Kronberg to Get First League Start

Eric Kronberg appears set to make his first league appearance for the Kansas City Wizards tonight when they play the San Jose Earthquakes. Yesterday we heard that Jon Kempin was set to dress for the first time and it became a question of which keeper was not dressing, whether it was Kronberg or Jimmy Nielsen. It looks like it'll be the White Puma that will be watching this game from the stands. Kronberg will be making his 5 competitive appearance for the Wizards, having played 1 Open Cup Qualifier and 2 Open Cup games back in 2008, and this year's Open Cup Qualifier against Colorado. This will be the first time since the 2006 season that the Wizards will use a second goalkeeper for a league game, in that season, Will Hesmer played in 3 league games for the Wizards while he backed up Bo Oshoniyi.

With there being nothing to play for in the game tonight for KC, I like this, Nielsen has been good for us this season, but he's not going to be around for ever, and with Kronberg having been with the team since 2006, it's time to see what he can do in a league game. He's the 4th most tenured Wizards player (after Davy Arnaud, Jimmy Conrad, and Jack Jewsbury) and with the signing of Kempin it's close to make or break time for Kronberg. Even with the extended roster looking to be coming next year, Kronberg needs to prove that he is a guy the Wizards can look at as a guy that could start in goal for the Wizards in the future. He wouldn't still be around if they thought he could, now is his chance to prove it in some capacity.