davy Arnaud moved past Chris Klein and into 5th place on the list for most minutes in all competitions for KC, Arnaud finished with 19,441 minutes played.

From Despair to Ecstasy in Forty Five Minutes

At half time tonight I was writing off the Wizards season, I already had the title of this entry in my head was working on exactly how bad this result had been for KC, and was clearing the stage for the fat lady to sing. Then the second half started, and while the first half was still one of the worst halves of soccer I've ever seen a professional team play, the second half almost made me forget it. The Wizards showed amazing heart and character fighting back from a 3-1 half time deficit to defeat the Houston Dynamo 4-3 and keep their playoff hopes alive. The first time the team has come from behind this season to win a game.

Before we get to the dramatic comeback though we can't overlook the extremely poor first half KC played. And even with that poor play still could have gone into the half tied 3-3. Like many of KC's games this season, the team has held possession early on and it wasn't very different tonight, KC controlled the tempo, but Houston came in with a good game plan, they attacked the wings, allowed KC to push forward and then tried playing the ball over the top. In the first half at least, Peter Vermes was again out coached by Dominic Kinnear. Thirteen minutes in the half, Houston had the lead. Kei Kamara lost Mike Chabala on a give and go, over committing to Brad Davis, who Michael Harrington was covering. Chabala received the give and go back from Davis and crossed into the middle where Cam Weaver had beaten Roger Espinoza to the ball and slid it past Jimmy Nielsen and into the net. After the goal, KC continued to push the game and were almost level through Kamara who received the ball on the right and fired a hard shot that beat Pat Onstad in goal, but didn't beat the cross bar as it bounced back out into play. Ryan Smith had a chance well saved by Onstad, the rebound fell to Birahim Diop but he had already over ran the play and couldn't get back in time to get a touch.

In the 34th minute, the Wizards back line again fell prey to Houston's long balls over the top strategy, as Weaver headed a long ball into the path of Dominic Oduro, who beat Shavar Thomas to the ball and then beat Nielsen, giving the Dynamo a 2-0 lead and signaling the fat lady to get ready. Only a minute later, though, the Wizards found themselves back in the game, as Craig Rocastle calmly picked out Kamara on the right, and in almost a carbon copy of of his attempt that hit the cross bar, Kamara was unmarked and this time buried his shot to pull KC within one. Houston, though, came right back down the field, and won a free kick from just inside KC's half. Davis played in a great ball, that Thomas poorly cleared right across the face of goal where Adrian Serioux just had to tap it in past Nielsen to give Houston a 3-1 lead that they'd take into the half time break.

To start the second half, Vermes adjusted tactics, pulling the ineffective Diop and Stephane Auvray and inserting Teal Bunbury and Jack Jewsbury. The substitutions almost paid off immediately as shortly into the second half Kamara picked out Jewsbury with a nice cross, Jewsbury's header back across goal beat Onstad, but Bobby Boswell cleared it off the line to keep Houston's 3-1 lead. Jewsbury had another good attempt off a cross from Harrington (a theme in the second half),but his bicycle attempt, while pretty looking, didn't seem to trouble Onstad that much as he easily held it. KC found themselves back within a goal on the hour mark thanks to Onstad. Onstad, who is remembered by many Wizards fans for his humorous own goal he scored for KC in 2003 during his time with San Jose, slipped on a goal kick and played the ball right to Bunbury. Bunbury broke in 1-v-1 on the Houston keeper and slotted it through Onstad's legs to pull KC within one and start real come back thoughts in fans heads.

KC continued to pressure looking for the equalizer, mainly down the right hand side through Harrington's overlaps of Kamara, and in the 71st, found the equalizer. Harrington played a fantastic cross into the middle of the box where it was met by Smith with a right footed volley. The volley deflected off of Serioux and into the net, going down as an own goal, but making it 3-3 and it certainly didn't feel like that was the end of the goals. After the equalizer it continued to be basically one way traffic as KC looked to find the winner. Smith hit a shot that just skimmed the post, and Kamara had another shot that was cleared onto the post and out for a corner in the 85th minute. Originally there were set to be five minutes of stoppage time, and plenty of worry set in that with injuries to Houston players being milked that KC wouldn't find that 4th goal. But in the 96th minute, a long goal kick from Nielsen was met by Harrington, who one timed a cross into the box where it was met by Josh Wolff, whose header from the penalty spot beat Onstad to the low corner and gave the Wizards a 4th goal and a dramatic winner to keep their playoff hopes alive. An epic turnaround from the team's first half performance in a must win they pulled it out when they had to.

Wizards Man of the Match - Michael Harrington - Whether you blame him for part of the first goal or not, he was huge in the second half, setting up two of the three goals and being a menace down the right side the entire half. And other than the first goal, Davis was not heard from during the run of play.

Honorable Mention - Kei Kamara, Jack Jewsbury

Player Ratings - Nielsen 4, Harrington 7, Conrad 4, Thomas 4, Espinoza 5, Auvray 4, Rocastle 5, Arnaud 5, Kamara 6, Diop 3, Smith 6. Subs Bunbury 6, Jewsbury 6, Wolff 6.

