Kansas City Wizards 3-2 FC Dallas: Highlights video and goals
Cunningham scores again against Wizards
Wizards’ win keeps them in the hunt
Monday MLS Breakdown: Spoiling for a Playoff Fight
AG
Santiago Hirsig, Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad Score for Wizards in Front of Sellout Crowd at CommunityAmerica Ballpark; Wolff Now Tied for 4th in MLS with Career-High 10 Goals
MLS Game #25
Saturday, September 19, 2009 – 7:30 p.m. (CT)
English TV: Metro Sports
Spanish TV: Time Warner Cable Channel 5
Spanish Radio: La Gran D 1340 AM
CommunityAmerica Ballpark; Kansas City, Kansas
Weather: 73 and cloudy
Attendance: 10,385 – SOLD OUT
Score: 1 2 F
Kansas City Wizards (8-11-6, 30 pts) 1 2 3
FC Dallas (7-12-6, 27 pts) 1 1 2
Scoring Summary:
KC – Santiago Hirsig 1 (Claudio Lopez 6) 9
DAL – Dax McCarty 3 (unassisted) 44
DAL – Jeff Cunningham 13 (David Ferreira 5) 54
KC – Josh Wolff 10 (Zoltan 1, Claudio Lopez 7) 77
KC – Jimmy Conrad 1 (unassisted) 80
(September 19, 2009) – The Kansas City Wizards (8-11-6, 30 pts) came from behind to defeat FC Dallas (7-12-6, 27 pts) 3-2 Saturday night in front of a sold-out CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kansas City has now won three of four matches and is making a push for the MLS Cup playoffs. Striker Josh Wolff recorded his 10th goal of the season, moving him into a tie for 4th in MLS and matching a career high set three times previously. Midfielder Santiago Hirsig opened the scoring for the Wizards, netting his first MLS goal in the 9th minute. Defender Jimmy Conrad scored his first goal of the season, heading home the game-winner in the 80th minute.
Kansas City opened the scoring in the 9th minute after a corner kick from Claudio Lopez. Lopez earned the corner himself, forcing FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala to push a long-range effort over the bar. Lopez then bent a perfectly placed corner to Hirsig at the back post. The Argentine made no mistake, heading home a powerful shot for his first goal in a Wizards uniform.
FC Dallas fought back to tie just before halftime when midfielder Dax McCarty intercepted a pass and scored with a low, left-footed shot from beyond the top of the penalty area. FCD then took a lead in the 54th minute, as David Ferreira picked off a pass and set up Jeff Cunningham for an easy tap-in from close range for Cunningham’s 13th goal of the season.
Kansas City then came from behind to win with a pair of late goals three minutes apart to earn the full three points. The Wizards pulled even through Josh Wolff after another corner kick. Lopez sent a ball to just-entered substitute Zoltan past the back post, and Zoltan cracked a shot across the face of goal. Wolff was there to tap-home the ball from close range for his 10th goal of the season. Wolff tied a career high with the goal, and Zoltan recorded his first assist in a Wizards uniform.
Kansas City then found the winner in the 80th minute after a hustle play from Jimmy Conrad. A cross into the area intended for Conrad was deflected toward his own goal by FCD defender George John. Sala did well to block the would-be own goal, but Conrad followed up and hit a diving-header goal from inside the six-yard area for his first goal of the season.
By scoring three goals, the Wizards activated the Planet Sub Hat Trick Special. Valid tomorrow only at any Kansas City-area Planet Sub locations, any fan can ask for the special and receive a Planet Sub Sandwich, a bag of chips and a cookie for just $3. The Wizards return to action next Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark when the Colorado Rapids come to town for a 7:30 p.m. CT match-up.