Busy Week Continues

The Wizards continue their busy week tomorrow as they welcome the Houston Dynamo to CAB for a big game between the two sides. It's another big game for KC as they need to win their home games to have a chance at the playoffs. The Dynamo team they take on tomorrow is different from any Dynamo team that's previously come to Kansas City. This Dynamo team is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since the team moved from San Jose. Dominic Kinnear has said the Dynamo season is over, but that's certainly not to mean that they're just going to roll over for KC. The Dynamo are going to continue to be a difficult team for KC to beat tomorrow.

The Wizards are still riding on their good waive of form since July. This is the second game of three in seven days for the Wizards and certainly not one the Wizards can over look. With the continued good run of form, I expect we won't see much if any change to the lineup that started on Sunday out at the Home Depot Center against Chivas. The only continued question is how long does the Birahim Diop experiment continue. With the Wizards continuing to get the results, you can expect Diop to still be in the starting line up.

Nielsen
Harrington - Conrad - Thomas - Espinoza
Arnaud - Auvray - Rocastle
Kamara - Diop - Smith

Key Match Up - Michael Harrington vs Brad Davis - Brian Ching looks like he won't be in the starting lineup, so stopping Davis becomes the next big task for KC. Davis will be a challenge for Harrington who is having a very good season so far for KC. This will be a good match up and for KC to take this game, Harrington is going to have to keep Davis from creating.

PREDICTION - Since the Dynamo joined the league in 2006, KC has gotten a grand total of 1 point in KC against the Dynamo. Not a great record against a team that you need to beat to keep your playoff hopes alive. But as I said this isn't the same Dynamo team that has come here in the past. KC needs this game, so hopefully they continue their good run of form, step up and take it to Houston.

KC - 2 (Kamara, Arnaud)
Hou - 0

Season Ticket Prices

Last week the Wizards sent out season ticket renewal information to their existing season ticket holder base. Needless to say I've heard from a few fans who were surprised at how much the ticket prices went up. While most of the stadium seats don't have a real comparison at the Wizards current stadium in CAB, most fans outside the Cauldron are seeing a big increase in their season ticket price. Obviously part of the increase is due to the fact that MLS is adding 2 home games to each team's schedule, so that adjusts for part of it. But the rest is due to the opening of the new stadium. The only section in the stadium that didn't see a big increase, was the Cauldron (named the "Member's Stand" in the renewal pack, another subtle hint at a re-branding), which only saw an increase in price due to the extra games, the supporters' section price per ticket will remain $14 per game for season ticket holders. The next cheapest section is the other end line, which is $360, or $18 a game. The sidelines are obviously more expensive, with the midfield seats the most expensive, and the west stand being more expensive than the east.

As I said before I've heard plenty of fans complain, so what I did is I started comparing the Wizards ticket prices for next year to other teams' season ticket holder information that's come out. What I found is that of the teams I looked at, they had comparable prices to the Wizards, based on the areas I could find. Here's a look at a few of them, all prices are per game.

Supporters' Section
Wizards 2011 - $14
Chicago - $10
Philadelphia - $14.50
Colorado - $12
LA - $25
Portland $15

East Stand
Wizards 2011 - $25
Chicago - $20
Philadelphia - $33.88
Colorado - $27
LA - $42.50
Portland - $21

East Stand Midfield
KC - $35
Chicago - $30
Philadelphia - $41.11
Colorado - $33
LA - $50
Portland - $35

South End
KC - $18
Chicago - N/A
Philadelphia - $23.61
Colorado - $21
LA - $28
Portland - $15

West Stand
KC - $30
Chicago - $30
Philadelphia - $33.88
Colorado - $29
LA - $42.50
Portland $21

West Stand Midfield
KC - $40
Chicago - N/A
Philadelphia - $41.11
Colorado - $35
LA - $50
Portland $35

Stadium Club
KC - $62.50
Chicago - $49.95
Philadelphia - $64.72
Colorado - N/A
LA - N/A
Portland $75

CONCLUSION - While the prices for the new stadium are certainly a big jump up from what Wizards season ticket holders have paid in the past, the information I've provided above basically shows that the Wizards are basically on par with many of the other teams in the league that currently have soccer specific stadiums. Particularly Philadelphia, where the Wizards are right around the average for Philly in every location through the stadium.

I know people are not incredibly happy about the prices (I'm not super thrilled about it myself as I'm currently entertaining the idea of moving out of the Cauldron), but we've been spoiled the past few years, both under the Hunts and then under OnGoal making the best of a bad situation at CAB. We've been paying one of the lowest prices for season tickets. Sure it's been affordable and easily accessible, but this wasn't going to last forever, especially with a new stadium. So while it's not the most well liked decision OnGoal has made it's one that matches up with the ticket prices other teams currently have for their soccer specific stadiums.