Kansas City Wizards Line-Up: Kevin Hartman; Jonathan Leathers, Jimmy Conrad©, Matt Besler, Michael Harrington; Herculez Gomez (Kei Kamara 46), Santiago Hirsig, Kurt Morsink (Graham Zusi 55), Claudio Lopez; Josh Wolff, Davy Arnaud (Zoltan 77)
Substitutes not used: Boris Pardo (GK), Aaron Hohlbein, Lance Watson, Chance Myers
FC Dallas Line-Up: Dario Sala; Ugo Ihemelu, George John, Pablo Richetti, Jair Benitez; Atiba Harris, David Ferreira, Dax McCarty, Dave van den Bergh (Heath Pearce 62), Marvin Chavez (Daniel Hernandez 46), Jeff Cunningham
Substitutes not used: Ray Burse, Eric Avila, Bruno Guarda, Andre Rocha, Daniel Torres
Misconduct:
DAL – Marvin Chavez (caution; Reckless Foul) 13
KC – Kurt Morsink (caution; Reckless Foul) 19
DAL – Dax McCarty (caution; Shirt Removal) 45
DAL – Pablo Ricchetti (caution; Dissent) 89
KC – Claudio Lopez (caution; Dissent) 93+
KC FCD
Total Shots: 12 12
Shots on Goal: 7 5
Saves: 3 4
Fouls Committed: 13 9
Offside: 3 2
Corner Kicks: 5 6
Referee: Jeff Gontarek
Assistants: Nate Clement, Peter Manikowski
4th official: Chris Penso
Notables:
· Kansas City is now 18-16-8 all-time against FC Dallas, including a 10-6-5 record at home.
· The Wizards went 1-1-0 this season against FC Dallas.
· Kansas City has won three of its last four games.
· Kansas City recorded its 9th sellout of the season.
· Peter Vermes is now 3-4-0 as the Interim Head Coach of the Wizards.
· Midfielder Santiago Hirsig scored his 1st MLS goal Saturday to open the scoring.
· Claudio Lopez recorded his 6th assist on the play, later registering assist number 7.
· After Saturday’s matches, Lopez was tied for 6th in MLS in assists.
· Lopez now has 14 assists for the Wizards after recording seven last season.
· Striker Josh Wolff scored his 10th goal of the season, redirecting a ball from Zoltan after a Lopez corner kick.
· Zoltan’s assist was his first in a Wizards uniform in his 5th game with Kansas City.
· After Saturday’s games, Wolff is tied for 4th in MLS in goals this season.
· Wolff’s 10 goals equal a career high, set three times previously.
· He scored 10 goals in 1999 with the Chicago Fire and in 2004 and 2005 with the Wizards.
· Wolff has now scored 72 goals in his career, 40 of them for Kansas City.
· Wolff is alone in 3nd place for goals in a Wizards uniform, breaking a tie with Chris Klein.
· Wolff’s 72 career goals put him alone in 14th in League history.
· Wolff ranks 9th all-time among active players, one behind Edson Buddle who also scored Saturday.
· Defender Jimmy Conrad scored the final goal, heading home a loose ball after FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala narrowly saved what would have been an own goal off the head of George John.
· The strike was Conrad’s first goal of the season and the 18th of his career.
· Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman has now started 107 straight games and hasn’t missed any action in the last 9630 minutes his teams have played.
· His minutes-played streak constitutes an MLS record.
· Aug. 1, Hartman became just the 2nd player in MLS history to start 100 straight matches.
· Hartman made three saves Saturday, increasing his career MLS record in saves to 1216.
· Hartman is the first goalkeeper in MLS history to reach the 1200-save plateau.
· Hartman also leads MLS in career wins (146).
· Hartman is the only player to start all 25 games this season for the Wizards and the only player to play every minute of every game this year.
· Hartman played in his 328th career game Saturday.
· He ranks 2nd in League history, trailing only New England’s Steve Ralston (376).
· Newly acquired forward Kei Kamara made his first appearance for the Wizards, playing the final 45 minutes and generating multiple chances in the second half.
· Kansas City was without goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, midfielder Kevin Souter and forward Adam Cristman through injury.
· Jack Jewsbury missed the game through yellow-card suspension.