The thing I'm most disappointed in, and something I thought OnGoal could really set a nice precedent on, was bringing back some form of "youth" season ticket, because I have plenty of friends that bring their kids to games that could potentially be priced out with the rise in prices. I understand why they didn't do it, mainly because when the Wizards had it in the past, it was abused as adults used kids tickets to get in at cheaper prices. But with more and more scanners being used instead of just tearing the ticket stub, I think changes could be made to the system to allow a "junior" pass.

League Decisions on Two Situations Affecting this Weekend

Today MLS made two rulings on plays from this past week's game between New York and Dallas. Both plays have big repercussions on this coming weekend's game for the Wizards against FC Dallas. First of all, the most talked about incident from the game this past week, the incident between Thierry Henry and Kevin Hartman after New York had scored to tie the game 1-1. Henry looking to celebrate the goal scored by Mehdi Ballouchy by striking the ball as hard as he could into the back of the net a second time. This was a good 5-10 seconds after the goal, and as Henry ran up, Hartman was walking up to the ball. Henry struck the ball and force of the effort by Henry is what caused the injury. Due to the injury, Hartman is set to miss 2-3 weeks and will not be in net when he takes on the Wizards this weekend in KC. Henry got his punishment today, getting a $2,000 fine, but no suspension. Not surprising, but definitely disappointing that Henry didn't pick up a suspension for his actions. Hartman's agent as the link above shows isn't impressed at all with the decision basically calling the double standard for players like Henry compared to non-marquee players.

The other news regarding Dallas and this weekend's game against the Wizards is that Brek Shea will not be playing in the game. After his red card for his tackle on Chris Albright, Shea shoved another New York player and also gave a shove to the assistant referee. For the tackle and his ensuing dissent, Shea picked up a $750 fine and a second game along with his automatic 1 game suspension for the red card. Shea will now miss Dallas' game this weekend against the Wizards along with their game Wednesday against New England. While the game is still a few days away, the loss of these two players certainly changes the complexion of the game on Saturday.

Monday After Stats

It's just after midnight here in the Midwest, so here are your Monday after stats from last night's game against Chivas.

Teal Bunbury's goal was his fourth in all competitions, giving him as many goals as his dad Alex Bunbury had for the Wizards.

Kei Kamara's goal was his 9th this year in all competitions, setting a career high, besting his 2008 total of 8.

Kamara's goal was also his 10th league goal for the Wizards, he's the 22nd Wizards player to score 10 goals for the club and the 23rd to hit that mark in all competitions.

Kamara's goal was his 4th game winner of the season, he's only the 4th Wizards player to have 4 game winners in one season.

Michael Harrington made his 97th league start for KC, moving him past Sasha Victorine and into sole possession of 16th place on that list.

Jimmy Nielsen's 9th shutout of the season puts him 1 behind Kevin Hartman's total of 10 in 2008 for second place for the most league shutouts in a season. It also ties him with Tony Meola's 2004 performance for the 3rd most in shut outs in all competitions.

Wizards Keep Playoff Pace

Last week the results went the Wizards way, this week not so much, so with teams right in front of them winning this weekend, the Wizards needed to pull out 3 points on the road against Chivas USA. A win would allow them to close the gap for the 8th and final playoff spot to 6 points, with KC still having 2 games in hand on 8th place Seattle. KC pulled out the win on the road, continuing their current good run of form and keeping them on pace for a potential playoff spot.

The first half was a boring and uneventful half that had many people dreading the second. Both sides had one decent chance, with Michael Lahoud chipping wide of the Wizards far post after holding off Michael Harrington. Almost immediately the Wizards tried to respond as Roger Espinoza sent in a great ball from midfield to Birahim Diop. But Diop had a poor first touch putting the ball right into the hands of Zach Thornton in the Chivas USA net. The biggest highlight of the first half was probably the continual harassment of Craig Rocastle by the Chivas players. Rocastle was pissed off multiple times and had to be pulled away from the referee at half time. At the time it appeared the return of red card Rocastle was imminent, but Rocastle composed himself and was not troubled in the second half.

The second half got a little bit better as each side created more chances. Chivas thought they grabbed the lead in the 52nd minute through Ben Zemanski, but as the cross came in it bounced off the arm of the Chivas player and into his path. The ball was called back for a hand ball. The game though still lacked a real urgency to it considering both teams were fighting for their playoff lives. Finally in the 70th minute KC got the break through. A great long ball from Harrington was headed almost straight up by Kei Kamara, Kamara turned around his defender and then one timed the shot past Thornton with the outside of his right foot and into the net giving KC the 1-0 lead. A great finish by Kamara certainly one to remember come goal of the year voting time.

After the goal, KC continued to control the game, but really didn't create many chances. Still a second goal did not come until the 83rd minute. Kamara played a ball over the top to substitute, Teal Bunbury. Bunbury raced onto the ball, held off his defender and fired a shot past Thornton that he had little chance of stopping, to double KC's lead. KC from that point was able to hold onto the lead, keeping Chivas' chances to a minimum and routine for Jimmy Nielsen in the Wizards net. The win keeps KC on pace with Seattle in the 8th playoff spot. The 2-0 score line does flatter the Wizards a little bit, because neither side really looked like they wanted to win this game for most of the match. The two teams both lacked any real punch going forward and the game seemed destined for a 0-0 draw until Kamara's finish.