· With three goals, the Wizards
· The USA Bid Committee Inc. announced August 4 that Kansas City and Arrowhead Stadium are one of 27 cities and 32 venues, down from 70 initial stadia in 52 cities, on the short list to be included in the United States’ bid to host the FIFA World Cup™ in either 2018 or 2022.
· The Kansas City / USA Host City Bid Committee is Co-Chaired by Kansas City Chiefs Chairman of the Board Clark Hunt and Cerner Corporation’s Chairman and CEO and Kansas City Wizards co-owner Neal Patterson.
· With the three goals scored Saturday, the Wizards activated the Planet Sub “Hat Trick Special” for fans. Any Wizards fan will receive a Planet Sub Sandwich, chips and a cookie for $3 at area Planet Sub locations Sunday simply by mentioning the “Hat Trick Special.”
· By scoring three goals and winning, the Wizards won all fans in section 107 at CAB 10 free boneless wings at KC-area Hooter’s restaurants.
· After the game, hundreds of area Scouts camped out on the field at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
Quotes:
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH PETER VERMES
On scoring two goals from corner kicks
“One of the places where we felt we could put pressure on them was set pieces, and getting that corner kick goal was something we really thought we could take advantage of. Where it got difficult was we didn’t put the hammer on after that. We needed to go at them because they were ripe for the picking at that point. But give credit to them, they found themselves back in the game when they tied it just before halftime. The two goals they scored were mistakes on our part, which is not a good thing, but we did a very good job outside of that by not giving them a lot.”
On second-half strategy
“We went into the second half and the big thing for us was that we wanted more diagonal balls because we thought that we could expose them wide, because they play so many guys tight in the middle. So then we started getting some playable balls. You could see Davy Arnaud and other guys were getting in, and it gave us a good rhythm, and finally we got that goal to tie the game. Once we got that you could really see the tide turn.”
On Jimmy Conrad’s goal
“I am happy for Jimmy [Conrad]. He struggled with two plays today, and he made up for it in regards to getting that goal. Sometimes the game bites you and then sometimes you get a chance to bite back, which he did.”
On Kansas City’s three subs: Kei Kamara, Zoltan and Graham Zusi
“Kei has a presence physically that puts defenses under major pressure, and then Zoltan is an extremely smart soccer player. You can see when balls get played out to him that very rarely does he lose the ball through the dribble or the pass. He winds up finding guys. Those two are a big help to our team. We will continue to evaluate things as we move forward, but they were great subs into the game. Additionally Graham Zusi did a great job in the middle of the field today. He kept possession for us, and he is a really smart soccer player.”
On Josh Wolff
He [Josh Wolff] has worked his butt off every game that we have played. He has never taken a play off, and it is really evident tonight. His type of attitude and management of the game is very important for us.
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER JIMMY CONRAD
On his goal
“It was a free kick at midfield. Claudio had it. Most of the time I take those, but he wanted it so I went out. I thought he was going to play it to me but he sent it to Harrington so I kept running. Fortunately it found me and I army crawled it into the goal.”
On his defensive performance
“We had to win this game for our season to continue. I had the weight of the world on my shoulders there for a while. There were no defensive mistakes tonight it was just two mistakes by me, which led to two goals. It hurts, but you move on. I am not pleased with my performance overall, but it was nice to get that back with a goal late.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD JOSH WOLFF
On the game
“Overall it was a scrappy game out there, but we were able to pull it out because we fought hard. We were able to get some goals, which is nice for our fans here at home.”
On the substitutions
“I think the reserves came in and did a great job of coming in and making plays and helping us get some goals. They did extremely well.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD KEI KAMARA
On his first appearance for the Wizards
“What I bring to the game is my speed and my physical game. Coach told me to make a difference every time I step on the field, which is what I try to do. It was great to get the win tonight in front of our fans.
On being new to the team
“Soccer is the same language everywhere you go. It will not take me long to get acclimated with the team. I have already trained with the team for three days and then the game tonight so going into this week of more training, I should be ready to go next weekend. Soccer is one language.”