Wizards Man of the Match - Kei Kamara - Scored a very nice first goal that should definitely be up for goal of the week, and followed that up with an assist for Teal Bunbury's goal that iced the game, giving the Wizards another road win.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Harrington 5, Conrad 6, Thomas 5, Espinoza 6, Auvray 6, Rocastle 5, Arnaud 5, Kamara 7, Diop 4, Smith 6. Subs Bunbury 6, Jewsbury 5, Zusi NR.

This Week Will Decide the Season

Over the next 7 days, the Wizards will play 3 games, starting tomorrow in LA. Two of those games are against teams around the Wizards in the single table. The third is against FC Dallas, who is currently on a long unbeaten run. Two of those games are going to be in Kansas City against Houston and Dallas. These three games will be the games that decide the Wizards season and if they make the playoffs.

First tomorrow against Chivas, getting something on the road would be a major plus. Getting all 3 would be huge, especially with the way other results have gone tonight and earlier this week, as all 4 teams immediately in front of KC have won, San Jose on Wednesday against Philadelphia, Toronto today against Houston, Seattle over Columbus, and Colorado over New England. Getting all 3 points tomorrow would keep the Wizards in the rear view mirror of all 4 of those teams and keep the pressure on them.

Wednesday the Wizards play their rescheduled game from last week against the Houston Dynamo. Houston lost to Toronto tonight and is having their worst season since their move from San Jose. The Dynamo are on a 3 game losing streak. This is a game that the Wizards have to have in order to make the playoffs.

Finally the Wizards finish out their busy week with white hot FC Dallas coming to town. Dallas is currently on a 15 game unbeaten run and have only lost twice this season. Like the Wizards, FC Dallas has a Wednesday night game this week, at home against New England. They continued their unbeaten run on Thursday with a 2-2 draw with New York. This is going to be an extremely tough game for Dallas based on the way they are playing, but a few things for the game could go in KC's favor. First, former Wizard, Kevin Hartman is going to miss the game after getting injured by Thierry Henry after a goal on Thursday. Second, Dallas could conceivably (and probably should be) without midfielder Brek Shea, who picked up a red card for a horrible challenge on Chris Albright on Thursday. A horrible scissor tackle, that was made worse when Shea shoved a New York player and then gave a bit of a shove to the assistant referee. Based on the way the league has responded to previous incidents, it's definitely possible that Mr. Shea could be hearing from the league office on Monday letting him know that he's missing the KC game as well. See Shea's red below. Is it worth a second game?

Return to Action

After having last weekend off due to the schedule change, the Wizards return to MLS play tomorrow out in LA against Chivas USA. With the way that MLS results have gone since the Wizards last played the Wizards still have a chance to get their way into the playoffs. But to do that, they need to take points from the games they have in hand on other teams around them. KC can start this Sunday against Chivas USA. Chivas is one of those teams that's sitting around the same spot in the table as the Wizards, so this is almost the equivalent of a 6 pointer for KC. Chivas comes into the game on a high after defeating New England last weekend 2-0. Their forward line of Alan Gordon and Justin Braun has been a boost for their team.

The Wizards come into the game healthy from their week off, only reserve Jamar Beasley and Zoltan Hercegfalvi. KC is going to try to continue their current good run of form even with the week off. Usually weeks off are the one thing team's that are in form don't want as it messes with the routine and the groove teams can get into. With Kei Kamara back from national team duty and Teal Bunbury back from his suspension, KC has the chance to go back to the lineup that they started their current good run with, or they can continue to use a version of the lineup they have been using, keeping Birahim Diop in the game. I hope we make a return to the early lineup, but we'll see.

Nielsen
Harrington - Conrad - Thomas - Espinoza
Arnaud - Auvray - Rocastle
Kamara - Bunbury - Smith

Key Match Up - Jimmy Conrad vs Justin Braun - Braun scored both goals in Chivas' 2-0 win over KC earlier this season and has been having a career year for the Goats. Conrad shutting down Braun will go a long way to helping the Wizards continue their good form.

PREDICTION - To make the playoffs, the Wizards still need to win the rest of their home games, and get at least 1 win on the road. Looking at the remaining schedule, this is certainly one of those games that the Wizards can look at as a game they can get 3 points on the road. That is if their current form hasn't cooled any with the week off. A win and the Wizards pull themselves closer to Seattle, who will still have played 2 more games than the Wizards. I want to think we'll grab all 3, but at this time I only think we'll get 1.

KC - 1 (Kamara)
CUSA - 1 (Braun)

Former Wizards Update

Here is your delayed former Wizards update for this past week. Some big news regarding former Wizards this past week, as Mo Johnston and Preki were relieved of their positions with Toronto FC, as the team now looks to go in a different direction. In other former Wizards news, Matt Taylor is now playing in the German 3rd division with Rot Weiss Ahlen. With the MLS trade deadline this past week as well, Carey Talley was the only former Wizards to move, going from DC to New York for a second round pick. This update only goes through Wednesday as all my former Wizards updates have.

If you have any information on where these guys are, let me know:
Nick Cardenas
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley
Kevin Souter

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Did not dress in DC's 1-0 win over Toronto.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 1-0 loss to DC. Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 4-1 loss to RSL in the CCL.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Loaned to AC St. Louis (see below)
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 0-0 draw with RSL. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 loss to Saprissa in the CCL.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Dallas' 0-0 draw with San Jose.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-1 loss to LA. Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 3-0 win over Joe Public.
Chris Klein - LA - Did not dress in LA's 3-1 win over Columbus.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Colorado's 3-1 loss to New York.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 0-0 draw with Seattle. Did not dress for RSL in their 4-1 win over Toronto in the CCL.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 1-0 win over Toronto.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 0-0 draw with Dallas. Did not dress in San Jose's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 0-0 draw with Dallas. Started and played 45 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
Carey Talley - DC United - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in DC's 1-0 win over Toronto.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 0-0 draw with RSL. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 loss to Saprissa.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 2-0 win over New England.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Portland's 0-0 draw with Carolina.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 3-0 win over St. Louis. Did not dress in Minnesota's 1-0 win over Carolina.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Started and played 45 minutes in St. Louis' 3-0 loss to Minnesota.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Started and played 60 minutes in Baltimore's 3-0 loss to Vancouver.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes in Miami's 2-1 win over Montreal.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 66 minutes in Rochester's 3-0 win over Tampa.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 0-0 draw with Portland. Started and played 79 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Minnesota.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 0-0 draw with Carolina.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Miami's 2-1 win over Montreal.
Lance Watson - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 3-1 loss to Puerto Rico.

National teams
Sunil Chhetri - India - Started and played 90 minutes in India's 2-0 win over Namibia in an international friendly.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Started and played 57 minutes in Aurora's 3-3 draw with San Jose. Came off the bench and played 35 minutes, scoring a goal in Aurora's 2-1 win over Universitario.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferrocarril's 2-0 loss to Racing Olavarria.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Pachuca's 1-1 draw with Chivas.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Quilmes' 0-0 draw with Independiente.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Defeated St. George's 2-1. Played Arnett Gardens Wednesday.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 1-0 to Solin.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Came off the bench and played 7 minutes in Fulham's 2-1 win over Wolverhampton.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in Waterford's 1-1 draw with Salthill Devon.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Randers 1-1 draw with Midtjylland.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Rot Weiss' 2-0 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not play in Quindio's 2-1 loss to Cortulua.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not play in Wellington's 2-1 win over Sydney. Did not play in Wellington's 0-0 draw with Melbourne.

What I've Missed This Week

First, apologies for the lack of posts this week, late last week I asked to travel for work this week and after working 12 hour shifts I didn't have a whole lot of energy to sit down and write, plus I was having problems with the PC I was trying to use.

Anyways, let's look back on the news that's happened this week for the Wizards, lucky for me there was no real big news, but lots of little bits of news. I will be doing a full Former Wizards update for this past week and a post on the 2011 season tickets, so look for those to come too.

First, Wednesday was the roster deadline for MLS teams. The Wizards made no big moves on the day to fill their two open roster spots. They did make one roster move, activating forward Zoltan Hercegfalvi from the injured reserve list so that if he does get healthy enough to play, he could potentially play late in the season. Hercegfalvi is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in the team's 2-1 win over AC St. Louis in a friendly early in the season.

In other player player news, Wizards forward, Sunil Chhetri, currently on loan to the Indian national team, picked up another cap this week in his country's 2-0 friendly win over Namibia. Chhetri had a few chances for India, but did not get a goal.

Before I left last weekend, I got together with Thad from The Back Post for a podcast. We also had James Starritt from KCWFans, and Charles Gooch from the Star for a second blogger summit. We discussed the Wizards resurgence, the playoff race, the potential rebranding, and other things as well. It's available on iTunes and Posterous.

The Wizards also announced that their two rescheduled games against Houston this coming Wednesday and against Chicago in October will not be on KCWE. Instead, due to scheduling conflicts, the games will be broadcasted on MetroSports. It sucks for those in the metro area that do not have Time Warner Cable or if their cable provider does not offer MetroSports, but at least the games will be on TV in KC for many fans.

Away from direct Wizards news, but still related to the team, a few changes to the league as a whole appear to be set to occur next season. First, the league has announced that we will once again have a balanced schedule next year with the introduction of Portland and Vancouver into the league. The Wizards will now play 34 games next year, home and away against each team just like this year. The season will begin on March 19th and conclude October 22nd. This is a great step for the league in my opinion, it continues to keep the competitive balance in the league as each team will continue to play every other team in the league.

The other bit of league news this past week is that MLS apparently is going to be enlarging the rosters for teams. According to FC Dallas head coach Schelllas Hyndman, MLS will add 4-6 roster spots depending on the number of home grown players teams have. Currently teams can have 20 senior roster players, 4 developmental/Generation Adidas players, and 2 home grown players for a total of 26. According to Hyndman, teams will be able to have 30 players on their roster next year. No word yet on how that will be divided up between senior roster and developmental. I would think they'd up the senior roster to something like 22 or 24 and then have 6-8 developmental player spots for players making the league minimum, are Generation Adidas, or are home grown players. The big question from this one though, is what this does to the salary cap? The home is that it will see a bit of a bigger bump this coming year to accommodate for the additional roster spots, but that remains to be seen. These two bits of news were easily the biggest to come out this week related to the Wizards.

Finally, another of KC's teams continues to build their team up. The Missouri Comets announced the signing of two assistant coaches, Vlatko Andonovski and Douglas McLagan. Andonovski is a former indoor player with the Wichita Wings and KC Comets, he was named the Comets MVP back in 2005. Andonvski has most recently been the director of coaching for Futura FC a local youth club, and the head coach of the KC Kings, Kansas City's other indoor team. McLagan also played for the Comets, the original version, before joining the Wings later in his career. McLagan also coaches at Blue Springs High School and for local youth club KCFC.

Most Capped Wizards Players

Today on Twitter I asked who fans thought was the most capped player while a member of the Kansas City Wizards. It's time to find out who actually is the most capped Wizards player. Since I posted a list of capped Wizards, I've been doing some research on the most capped players while members of the Wizards. I'm still looking for a little bit of information on a few players, but I wanted to post what I currently have.

The Wizards player with the most caps for their national team while a member of the Wizards is Josh Wolff. Wolff has 38 caps for the US national team while a member of the Wizards, including time with the team for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups of which he was on both teams. Wolff is also the leader in international goals while a Wizards player, with 6. A US player was the obvious choice for the most capped player, the most capped non-US player is Gary Glasgow who appeared 16 times for Trinidad and Tobago, scoring 1 goal while a member of the Wizards.

As I mentioned above, I am still doing some research, the hardest players to find have been the Wizards' African players. I know that Uche Okafor got 1 game for Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup, but other than that I don't know what other caps the center back got as a member of the Wizards. I'm not even that close with Digital Takawira who I'm pretty sure got caps for the Zimbabwe national team in his 4 years with the Wizards, but I've been unable to find information on those two.

Counting those two though, the Wizards have had 25 players capped while members of the team, here's the full list, including the number of goals they've scored. Nine different countries are represented on this list. Bolded players are still active on the Wizards.

Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad and Tobago - 16 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 14 - 3
Scott Sealy - Trinidad and Tobago - 14 - 1
Tony Meola - USA - 12
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Nick Garcia - USA - 6
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 5
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 3 - 2
Mike Sorber - USA - 3
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3
Mark Chung - USA - 2
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2
Sunil Chhetri - India - 2
Chris Henderson - USA - 1
Steve Pittman - USA - 1
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 1 (known)
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 1
Digital Takawira - Zimbabwe - unknown

Stadium Coming Along Nicely

Photo courtesy of James Starritt

For those that haven't been out at the stadium site for a while, you're missing a lot. The stadium site is moving along incredibly fast. Yesterday, James over at KCWFans.com was out at the stadium site and got some fantastic photos of how the stadium is coming along, including the above photo. It's absolutely fantastic how the stadium is coming along, it's going up so quickly. He also informed us via Twitter that there will be a second webcam inside the stadium coming soon. It's especially nice to see how it's coming along considering it's only been just over a year since the Wizards announced the move from the Bannister Mall site to the site out at the Legends. So to think that we're just over 9 months from the first event is just beyond exciting.

Comets Open Tryouts

The Comets are working to build their team for their upcoming season and as part of that will be hosting an open tryout Sunday October 3rd, beginning at 9am. The tryouts will be held at the KC Soccer Dome, in Kansas City, just south of the Missouri River. I'm sure plenty of good indoor talent from around the city, including potentially some players from the KC Kings will be trying out. The advanced registration deadline is September 28th for $50. Or if you show up the day of the tryouts with $65 you can also get in on the tryout. Good luck to all those that decide to participate.

Hillcrest Syndicate Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf

Normally I don't mention lots of things that any of the Wizards supporters groups do because plenty of people that read this blog are not members any of the Wizards supporters groups. Since this is for a good cause I figured I'd post this. The Hillcrest Syndicate is taking pre-orders for a pink version of their latest scarf. The scarf, a pink and white bar scarf with the Cauldron logos and commemorative writing on each end on one side, and Kansas City on the other is on sale for $25. All proceeds from the sale of the scarves will be going to charity. There will be a limited number for sale at games once the order is in, but your best bet to be guaranteed one of these scarves is to pre-order one. So if interested please look to support this good cause.

Former Wizards Update

Another former Wizards update this week is up. As posted in the comments last week, Carlos Marinelli is on trial in Hungary, and still currently is according to more recent articles out on the world wide web. Elsewhere, Yura Movsisyan got his first international goal this past week for Armenia in their 2-2 draw with Macedonia in a Euro qualifier. Also congratulations on a good career to John Wilson who the Wizards drafted twice in 1999 and 2000, as he retired after Charleston's 2-1 win over Richmond in the USL-2 final. Here's the rest of the former Wizards update.

I'm continuing my work on finding other players that are possibly still playing. I'm still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Ryan Caugherty
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Will John
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley
Kevin Souter

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Did not dress in DC's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 1-0 loss to Dallas. Came off the bench and played 11 minutes in Toronto's 0-0 draw with Chicago.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Loaned to AC St. Louis (see below)
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 3-1 loss to New England.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Dallas' 1-0 win over Toronto.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Columbus' 1-0 win over DC.
Chris Klein - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-1 draw with Chicago.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 1-0 win over New York.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 87 minutes in DC's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in San Jose's 2-1 win over Houston.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 58 minutes, scoring a goal in San Jose's 2-1 win over Houston.
Carey Talley - DC United - Dressed but did not play in DC's 1-0 loss to Columbus.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 3-1 loss to New England.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 3-0 loss to Colorado.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Came off the bench and played 23 minutes, recording an assist in Portland's 1-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 2-0 loss to Austin.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Started and played 56 minutes in St. Louis' 3-1 win over Miami.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Baltimore's 3-0 loss to Carolina.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes in Miami's 3-1 loss to St. Louis.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Did not have a game this past week.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 3-0 win over Baltimore.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Started and played 86 minutes, scoring a goal, in Portland's 1-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Miami's 3-1 loss to St. Louis.
Lance Watson - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 2-0 win over Minnesota.

USL-2
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Season is over.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Season is over.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Season is over.
Yomby William - Richmond - Season is over.
John Wilson - Charleston - Season is over.

National teams
Sunil Chhetri - India - Started and played 90 minutes in both of India's losses to Thailand this week, 1-0 and 2-1.
Yura Movsisyan - Armenia - Started and played 90 minutes in Armenia's 1-0 loss to Ireland. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Armenia's 2-2 draw with Macedonia.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Started and played 77 minutes in Aurora's 3-0 win over Real Mamoré.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Season starts this week.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Did not have a game this week.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 81 minutes, scoring a goal in Quilmes 2-1 loss to Huracan.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Played St. George's SC yesterday.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Did not have a game this week.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in Waterford United's 2-0 win over Derry City.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Did not have a league game this week.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not dress in Quindio's 1-0 win over Cucuta Deportivo.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not dress in Wellington's 2-1 loss to Perth.

Jamaican Trialist for KC

While looking up former Wizards results for the update this week, I came across this article on Harbour View FC's website. Harbour View FC is the team of former Wizard Jermaine Hue. Apparently his teammate Kevin Wooley is currently on trial with the Wizards this week. Wooley is a fullback who has played his entire career in Jamaica. He missed the final run by Harbour View to the title last year due to injury, but has made a full recovery.

Chhetri, India Lose Again

Wizards forward, Sunil Chhetri who is on loan to the Indian national team once again went 90 minutes for India in their game today against Thailand. Unfortunately the result today at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi was the same as in Bangkok as India fell to Thailand 2-1. Chhetri apparently had some good moments for India, but couldn't score. India's lone goal ended up coming off of an own goal by Thailand's keeper, Kawin Thamsatchanan. India will continue their long term camp in their work towards the upcoming AFC Asian Cup. The cap is Chhetri's second as a member of the Wizards.

Save of the Week

Save of the week voting is up again, and once again, Jimmy Nielsen is up for the Save of the Week. Going for his 6th win of the season. Get out and vote. See the saves below.

International Day for Wizards Players

Two current Wizards players had games today with their respective national teams during the currently international window. Roger Espinoza and Honduras were up in Montreal to take on Canada. Espinoza started for Honduras and played 80 minutes getting a yellow card in Honduas' 2-1 loss to the Canadians. The game was delayed shortly after Espinoza subbed out due to lightning, but Honduras couldn't find an equalizer. Down in Florida, another Wizards defender was also starting for his national team. Shavar Thomas shook off a hamstring strain he picked up Saturday against Philadelphia to start to Jamaica in their friendly against Peru. The Jamaicans also fell in their friendly in Fort Lauderdale 2-1 on a late winner by Peru. Congrats to both of them on winning another cap for their national teams.

Arnaud Up for Goal of the Week

It's been a rare occurrence that a Wizards goal has been up for Goal of the Week this season. But Davy Arnaud's free kick goal against Philadelphia is up for Goal of the Week this week. While the homer in me wants to vote for Arnaud's blast, part of me is inclined to vote for Omar Cummings goal. While the finish is a little pedestrian, the set up cutting his defender twice is fantastic. Go get your vote on. See the goal below.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Get Big Draw

Wizards forward, Kei Kamara and the Sierra Leone national team pulled off a big result today in their African Cup of Nations qualifier. The Leone Stars pulled out a 1-1 draw in Cairo against group favorites Egypt today. Kamara got the start for his country and had a good chance early from around the penalty area but couldn't finish it. Sierra Leone grabbed the lead in the 57th minute, but gave the goal back in the 60th minute. This result is a great for Sierra Leone as they begin their qualifying campaign. Egypt has to be one of the early favorites for the 2012 African Cup of Nations as they are the two time defending ACN Champions, were at home, and are the highest ranked African team in the current world rankings while Sierra Leone is ranked 36th among African teams. So while Sierra Leone did give up a lead, the draw gets them started on the right track of hopefully qualifying for the ACN in 2012. This was Kamara's fifth cap for the national team, and his first as a member of the Wizards. After Sunil Chhetri's cap yesterday, Kamara becomes the 25th Wizards player to be capped while a member of the team.

Sunday After Stats

Told you last week we had some big milestones coming up. Two were hit this past weekend. Davy Arnaud became only the second Wizards player ever to hit 50 goals in all competitions for the Wizards. And Jimmy Conrad hit the 20,000 minute mark for the Wizards in all competitions. Here's all your Sunday after stats.

Davy Arnaud's goal was his 50th in all competitions for his MLS career, he's the second Wizards player to hit that mark after Preki. He's also the 40th player in MLS history to hit that mark.

In the 79th minute, Jimmy Conrad hit the 20,000 minute mark in all competitions for the KC Wizards. He's the 4th Wizards player to hit that mark.

In the 81st minute, Jack Jewsbury moved past Matt McKeon and into 7th place for the most minutes played in all competitions for KC. Jewsbury finished the game with 14612 minutes played.

With Kei Kamara missing this game for his national team call up, Michael Harrington is now the only Wizards player to appear in all 23 games for the Wizards in all competitions this season.

In the 33rd minute, Harrington moved past Sasha Victorine and into 16th place for the most minutes played in league play. Harrington finished the game with 8,678 minutes played.

Harrington also made his 106th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Bo Oshoniyi for 16th place on that list.

He also started his 96th league game for KC, tying him with Victorine for 16th place on that list.

Point on the Road

It wasn't the best game, but the Wizards continued their good run of form, pulling out a 1-1 draw on the road against the expansion Philadelphia Union. KC came out early pressing the game, Ryan Smith was on top of his game early as he turned his man around a few times early on. After the early success though, Philadelphia started to control the game for the Union. They controlled the game and had the more dangerous of the chances in the first half. The almost took the lead in the 26th minute on a blast from Stefani Miglioranzi. Miglioranzi was about 30 yards out from goal and hit a blast that would have likely been a routine save for Jimmy Nielsen but took a deflection off of Jimmy Conrad on the way through that wrongfooted Nielsen. Luckily for the Wizards the deflection carried the ball onto the post and back out into play. Only a minute later Nielsen made a big save on Sebastien Le Toux after he held off Michael Harrington, turned and fired a shot that Nielsen did well to get down for and push wide.

Philly continued to push the game and in the 33rd minute took the lead. Off of a thrown in at midfield Harrington and Stephane Auvray both went for the ball in the air and collided. The ball was played to Danny Mwanga who took the ball down the wing. Conrad pushed out to mark Mwanga as he entered the box. Harrington slid into the middle, but could not stay in front of Le Toux. Mwanga's centering pass was easily put past Nielsen by the Union's leading scorer giving Philly the 1-0 lead. After the early flurry for KC, the Wizards were very ineffective in the first half and it looked like a return to the Wizards of earlier in the season.

In the second half, KC came out and tried to push the game, they had a good half chance immediately from the kickoff as Smith got a ball played over the top by Craig Rocastle. Smith got into the box but couldn't get a shot off before the ball was knocked away. Philly then continued to play like they had in the first half, and a nice foot save by Nielsen on Justin Mapp kept it from being 2-0. KC created some chances of their own as the play started to go back and forth a bit. Birahim Diop forced a good save out of Chris Seitz off a free kick from Davy Arnaud. Back on the defensive end of the field, Nielsen himself came up with another big save off of a Mapp free kick that Le Toux headed towards the near post.

Smith continued to cause problems for Philadelphia when he got the ball and in the 70th minute was fouled right on the left side of the goal. Arnaud buried the free kick from the tough angle putting it over Seitz's head and into the side netting. A well struck free kick, but it was helped by some poor positioning by Seitz. Neither side was able to find the net again, and KC walked out with 4 points from their last two road games, which is only 1 point less than the team has had all season up to this point on the road.

Wizards Man of the Match - Ryan Smith - Smith was all over the place against Philadelphia going at the Union's back line the entire game. The Union's tactic of fouling Smith came back and bit them when Smith's foul led to Arnaud's free kick that tied the game.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 6, Harrington 5, Conrad 6, Thomas 6, Espinoza 6, Arnaud 7, Auvray 4, Rocastle 6, Bunbury 5, Diop 5, Smith 7. Subs Wolff 5, Leathers 5, Jewsbury 5.